Lonely Planet - Gippsland

• Eats Bistro (tel 5122 6872; Building 2N; 11am-2pm Mon-Fri, bar open noon-2pm Mon-Fri)
• Nosh Pit Cafeteria (tel 5122 6872; Building 2N; 9am-3.30pm Mon-Fri)
• Student Union Bar/Lounge (tel Bonnie O'Brien, Activities Officer on 5122 6622 for opening hours; Building 3N) The bar is open when there's an event on

• Alfresh2go (tel 5134 1633; 8 Tarwin Street, Morwell; meals $4-8; 8.30am-5pm Mon-Fri), the pick of downtown Morwell, serves up great lunches, smoothies and fresh juices (and, of course, coffee)
• At the other end of Morwell at Mid Valley Shopping Centre, you can't go past Café Qu Bah (tel 5133 0777; Shop 101, near cinema centre; 10am-late Mon-Thu, from 9am Fri-Sun) to supplement your coffee with to-die-for cakes ($6)
• And in Traralgon, the very 'Melbourne' Iimis Café (tel 5174 4577; 28a Seymour Street; meals $8-16; 7.30am-9pm Mon-Thu, to 11pm Fri, 8am-11pm Sat, 9am-4pm Sun) is great for breakfast and Mediterranean-influenced meals

• The lowdown on fast food: make sure you get your fish 'n' chips from SP&J (tel 5122 2166; Shop 50, West Place, Churchill; fish & chips $5.20; 10am-8pm Sun-Wed, to 8.30pm Thu-Sat). They're the best. Full stop.
• As for pizza, get it delivered from Glendonald Pizza (tel 5122 2133; Shop 2, 17 Churinga Drive, Churchill)
• Churchill Noodle Bar (tel 5122 2609; 2a West Place, Churchill; mains $10-14; lunch Wed-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat) is a favourite for its proximity to campus and its great selection of noodle, pasta and schnitzel dishes at student-friendly prices

• Yummy, inexpensive Indian incorporating a good selection of vegetarian dishes can be found at Out of India (tel 5133 6292; 109 Buckley Street, Morwell; mains $10-14; 5.30pm-10pm Tue-Sun)
• For a splurge, Amigo Mexican Restaurant (tel 5176 2433; 7 Princes Highway, Traralgon; mains $14-$22; dinner daily) is one big place with one big cocktail list and food that's the real Mexican deal

• Churchill Saloon Bar (tel 5122 1225; 2 West Place, Churchill; 10am-late Mon-Wed, to 3am Thu-Fri, noon-3am Sat, noon-10pm Sun) is the place for a drink and R&R, especially on Thursdays when, with a flash of your student card before 10.30pm, you'll get free DJ entertainment
• On Saturdays, head to Traralgon's Saloon Bar (tel 5176 0464; www.kayst.com.au; 19-23 Kay Street, Traralgon; 2pm-late Tue-Thu, noon-4.30am Fri, noon-6am Sat, closed Sun-Mon) for its fantastic dance club Inferno, a mirror ball and light show extravaganza

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• West Houses – These provide fullyfurnished on-campus accommodation for 391 students in houses, with shared kitchen, bathroom, laundry and lounge facilities
• South Units – These accommodate usually around 76 students with six to nine students in each unit. In each style of accommodation you will have your own room. You will need to bring your own crockery and cutlery, towels and linen. For students who have a disability, some units have been modified and some have wheelchair access
• North Units – For returning students only (ie not first-year students), these are two double-storey brick buildings accommodating 22 students with an attached flat for the resident after-hours supervisor. Each floor has separate bathroom, toilet and shower rooms as well as a washing machine and clothes dryer provided in each unit. The lounge/common room is very large, as is the fully equipped kitchen area. There are no meals provided in the North Units

For more information contact the Student Residences Department on tel 5122 6236 or go to its website: www.gadm.monash.edu.au/fs

• Cedar Lodge Motor Inn (tel 5134 5877; 1 Maryvale Crescent, Morwell; singles/doubles $70/80)
• Farnham Court Motel (tel 5134, 6544; cnr Princes Drive & Monash Way, Morwell; singles/doubles $75/80)
• Coal Valley Motor Inn (tel 5134 6211; 141 Princes Drive, Morwell; singles/doubles $75/85)
• Latrobe Motel & Convention Centre (tel 5174 2338; Princes Highway, Traralgon; room from $90)
• Strzelecki Motor Lodge (tel 5174 6322; 54 Argyle Street, Traralgon; singles/doubles from $95/100)
• Eden Park B&B (tel 5166 1398, fax 5166 1595; Lot 10, Loriel Court, Hazelwood North; room $100)

• For help with organising student boarding, contact Cecilia Wright, Student Financial Adviser/Housing Officer at the Gippsland campus (tel 5122 6425; email cecilia.wright@adm.monash.edu). Also take a look at Monash Residential Services' website at www.mrs.monash.edu.au/off-campus for valuable off-campus accommodation information and tenancy advice
• Real estate agents in the area include: Keith Williams Estate Agency (tel 5133 7777; 196-198 Commercial Road, Morwell); B J Bennett & Co (Professionals) (tel 5134 2790; 219 Commercial Road, Morwell); Stockdale & Leggo (tel 5133 9122; 214 Commercial Road, Morwell); and Ross Maddaluno Real Estate (tel 5135 3336; cnr Elgin & Tarwin Streets, Morwell)

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• So close to campus it's considered on-campus, the Churchill Leisure Centre (tel 5122 2504; cnr Northways Road & McDonald Way; 6am-9pm Mon-Fri, 9am-3pm Sat, noon-5pm Sun) has a heated indoor swimming pool, squash courts, a gym and a stadium suitable for netball, basketball, volleyball and badminton
• Eel Hole Creek Walk is pleasant and easy and right on the campus' doorstep: just head down past the leisure centre and you'll come across it. A bonus for early risers: you may spot a kangaroo on your morning stroll
• Hazelwood Pondage, a short drive from Churchill, is popular for canoeing, jet skiing, boating, sailboarding and the like, but its coffee colour puts most people off swimming there. As it's the cooling pond for the Hazelwood Power Station, the water temperature is always pleasantly warm, so you can happily pursue water sports even during the colder months
• Also close to Churchill, little Morwell National Park (Parks Victoria tel 13 19 63; Kerry Road, Jeeralang North; www.parkweb.vic.gov.au; admission free; open 24hr daily) is great for walking and nature spotting (especially koalas and orchids)

• Latrobe Regional Gallery (tel 5128 5700; 138 Commercial Road; admission free; 10am-5pm Mon-Fri, 11am-4pm Sat & Sun), arguably the best freebie in the Valley, is an outstanding art gallery comprising eight inspiring exhibition spaces. Changing every four to six weeks, the exhibitions are a combination of the gallery's permanent collection and travelling shows. Chat to the helpful and informed staff if you're interested in finding out about other local art scene happenings
• A bus tour of the region's mind-bogglingly massive open-cut coal mines and power stations through PowerWorks (tel 5135 3415; www.powerworks.com.au; Ridge Road; concession/adult $6.50/10; daily tours at 11am & 2pm) is a great way to gain an understanding of the region and is a tour you'll never forget
• For the rev-heads there's Indoor Go-Karts (tel 5134 2222; 172 Princess Drive), or get bowled over (bad pun, sorry) at Morwell Ten Pins (tel 5134 6450; Chickerell Street). Village 8 Cinemas (tel 5134 3877; Mid Valley Shopping Centre; open daily) shows a selection of blockbusters along with the odd art-house flick. Call to see what's coming up

• Gippsland Heritage Park (tel 5127 3082; Princes Highway, Moe; adult/student $5/4.50; 9am-4pm daily), an excellent re-created pioneering town, is definitely worth a visit if you're interested in the region's history and settlement
• The Traralgon Farmer's Market (tel 5664 0096; www.rfm.net.au; Kay Street Gardens, Traralgon; 8am-1pm, 4th Sat of every month), in a relaxed, leafy setting, is great for buying lovingly created local produce while listening to the sweet sounds of the Traralgon City Band. Don't miss the Dutch pancake van...yum

• Tiny Walhalla, 46km north of Moe, is one of Victoria's most historic and charming towns (so charmingly authentic that it was only connected to the electricity grid at the close of the 20th century!). Attractions include guided tours of the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine (tel 5165 6259; off Walhalla-Beardmore Road; adult $9; tours 1.30pm Mon-Fri, noon, 2pm & 3pm Sat & Sun) and the very scenic Walhalla Goldfields Railway (tel 9513 3969, 5126 4201; adult return $15; tours 12.10pm, 2pm & 3.50pm Wed, Sat & Sun, public & school holidays)
• Just north of Walhalla, Baw Baw National Park is a southern offshoot of the Great Dividing Range. There are various long and short walking tracks through here, including the Australian Alps Walking Track which starts its 655km journey at Walhalla. The higher sections of the park are covered with snow in winter, and the Mt Baw Baw ski resort and Mt St Gwinear cross-country skiing area are both within the park. While Mt Baw Baw ski resort doesn't receive the attention of Falls Creek and Mt Buller and Mt Hotham, it's a good option for novices and tends to be more relaxed and less hyped than the other main Victorian ski resorts. It's popular on weekends, but is seldom overcrowded. For more information, phone the Mt Baw Baw Alpine Resort Management Board (tel 5165 1136)
• The 'Prom', or Wilson's Promontory National Park, about 100km south of Morwell and covering the peninsula that forms the southernmost part of mainland Australia, is unsurprisingly one of the most popular national parks in the entire country. It's a truly magical place of stunning natural beauty and offers superb variety including more than 80km of walking tracks and a wonderful selection of beaches - whether you want surfing, safe swimming or a secluded spot all to yourself, you can find it at the Prom. Then there's the wildlife, which abounds despite the park's popularity. There are kangaroos, a wide variety of birdlife, including emus, and plenty of wombats at night. The Parks Victoria Information Office (toll-free tel 1800 350 552; www.parkweb.vic.gov.au; 8am-4.30pm daily) at the Prom's Tidal River takes accommodation reservations and issues camping permits for outside the Tidal River area. It also has walking track notes. Day entry to the park is $9.30 per car (which is included in the overnight charge if you're camping)
• Gippsland's Lakes District, the largest inland waterway system in Australia, is great for fishing, boat cruising, water-skiing, surfing and just plain relaxing by the water when you've had it up to the gills with studying
• The most popular tourist town in the district (and possibly the caravan park capital of Victoria) is Lakes Entrance, tucked in behind Ninety Mile Beach about 150km northeast of Morwell. For information on things to do, cruises, fishing charters, boat hire and places to stay, contact the Lakes Entrance Visitor Information Centre (tel 1800 637 060, 5155 1966; www.lakesandwilderness.com.au; cnr Marine Pde & Princes Highway; 9am-5pm daily)
• If you'd prefer a spot that's more subdued and much prettier than Lakes Entrance, head to the nearby, unhurried village of Metung, another place primed to cater for almost every water-related whim you may have. The downside to Metung, however, is that it's more upmarket (ie expensive). The Metung Village Store (tel 5156 2201; www.metung.com; Metung Road) is the informal visitor information office

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• Safeway Supermarket (tel 5133 7455; Mid Valley Shopping Centre, Princes Highway, Morwell)
• Morwell Leisure Centre (tel 5128 5570; 45 McDonald Street, Morwell)
• Café Qu Bah (see Eat & Drink)
• Subway (tel 5174 9898; 2 Breed Street, Traralgon)
• Officeworks (tel 5176 2788; cnr Princes Highway & Deakin Street, Traralgon)
• Amigo Mexican Restaurant (see Eat & Drink)

Casual student guide work (eg showing people what it's like to be a uni student for a day) is also available on-campus at Monash Gippsland. Some students may also be interested in becoming a residential adviser (RA) in return for on-campus accommodation. Some of the responsibilities of an RA include meeting and greeting new students and organising events – past events include ski trips, a 'Churchill Idol' contest, themed dinners and...wait for it...jelly wrestling.

Beginning in 2006, Monash Gippsland is also launching a Cooperative Education program, whereby 60 students will be given paid employment in their chosen field. Although most of the work wouldn't be done until students' third year, the salary would be spread across all three years of study.

Contact Justin Kohlman (Manager, Marketing & Public Affairs; tel 9902 6214; email justin.kohlman@adm.monash.edu.au) for more information on guide work, becoming an RA or the Cooperative Education program.

For further information and advice on finding part-time or casual work while you study, or full-time employment after you've graduated, take a look at Monash's Careers & Employment pages: www.careers.monash.edu

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