Eildon National Park sits about 80 km northeast of Melbourne, tucked away in the mountains. Right in the park is Lake Eildon, a man-made reservoir on the Goulburn River. It was originally built in 1929, but as the water supply wasn’t enough for the growing metropolitan area, it was expanded in 1955 to become the Lake Eildon we know today.note
Lake Eildon covers roughly 140 square kilometres and can hold up to 3.3 million megalitres (ML) — that’s 3 billion cubic metres! For comparison, Hong Kong’s largest reservoir, Plover Cove, has a maximum capacity of only 280 million cubic metres.
Driving from Melbourne to Eildon takes about 2 hours. The route is around 150 km and full of twists and turns, winding through the mountains.
Before reaching Eildon, we stopped by Snob Creek Falls nearby. Not sure if it had rained recently, but the waterfall was gushing with water — truly spectacular.
After leaving the waterfall, we drove another 20 minutes to our first stop: Foggs Transmission Line Lookout. Perched on a mountain about 500 meters high, the giant transmission towers offer a clear view of the northern part of Lake Eildon.
Besides storing water, the Lake Eildon dam also serves as a hydroelectric facility. Between August and May, the dam releases water to irrigate farms along the Goulburn River downstream, while generating electricity at the same time. The Eildon hydroelectric power station produces around 184 GWh — enough to supply about 30,000 households for a year.
A few more minutes up the road brought us to Foggs Lookout (Mt Pinniger Lookout). On that day, Lake Eildon was about 56% full.
After that, we returned to the foot of the mountain, to Eildon — a small and peaceful town along the Goulburn River.
Besides storing water and generating electricity, Lake Eildon is also a great spot for boating. That day, a few families were enjoying the scenery while cruising around in their speedboats.
On the way back, we passed a small riverside park along Thornton Taggerty–Thornton Road. The water flowed gently, and with the sound of birds and the babbling stream, you could easily spend an entire afternoon just sitting there.
