The Mitchell River Silt Jetties and the Gippsland Lakes

The Mitchell River Silt Jetties are the second largest in the world, after those at the mouth of the Mississippi River as it enters the Gulf of Mexico.

The Mitchell River Silt Jetties have been nominated as a site of international significance.

The Silt Jetties extend out from the western shore of Lake King about 6 km north-east of Paynesville.

From Eagle Point Bluff (at left) the Silt Jetties become a series of long, narrow, winding silt jetties which extend eastwards out into the lake for 8 km. There is a part bitumen/part gravel road all the way to the end, with many favourite fishing spots along the way. The silt was deposited over millions of years when the Mitchell River slowed as it entered Lake King. The jetties are also home to a large range of native animals and birds (more on this below).

BIRDS   BIRDS   BIRDS

Walk 200 metres to the back of the River Cottage property and you can toss a line into Lake King or just admire the incredible bird life. There is an extensive range of waterbirds and migratory waders - including the little and fairy terns. Because of the permanence of the main lakes and the reasonably regular flooding of the adjacent wetlands, it is estimated that over 40,000 ducks, swans, coots and other waterbirds inhabit the eco-system. The coastal wetlands support waterfowl, little tern, hooded plover and the white-bellied sea-eagle. Other good birdwatching sites on the lakes are MacLeods Morass, Blond Bay State Game Reserve and the Colquhoun Forest. Vegetation around the lakes includes swamp paperbark, reed and salt-marsh vegetation such as glasswort, shore rush, sawsedge and salt grass.

More about the Gippsland Lakes

Together, the lakes constitute the largest inland waterway in Australia. Lakes Wellington, Victoria and King cover 320 km of shoreline and total 340 square kilometres. They are the centre of an environmentally significant landscape of wetlands and flat coastal plains with unique landforms, vegetation and fauna.

The Gippsland Lakes are a group of coastal lagoons which were formed when the ocean's sand deposits created lengthy sandspits, low-lying sand islands and dunes which eventually formed a barrier (Ninety Mile Beach) separating Bass Strait from the calmer waters they enclosed. The rivers which flow into the area deposited silt and clay which divided the inland water into a series of lakes and swamps.

Almost all of the lakes are accessible by boat and boat-launching facilities are available at many sites with the closest being The Cut (on the Silt Jetties), Paynesville, Eagle Point, Nungurner, Metung, Nicholson and Johnsonville. For those without a boat, fishing trips and boating tours of the lakes and rivers are available from Paynesville and Lakes Entrance and there are also charters from Lakes Entrance for ocean fishing.

There are many archaeological sites around the Lakes including shell middens, scarred trees, occupation sites, burial sites and axe-grinding grooves.