Local Information - Gippsland VIC

Gippsland is a large rural region in south east Victoria. It begins immediately east of the suburbs of Melbourne and stretches to the New South Wales border, lying between the Great Dividing Range to the north and Bass Strait to the south. It includes the southernmost point of the Australian mainland at Wilsons Promontory.

It is bordered to the west by Western Port Bay, to the south by Bass Strait, to the north by the Great Dividing Range and to the east by the New South Wales border. * West Gippsland is known for Mt Baw Baw, vineyards * South Gippsland for coastal parks, beaches and mountain rainforests * Bass Coast for its ocean and bay coastline, and Phillip Island wildlife attractions * Central Gippsland for Morwell NP and scrubby forests * East Gippsland for lakes and beaches * Wilsons Promontory for hiking, bush camping, diving The region is known for farming as well as its tourist destinations— Phillip Island, Wilsons Promontory, the Gippsland Lakes, Walhalla, the Baw Baw Plateau, the Strzelecki Ranges and the Gourmet Deli Region.

The climate of Gippsland is temperate and generally humid, except in the central region around Sale, where annual rainfall can be less than 600 millimetres (24 in). In the Strzelecki Ranges annual rainfall can be as high as 1500 millimetres (60 in), whilst on the high mountains of East Gippsland it probably reaches similar levels - much of it falling as snow. In lower levels east of the Snowy, mean annual rainfall is typically about 900-950 millimetres (35–37 in) and less variable than in the coastal districts of New South Wales.

Mean maximum temperatures in lower areas range from 24 °C (75 °F) in January to a pleasant 15 °C (59 °F) in July. In the highlands of the Baw Baw Plateau and the remote Errinundra Plateau, temperatures are very pleasant in summer, ranging from a maximum of 18 °C (64 °F) to a minimum of 8 °C (46 °F). However, in winter, mean minima in these areas can be as low as -4 °C (25 °F), leading to heavy snowfalls that often isolate the Errinundra Plateau between June and October.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org and http://wikitravel.org