HOLIDAYMAKERS are heading to Lake Boga in droves this summer to cool down and camp with prime lakeside views.
Tom Molnar’s family has visited the lake during the Christmas/New Year period for the past 20 years, while Steve Szabo’s family visits “on-and-off”.
The Molnar family have two permanent sites booked at Lake Boga Caravan Park.
“For New Year, we had about eight different families that come up for Boxing Day to January 2, normally that main stint,” Mr Molnar said.
“We started 20 years ago because we had other families come up here, the Hungarian community (from Melbourne) sort of thing.”
Mr Molnar said some of the families involved were also residents of Lake Boga.
“And, then there was also other families that had permanent sites (at the caravan park), so we decided to join that community,” he said.
Mr Molnar said they chose Lake Boga as their holiday destination because they’d purchased a boat and wanted to undertake water sports.
“We’ve done a lot of different lakes and its definitely the safest, because we’ve seen it dried out and there’s nothing in it,” he said.
“This time of year it’s mainly good weather, except for those dust storms and everything.”
Mr Molnar said the trip to Lake Boga was also an opportunity for the children to catch up.
“They get to know each other again which is really good, because in Melbourne you don’t really get that chance,” he said.
Mr Molnar and Mr Szabo’s children said they enjoyed visiting the lake for the water sports, swimming, relaxation and the people.
Another family that have made visiting Lake Boga a tradition is the O’Reillys from Ballarat and Geelong.
Ballarat resident Nicole O’Reilly and her father, Daryl O’Reilly, from Geelong, have made the annual trip for 45 years.
Nicole’s daughter, Jade Martin, also joined later on, with her first trip being at six weeks old.
They generally stay at the lake for about three-and-a-half weeks.
Mr O’Reilly said in the first years of the trip the caravan park didn’t exist, so they would camp under the willow trees near the lake.
When the caravan park opened they made the move onto the site.
“One of the things is that you can camp easily at the lake,” Mr O’Reilly said.
“There’s not many other places you can do that.”
This time around, Ms O’Reilly and Ms Martin arrived at the lake on Boxing Day, while Mr O’Reilly arrived on December 21.
Ms O’Reilly said Lake Boga was an easy place to take the children for a holiday.
“You’ve just got your little beach area,” she said.
“We just love it.”
Ms Martin most enjoyed the people they’ve got to know at the caravan park, who also make the trip to the lake on a regular basis.
Meanwhile, holidaymakers are enjoying Swan Hill’s new adventure playground at Riverside Park, while also taking in the region’s heritage and pioneering days with family activities at Pioneer Settlement.
