A Romantic Winter Weekend Away on the Gippsland Lakes - Metung Waters | Metung Accommodation

Most weekend escapes look better in the planning than in the doing. You drive two hours, check in somewhere average, eat at whatever’s open, and drive home wondering why you bothered.

Metung is different, and winter is actually the season to find that out.

This June, the Metung Winter Festival gives couples a proper reason to head to the Gippsland Lakes for the weekend. Add a spa bath at Metung Waters, and a pre-booked VIP igloo at the festival, and the bar clears without much effort.

What Makes a Good Winter Escape

A good weekend away isn’t about a long list of things to do. It’s about the quality of the experience from the moment you arrive to the moment you leave.

Metung is a small village on a peninsula surrounded by water. Lake King to the west, Bancroft Bay to the east, the Gippsland Lakes spreading out beyond. In winter, the crowds thin out and the place becomes something closer to what it actually is: unhurried, quiet, and worth the drive.

The Metung Winter Festival on Saturday, 27th June, adds something you wouldn’t find here on an ordinary weekend. A proper evening out, within walking distance, with a spa bath waiting when you get back. That’s a good combination.

What the Festival Offers for Couples

The festival runs from 3:00 pm to 7:00 pm at the Metung Village Green. Entry is free.

The Bancroft Bay Distillery runs a mobile bar serving hot gin toddies, G&Ts and cocktails throughout the evening. BK Carving hosts a live wood-carving demonstration, with the finished sculpture auctioned at the end of the night. Wandering through a crowd on a cold evening with a warm drink is, honestly, one of the better ways to spend a June Saturday.

The VIP igloos are worth knowing about. A limited number of these private, heated spaces are available for couples to pre-book. Food and drinks come to you. The festival atmosphere is right there, but with a bit of wind protection. If you’re coming as a couple, this is worth sorting out before the weekend fills up. Check metung.com for pre-booking details.

The evening closes with a lakeside lantern parade to the Metung Wharf. You can bring a lantern or buy one made by local primary school students on the night. Walking down to the wharf as the light drops over Bancroft Bay is the kind of moment that doesn’t need much commentary.

Metung Waters: The Right Place to Stay

Metung Waters Motel sits at 9 Kurnai Avenue, about a five-minute walk from the Village Green. Every room includes a spa bath and a private courtyard or balcony. View accommodation options at metungwaters.com.au/accommodation.

For couples, the King and Queen motel rooms are the right fit. Spacious, modern and well-set-up. The spa bath is a practical luxury that earns its place on a cold winter evening after a few hours on the green. Not glamorous — just exactly right.

The location does a lot of the work here. You walk to the festival, you walk back. The Metung Hotel is nearby if you want dinner elsewhere. The town beach is a short stroll in the morning. There’s no need to move the car once you’ve checked in.

Metung Waters is a 4-star AAA-rated motel recognised by HotelsCombined. It’s a well-run motel in a location that punches above its size.

How to Plan the Weekend

A few specifics worth sorting before you leave:

Pre-book the VIP igloo at the festival. Numbers are limited, and they fill up once word gets around. Check metung.com for details.
Arrive in Metung on Saturday afternoon. The village is compact enough that an hour on foot covers most of it, and there’s time to walk the foreshore before the festival kicks off at 3:00 pm.
The Bancroft Bay Distillery is based locally. If you’d like to visit the distillery properly over the weekend, check their opening hours before you arrive.
Sunday morning in Metung is worth leaving time for. The bay is quiet, the village is slow, and there’s no real reason to rush home.

What the Weekend Feels Like

Saturday evening: a hot gin toddie in hand, the wood carving drawing a small crowd, the smell of woodfired pizza from somewhere down the street. The lantern parade winds down to the wharf, Bancroft Bay dark and still below.

Back at Metung Waters, the spa bath takes about fifteen minutes to change your mind about winter.

Sunday: coffee, the balcony, Lake King. A walk along the foreshore. No particular schedule.

It’s a small trip. Two nights, maybe three. But the Gippsland Lakes have a way of making you feel further from home than the kilometres suggest.