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This time, I headed to Gippsland to take some photos and shoot some video. Gippsland’s a pretty big region in the southeast of Victoria. It’s mostly farmland—rolling hills, lots of cows—but there are also big forests, national parks, and rivers with some beautiful waterfalls. The landscape isn’t as dramatic as the mountains or the coast, but it’s got this peaceful, idyllic vibe. Oh, and it’s also home to the Latrobe Valley, famous for its massive brown coal deposits. The coal’s used in power stations right near the mines and exported in bulk to China.
I live down in the southeast, so Gippsland’s not too far for me. This time, I set out to capture the stunning landscapes from the top of Mount Tassie, check out the massive Loy Yang power station, see the futuristic wind turbines in Toora, and visit some beautiful spots like Tarra River with its little waterfalls and the impressive Agnes Falls. That was the plan, and I reckon I nailed it. Here’s the photo album from the trip:
https://www.flickr.com/gp/147740420@N06/mJ516p4025And I filmed a video with the same camera. The clips aren’t in the exact order of my trip, but hey, does it really matter?
If YouTube’s being a pain, you can also watch it on Flickr:
https://flic.kr/p/2qwNsPs
The Trip
First stop was the lookout over Loy Yang power station near Traralgon. Technically, it’s two stations built next to each other—Loy Yang A with four turbines and Loy Yang B with two. They were built between 1984 and 1993, and together, they produce 2,380 megawatts, making it Australia’s biggest and most advanced power station. It meets strict environmental standards, and there’s no smoke—just water vapour and CO₂. Check out the photos and video—you won’t see a wisp of smoke from the stacks. The white steam coming off the cooling towers isn’t smoke either. There’s no smell, the sky’s clear, and it supplies 50% of Victoria’s electricity.
From there, I headed into Tarra-Bulga National Park—lots of forest, rolling hills, and heaps of spots for camping, picnics, and bushwalking. The biggest river in the park is the Tarra, which is dotted with scenic little waterfalls. My main goal was to get to the top of Mount Tassie. There’s a road up, but it’s steep and rough, so last time I skipped it in my car. This time, my Subaru Forester had no trouble.
The top of Mount Tassie is pretty flat, but it’s covered in radio towers. No staff, just locked buildings and the hum of generators. There’s a viewing platform, though, and the views over the hills and the Latrobe Valley are incredible.
From there, I kept heading south, winding through Tarra-Bulga. The road’s stunning but super narrow—you’ve got to take it slow in case you need to squeeze past oncoming traffic. The Tarra River runs alongside it, with a few spots to pull over, check out waterfalls, and stretch your legs.
Agnes Falls & The Wind Turbines
I didn’t do much walking in the forest—just drove straight through the park, turned onto the South Gippsland Highway, and headed west towards home. But I had a couple more stops planned. Near the town of Toora, there’s Agnes Falls—a spectacular waterfall where the Agnes River drops 59 metres into a gorge before flowing out to the ocean. I’ve been there heaps of times with my camera, but this time I filmed some video too.
The road to Agnes Falls takes you past some gorgeous rolling farmland with ocean views, and right through the Toora Wind Farm. Those wind turbines look pretty impressive—especially with cows wandering around underneath them. But if you watch the video, you’ll notice something odd.
They’re not spinning.
We’ve got heaps of these wind farms around Gippsland, and it’s surprisingly common to see them just sitting there, doing nothing. I don’t know all the reasons, but one is wind speed—too weak or too strong, and they can’t run. That day, there was a decent breeze, but nothing wild, and yet they still weren’t moving. From what I’ve seen, these things sit idle close to 50% of the time. So, when we hear about all this wind power being added to the grid, maybe take it with a grain of salt.
A Bit of a Rant
Alright, time for me to chuck in my two cents — probably gonna sound like a bit of a Neanderthal here — about all this “green” or renewable energy stuff. So if you’re one of those people who reckon it’s saving the planet, maybe best to look away now. Or stick around, have a read, and use your noggin.
Let’s start with wind turbines. You’ve seen them — those giant twirly things out in paddocks. Each one’s made from mountains of concrete and steel. Inside, there’s a gearbox the size of a ute, full of oil, a big fancy generator, and enough wiring to make your head spin. Getting one of these things up and running isn’t exactly a weekend DIY job — ya need cranes as tall as skyscrapers, and sometimes even helicopters. They last about 20 years, then it’s time to pull them apart again, which costs a fortune. And every 10 years, they need new blades — made of carbon fibre that can’t be recycled. So where do they end up? Yep, straight into massive blade graveyards. Plenty of giant piles of them around the world already. And if they ice up in winter, they have to be sprayed with anti-freeze — sometimes by helicopter! All that effort for something that only works about half the time. No wonder engineers call wind power “idiot energy.”
Even if you buy into the whole “carbon dioxide is killing us” story, wind farms end up belching out more CO2 over their life than they save, once you count building, maintaining, and scrapping the things. A kilowatt of wind energy costs about five or six times more than one from a good old reliable coal station. And the grid hates them — trying to keep a heap of little wobbly generators in sync is like trying to herd drunk cats. Bottom line: wind turbines are never gonna keep the lights on by themselves. You need proper, big power stations for that. But nope — the government reckons we’re shutting down all the coal plants and going full hippie with solar and wind. Pretty soon, we’ll be rubbing sticks together.
And yeah, greenhouse effect, global warming — sorry, not buying it. Apparently a gas that makes up 0.04% of the air is the magic temperature dial for the whole planet? Pull the other one. You know what really sets off the BS detector? When they start fiddling the numbers and running around screaming like headless chooks. Reminds me of the old Soviet days — just with more hashtags.
Couple examples: a few years back near Ballarat, the weather station clocked a record low of -11 degrees. The bloke on shift even took a selfie with the thermometer — proper proud moment. A few weeks later, he goes to check the Bureau of Meteorology website… record’s vanished! Just “didn’t fit the warming narrative,” apparently. Lucky he kept the selfie. Turns out they also like to “adjust” historical data — funny how the old temps keep getting cooler, so today looks hotter. Seems legit.
Another cracker I saw on the telly: couple summers ago in Perth, they declared a state of emergency over “extreme heat.” Set up tents, water stations, the lot. The newsreader’s going full apocalypse mode, big red map behind her. Know what the forecast was? 34 degrees! In Perth. In summer. That’s not a crisis — that’s just "don’t forget your sunnies" weather. But no, they carried on like it was the end of days and blamed it all on climate change.
Anyway, enough from me. Instead of listening to this old grump carry on, go check out some photos and videos of gorgeous Gippsland. Now that’s worth your time.
Вот такие у меня были планы, и я вполне претворил их в жизнь. Я отснял фотоальбом. Вот он:
И сделал видео той же камерой. Клипы в видео не совсем в хронологическом порядке моей поездки, ну да какая разница.
Начал я с посещения обзорной площадки с видом на электростанцию Лой Янг, рядом с городом Траралгон. Технически, это две станции, построенные рядом. Loy Yang A с четырьмя турбинами, и Loy Yang B с двумя турбинами. Они были построены между 1984 и 1993 годами. Все шесть турбин вместе имеют мощность 2380 Мегаватт, и это самая мощная и современная электростанция в Австралии . Она отвечает самым строгим требованиям окружающей среды, и в атмосферу не выбрасывается вообще никакого дыма - лишь водяной пар и углекислый газ. Посмотрите на снимки и видео. Над дымовыми трубами не видно ни дымка. Белый пар над охладительными башнями отношения к дыму не имеет. Никакого запаха рядом со станцией тоже не чувствуется, и небо чистое. Лой Янг покрывает 50% потребления электричества в штате Виктория.
