Drift back into a different time, when our waterways were our highways, and journey from the Port of Sale to the landmark Swing Bridge (1890). Spot birds and wildlife as you cruise and your guide recounts the region’s remarkable stories, from its first people the Gunnaikurnai, through early settlement to the present day.
Port of Sale Heritage Cruises operates a two hour heritage cruise twice daily (subject to change during off peak periods - Saturdays and Sundays 10am and 2pm) on the Rubeena (1912 ). If you have a special event or want a wedding celebration with a difference, the Rubeena can also be booked solely for your group.
The canal links the city of Sale via to the Thompson River, Latrobe River and the Gippsland Lakes to the open sea.
The Rubeena’s quiet electric motor and leisurely pace are ideal for spotting even the shiest creatures. Birdsong provides a constant soundtrack to your journey and keen eyes will spot Whistling Kites, Pelicans, Sea Eagles, Cormorants, Moorhens, and Azure Kingfishers.
As you pass downstream, the ancient river redgums form part of the Ramsar-listed wetlands abutting the river, home to an abundance of birdlife and native fauna including koalas. These ancient river red gum trees show scars left by the Brayakooloong clan of the Gunaikurnai as they created their canoes.
On your journey you will pass McArdells Gap, the site where the Enterprise was built – the first boat on the Gippsland Lakes. At the junction with the Latrobe River you will pass the oldest operating Swing Bridge, which was completed in 1883. The bridge still swings each Saturday and Sunday to allow vessels to enter the Port of Sale.
The abundant birdlife is significant to the region’s first people, the Gunnaikurnai, and a local artist commemorated their creation story of Borun the Pelican and Tuk the Musk Duck in an evocative sculpture set in parkland at the Swing Bridge.
The Sale Common Wetlands and River Heritage Trail offers a kaleidoscope of riverine and wetlands scenery in addition to heritage places, all marked with interpretive plaques. The trail begins at the Port of Sale and extends as far south as the celebrated Swing Bridge at the junction of the Thomson and Latrobe rivers.
The return journey, if you so choose, takes in Sale’s beautiful lakes – Guyatt and Guthridge, as well as the historic Powder Magazine. The historic Port of Sale was formerly the shipping terminal for so much cargo and so many passengers, either coming into Gippsland or leaving Gippsland by rail for Melbourne. The Port is found at the head of the Sale Canal, which was originally dug by horse and scoop in the late 1880s, as the essential transport link between rail and road and the rivers and lakes.
Today this historic port is a picturesque marina in a serene, landscaped setting, where you can find many walks, and outdoor spaces to enjoy.
From the Port you walk through an avenue of trees alongside the Canal, sensing not only the riverboat traffic of yesteryear, but also the festivities of rowing regattas still held today. Soon you reach McArdell’s Gap, a cut in the bank of the Canal, opposite where the Thomson River breaks into the artificial waterway. At McArdell’s you will see the site of shipyards where two of Gippsland’s most important steamboats were built – the Enterprise and the paddle steamer Tanjil.
Using the updated walking tracks, you'll cross what used to be the South Gippsland Highway (now using a roadway above), you enter the incredible wonderland of the Sale Game Refuge, in earlier times known as the Sale Common. This portion of the trail, much of it over a boardwalk of generous size, spanning extensive, Ramsar-listed wetlands, is full of surprises: a tree-lined natural lagoon, haven to so much bird life; ancient gum trees, twisted and gnarled; a blazed tree evocative of the earliest explorers of Gippsland; an old rifle butt re-incarnated as a bird hide; a large brick water trough, now incongruous in its wilderness setting, and so much more.
From there, you emerge onto a part of the Punt Lane flanking the Thomson River, so called because it led to a punt, the first river crossing linking the upper districts with Port Albert to the south. Soon you are in view of the nationally important Swing Bridge. This was completed in 1883 to the design of notable Australian engineer and bridge builder, John Grainger. The Bridge still swings open to allow vessels to enter the Port of Sale. It is a ‘must see’, not only for its historic importance but also for the extraordinary symmetry of its design, best viewed from the Longford side.
On your return you have the choice of passing by the site of Gippsland’s first licensed airfield, the superb environs of Sale’s lakes and the fortress-like Sale Powder Magazine, now fully restored. In 2009, the Institution of Engineers, Australia, recognised the Port of Sale with a Heritage Marker, and the Swing Bridge with its highest honour, a Heritage Landmark.
The Sale Wetlands and River Heritage Trail is a gentle 5.1km walk (one way) or 10.2km (return) on a gravel and concrete path way. The walk is suitable for those with prams or wheelchairs, with the paths being generally flat.
The Port of Sale to Swing Bridge section is accessible to those of all abilities, mapping can be found here