Forrest & Lake Elizabeth

Nestled in The Otways, Forrest is quaint and quirky delight and only two hours from Melbourne. It makes for a wonderful mini-getaway to indulge in our core purpose, finding treasure and going bush. There are wonderful Op Shops, great food options, Lake Elizabeth nearby and there are all sorts waterfalls to visit. Wide ones, long ones, cascading ones, you name it.

Forrest town is small town with the cutest Cafe and General Store, a Brewery and 2 Op Shops a block away from one another. The Op Shops are very special indeed, with Forrest Retro Road, owned by the lovely Mara, a wonderfully quirky & kitsch vintage haven that is not to be missed. Her store consists of 5 rooms of amazing treasure, and plus even more out the back of the store, so be sure to check it out. A short trundle back into town, you’ll find the Forrest Church Op Shop. The building is amazing, with the Op Shop literally cordoned off from the church in front. We founds a few games and some great books to read.

For our outdoor adventures, we had to look no further than Lake Elizabeth, probably one of the most majestic lakes I have ever seen. It’s a 15 minute drive from the township and was formed from a natural landslide 50 years ago, featuring enormous ghostly tree trunks that tower up from the water below. It’s in a narrow valley, so Mountain Ash trees and tall trees ferns clamber up the sides of the lake, leaving you feeling like you’re lost in a prehistoric land. We’ve visited Lake Elizabeth numerous times now, with Frankie, now 4, being able to walk to the lake and back, roughly an hours round-trip. The times we’ve done the loop, which takes another hour or so, we’ve taken the pack with us and carried her when she got tired.

On our last trip, we carried our inflatable kayak in to experience the valley from the water, and to hopefully see one of the 9 resident platypuses. We weren’t so lucky, but another family on the shore saw one frolicking in the water nearby. We were there at midday, but if you go at dawn or dusk, you’ll in all likelihood catch a glimpse of one. The local kayak tour company states a 95% success rate of seeing a platypus on their tours, so seems going at the right time will yield the results. Plus, there are glow worms on the walk in and out, so an added bonus.

We stayed in the most rustic of forest cabins during our time in Forrest, The Otway’s Loft. It has 4 massive bedrooms and is 100% child and dog friendly. It’s a lovely option to hire out with your whole family or with a few friends. There kitchen is huge, has a lovely fireplace and a jungle gym and sandpit right outside the lounge window. It’s right in the middle of Forrest and a 1 minute walk to Forrest Retro Road.

The next morning, we set out to do the walk to Beauchamp Falls. There are several waterfalls closer to Forrest, but we felt like doing a longer walk, so Beauchamp it was. It’s an hours drive through the towering forest and from the parking lot, about 45 minutes to the waterfall. You descend pretty much the whole way, especially when you reach the stairs at the end, so just be prepared for the tougher walk back out. Frankie did most of the walk down, but had to be carried out in the pack. Ah, the life! The waterfall is set in a small gorge and so you’re flanked by nature on all sides, it’s pretty spectacular!

Op Shops

Forrest Retro Road
12-14 Station St Forrest
Open Thurs - Sunday
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Forrest Church Op Shop
20 Grant St, Forrest
Open Fri & Sat 9.30am - 4pm
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Adventures

Lake Elizabeth
Remember, go at dawn or dusk if you want to increase your chances of seeing a platypus and lookout for the glow worms on the path.
It’s a fairly easy 30 minute walk in and then an 1 hour around the lake.
Dogs are allowed on this walk
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Beauchamp Falls
A beautiful forest walk beside a meandering stream which takes about 45 minutes each way. Lots of stairs to get down to the falls and then a bit hilly on the way back.
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