Where Estuary, Forest and Ocean Meet at Lake Tyers

Overview

Lake Tyers State Park sits in East Gippsland, about 20 kilometres north-east of Lakes Entrance and roughly 350 kilometres east of Melbourne. It stretches from Lake Tyers Beach through to Mount Nowa Nowa, covering a broad sweep of forested country around the Toorloo Arm and Nowa Nowa Arm, plus the narrow strip of land that separates the estuary from Bass Strait.

What gives this park its character is the meeting of very different landscapes in one place. There are sheltered lake edges and tidal inlets, densely forested ridges, wet gullies and a coastal barrier of dunes and surf beach. That mix makes the park feel bigger and more varied than its map might suggest, with a strong sense of transition between inland forest and open coast.

Highlights

The defining feature here is Lake Tyers itself, formed when rising seas flooded the old valleys of Boggy and Stony creeks and a dune barrier built up at the entrance. Around the lake are countless small inlets, fingers of land, mud banks and sheltered shores, while the thin sand spit between the estuary and Bass Strait gives the park a distinctly coastal edge.

Scenically, the contrast is the drawcard. Tall forest wraps around the northern shores, while the southern lake margins include saltmarsh and low coastal country. Along the seaward side, barrier dunes and beach create a very different atmosphere again, so the park shifts from calm estuarine water to rugged ocean frontage in a relatively short distance.

Best Time to Visit

Spring through autumn tends to show Lake Tyers State Park at its most inviting, when the estuary, shoreline and forest are all easy to appreciate in the one trip. Warmer months suit the open coastal character of the park, while spring is a particularly good time to notice fresh growth in the forest and the contrast between damp gullies, lake margins and dunes.

Because the appeal here comes from its mix of habitats rather than a single seasonal event, the park has interest year-round. Cooler months bring a quieter feel to the forested sections and estuary edges, especially if you are more interested in the landscape itself than beach weather.

Plants and Animals

The vegetation is notably varied. Most of the park is lowland forest and limestone box forest, with smaller areas of damp forest as well as rare warm temperate rainforest and critically endangered littoral rainforest. Around the lake and coast, saltmarsh, fringing wetlands and shoreline vegetation add another layer again, especially along the southern shore and the barrier dunes.

That range of habitats supports a rich mix of wildlife. The lake’s islands, mud banks and saltmarsh are important for migratory birds and waders, while the surrounding forest and coastal vegetation support threatened species including the Glossy Black-Cockatoo, White-bellied Sea-Eagle, Spot-tailed Quoll and Martin’s Toadlet. One of the park’s recorded caves is also used by Eastern Horseshoe Bats and other bat species.

Culture and Heritage

Lake Tyers State Park is on Krauatungalung Country and is jointly managed with Gunaikurnai Traditional Owners. Bung Yarnda, the lake itself, was an important meeting place for Gunaikurnai groups and remains highly significant for its Aboriginal cultural heritage, with recorded places including scar trees, artefact scatters, birthing places and burial sites.

The area also carries the history of forced removal, with many Aboriginal people living here after being taken from their homelands by European settlers. The land beside the park includes the Lake Tyers Aboriginal Reserve, and the wider catchment around the former mission remains an important cultural landscape.