Nowa Nowa, Victoria 🇦🇺, 2026

Date: 19th – 23rd February 2026 

Travelled: 250 kms from Pambula Beach to Nowa Nowa  

Visited: Cann River and East Gippsland Rail Trail  

Stayed: Nowa Nowa Caravan Park $45pn N37.72991, E148.09233  

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We roll out of Pambula Beach at 10am turning back onto the Princes Hwy 8kms later. It’s a slow run south with lots of tight bends and steep climbs. The road works add another 20 minutes of stop start as well.

Having stopped for a coffee just after 11 we arrive in Cann River at midday. There’s a free stop here just over the river and we decide to call it a day. As it’s still relatively early we snag a nice spot with some shade well away from the highway noise.

We’ve stayed here before and know the pub serves a nice dinner, so Pam authorises a night out. Come the drinking hour we walk over the river and join the crowd. It seems there was a funeral in town today and the wake has been in progress for a time.

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Somehow we manage an almost 6 km forced march around Cann River in the morning before making ready for the road. It’s only another 80 kms to Nowa Nowa so an hour later we roll into the caravan park. More about that later.

We last toured through East Gippsland in 2021 riding a section of the rail trail that once was the old rail line west from Orbost. It was a great ride so where back again to do the sections east and west of Nowa Nowa.

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East Gippsland Rail Trail, Nowa Nowa, Shire of East Gippsland, Victoria, 3887, Australia

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So over the next two days we ride 60+ kilometres of rail trail. The first day we ride east to Waygara to the station we rode out to from Orbost on our earlier trip. Apart from the red-belly snake sunning it self in the middle of the track it was uneventful the main points of interest are the old timber viaducts we pass.

Problem being passing a viaduct means a steep descent and an equally steep climb back up.

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On the second day we head west for Colquhoun both of us still feeling a little stiff from the previous day. There’s only one wooden trestle bridge today but it’s a beauty. The Stony Creek Trestle Bridge was constructed in 1916 at 247 metres long and 20 metres high it was the largest rail bridge of its type in the state.

The descent was very steep and slippery so we used the adjoining road that takes a little longer but bandaid free.

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The ride back to Nowa Nowa seems a little easier thanks to the gradient. The only real excitement was a close call with a black wallaby that bounded across the trail in front of me.

After a late lunch and some R+R we fire up the Suzuki for the 30 km drive to Bruthen. The weather is changing and we cop a little drizzle on the way but its dry enough to walk around when we get there.

Some photos of Bruthen below. It does have a very nice cake shop, a busy pub and a micro brewery come restaurant.

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Back to the caravan park at Nowa Nowa, it’s an eclectic collection of old caravans, sculptures of this and that and relocated bit and pieces. The owner Steve appears a little quirky as well, he has a long list of rules but the first is ‘No Children’ which suites us just fine.

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Anyway that’s Nowa Nowa done as we turn for Lakes Entrance for fuel and a supermarket.

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Michael + Pam