Michelle

...there’s really nothing to do here if you are a visitor. It has a general store and post office, but that’s about it (the local Primary School closed in 1996). Good place to move if you are a current or retiring farmer and would like a slow-paced lifestyle with good neighbours. :) [EDIT: This place is not to be confused with Mt. Buffalo, Vic!! They are two very different locations!]

Some nice shops and cafe’s (Subway, McDonalds and KFC available for fast-foodies), locals are friendly. Can be hard to get a car park in the main streets sometimes, but its not too bad. I recommend eating at Henrietta’s (nice food, coffee AND it doubles up as a gift/homewares shop).

Patong Beach is a fascinating place. We saw the good, the bad and the ugly all within 8 days! I highly recommend staying at the Novotel Coralia Phuket—it overlooks the entire beach and it is also a recognised Tsunami Evacuation Route (meaning that if there’s any trouble, you’ll be safe at your hotel!). The beach does smell a bit of sewage (poor plumbing, methinks) and you DO see a lot of 40+ year old men toting around with their young girls/ladyboys, but the locals are really friendly and some of the taxi/tuktuk drivers have fascinating information on the history of the area. By all means visit this place, but I wouldn’t take kids (especially if you’re like us and spend many a night down Bangla Road..!).

Tight-knit community, but really not much to offer to travellers. The local newspapers occasionally talk of a “comeback” (ie, more shops opening in Korumburra etc) but I sincerely doubt it’ll ever happen..

Wonthaggi is a great place to live. It is a bustling little town (I say little; however it has jumped dramatically in population over the past 10 years and now has over 10,000 residents) and has all the services you would need on a regular basis, as well as a couple of well known chain restaurants (McDonalds, KFC), shopping venues (Big W, Target), a well-equipped public hospital, and FIVE supermarkets (ALDI, IGA, Safeway, Coles, NQR) – so you’re spoiled for choice! It is only approx. 10km from the beachy towns of Cape Paterson, Inverloch and Harmer’s Haven so you can get away to the beach but not be too far from the shops either.

Nice friendly community here, but a word of advice to travellers – avoid peak travel periods around summer if possible, as the quiet beach suddenly becomes overpopulated!