Ride the ferry (300 m) to Raymond Island and see (500) koalas in the treetops on the way around the island by car or on foot. Sit outdoors at Fisherman's Wharf (pictured here mid-left in the photo), Almas, the Pizza Cafe, the Ferry Cafe, Espas, Ferry-Ride-to-Flowers, the Paynesville Pub or Cruiser Club - with your dog/s - and watch the boats cruise by. Saturday and Sunday markets are another favourite weekend attraction. An 18-hole golf course is 2 km, around the corner, from Merindah and there are places offering horse-riding through the countryside and forests. Have a look at the Photo Gallery.

Paynesville has lakeside shops, cafes and restaurants overlooking sandy beaches and grassed picnic areas. You can dawdle over a cappucino or latte - with the morning paper - watching the boats cruise through the Straits, or picnic on freshly caught fish & chips on the foreshore. There are various sorts of boats for hire too. There's a beaut walk from Merindah to Paynesville through the bush (plenty of wallabies and wombats), then down to the foreshore, and along a lakeside track for a couple of kilometres. The Silt Jetties are a very special natural feature of the area - and the walk along the river is 8 km if you are game to do the whole thing.

Bairnsdale, the main centre, has a (wheelchair accessible) three-screen cinema, a 25m indoor heated pool and 50m outdoor pool, cafes & clubs & restaurants, wineries, riverside walks, parks, a very large shopping centre with Safeway, Coles, Target, Kmart, Aldi, clothing, craft shops and the usual chain stores. There are (accessible) cruises, joy flights over the Lakes and 90 Mile Beach, amusement parks and mini-golf too.

Here at Merindah there are fenced paddocks for playing with your dog and walking tracks down the country lanes outside the gates. The cottages have a full kit of tourist information, incl top places to walk & swim your dog. We are happy to supply any further information you might need.

PS - your dog/s are welcome at ALL the markets around here.

Category	Name
Arts/Crafts/Galleries AND Markets	Antique Clock Museum & Shop Croajingolong Mohair Fibre Weaving Studio Eggshell Dell & Gallery Green Gates Gallery Griffiths Sea Shell Museum Landmarks Gallery Mingling Waters Gallery Netherbye Gallery Nicholson St Gallery Paynesville Community Craft Centre Pioneer Pieces Wildlife Art Gallery + and many more galleries Saturday - Farmer's Market in Bairnsdale - 1st Saturday of the month Saturday - Farmer's Market in Metung - 2nd Saturday Saturday - Bruthen Community Markets - 4th Saturday Sunday Markets – Paynesville - 2nd Sunday Sunday Markets – Lakes Entrance - 3rd Sunday Sunday Markets – Bairnsdale - 4th Sunday
Beaches & River banks	Country Club foreshore, Paynesville Cunninghame Arm, Lakes Entrance Eagle Point Foreshore Esplanade Beach & Sunshine Cove, Paynesville Lake Bunga Metung Foreshore Newlands Arm - Paynesville Pebble Beach, Raymond Island Wattle Point Ninety Mile Beach (Lakes Entrance and Lake Tyers) Ramrod Creek, Bruthen Tambo & Nicholson riverbanks Picnic Point, Mitchell River, Bairnsdale
Bush Trail rides	Coonawarra Trail Rides (off the Dargo Road)
Cruises & Boat Rentals* (* the cottage info folders have listings for all boat hire companies)	"Lakes Odyssey" "Spray" Historic Ketch "The Corque" (to Wyanga Winery) "The Gull" "Rubeena" (Lake Tyers) Rankins Boat Hire "Thunderbird" Catamaran -   cruise the lakes from Lakes Entrance BBQ Boat Hire Parasailing Bulls Cruisers Day Boat Hire- now in Paynesville
Museums/Galleries	Aboriginal Keeping Place Bairnsdale Historical Museum Nicholson Street Art Gallery
Nature	Koala Colony on Raymond Island Macleods Morass Bird Hides and  Boardwalk Wyangara Nature Sanctuary Rainforest Centre, Orbost Rotamah Island Blond Bay State Park
Parks	Buchan Caves area picnic spots Colquhun Forest picnic spots + historic Trestle Bridge Den of Nargun Eagle Point Foreshore & Wildlife Reserve Fairy Dell picnic spots and rainforest walking track Howitt Park & Playground Main St Gardens - Bairnsdale Mitchell River & Silt Jetties Nyerimilang Park & Historic Homestead Wattle Point beach & boat ramp Silt Jetties
Sport	Archery & Mini-Golf Bairnsdale Aquatic (Heated indoor) Pool + Outdoor Pool Bairnsdale Racecourse Joyflights from Bairnsdale & Lakes Entrance Cliff's Waterski (& Tubes) Parasailing Vic (pick-ups in Paynesville & Metung) Cycling: byo or rent a bike - 100 km of Rail Trail
Walking * (* over 20 top dog walks and swims are listed, with a map, in our cottage Info folders)	Foreshore Walks – Mitchell River Foreshore Walks - Paynesville & Eagle Point Old Port of Bairnsdale Cunninghame Arm 100+ km of Rail Trail from Bairnsdale to Orbost via Nicholson, Bruthen and Nowa Nowa Raymond Island - kms of tracks many, many more in State Forests & National Parks
Wineries	Dargo Valley Winery Ensay Winery Mt Markey Winery Nicholson River Winery Wyanga Winery Tambo EstateSarsfield Estate