Elliminyt

Perched on a hill, the village of Elliminyt might still look over Colac and Lake Colac as it has done for many years, but these days it has been virtually absorbed by its larger northern neighbour on the lakeshore.

Although Colac now supports a rich mixed-farming community, the original settlement was pioneered by pastoralists and one of the earlier sheep stations, Tarnwarncoort, produced a breed suitable for high rainfall areas by crossing a Merino with a Lincoln.

A number of old historic homes such as Balnagowan, The Parsonage and The Elms survive to this day, but are not open to public viewing.

The promise of fine boating, swimming, water-skiing, windsurfing and fishing keep the visitors flocking to Lake Colac, Victoria's largest natural freshwater lake.

A visit to the floating island flora and fauna reserve round Lake Pirron Yallock to the west of town can be both fascinating and disconcerting.

The fascination stems from the chain of islands whose scrub, reeds eucalypts and tussocks are a sanctuary for a variety of waterfowl and koalas.

The islands, however, can be a shade off-putting by suddenly "moving" about the length of a cricket pitch in a matter of minutes. You"ll be quite safe, however, if you stick to the Colac Information Centre"s guide to the lagoon"s walking track.