Friday 5 July 2019. Lake Elizabeth is a truly delightful spot for a picnic and a walk. It is probably the Handels’ favourite place in the Otways. Rainforest clings to the sides of hills surrounding the lake (formed after a landslide dammed the East Barwon River), and in winter especially – assuredly the best time to visit – the forest is lush and gorgeous. Here one sees abundant evidence of the otherwise rare Otway Black Snail, certainly plenty of shells and sometimes live specimens. Superb fairywrens, Willie wagtails, kookaburras: there is no lack of birdlife either. On one magnificent occasion we watched a platypus briefly. From the lovely picnic ground walk a kilometre to the beginning of the walk; it then takes an hour or so to circumambulate the lake. From the town of Forrest, Lake Elizabeth is reached via Kaanglang Rd.