In Search of Snow......

Have arrived at Jindabyne, and have a few adventures unaccounted for - can't be having that!  So, sitting here with my thick socks, beanie and thermals on, let me share.....

DAY 24 (18th May): We continued on from Puffing Billy to Badger Creek, near Healesville, where we set up camp for the night - a beautiful campsite, if you're ever in the area! 

Woke up in the early hours of the morning to hear scratching coming from under us in the trailer - when I shone the torch in, this is what I saw!  Reckon he was trying for my stash of porridge oats - lucky they were well enough hidden - I needs me porridge on these cold mornings!

The campsite in early morning.  As you can see, again, we are doing it tough with over-crowded campsites.  Just as well we are so sociable.....

The campsite also had a jumping pillow - I'd never seen one - but good fun!  Especially since we didn't have to share it with anyone....

Healesville meant a visit to the Sanctuary, with many native animals to view:

 Eagle statue at the entrance.

 A shy owl.....

 Child #1 was being a bit cranky-pants at this point......

This is how its done!!  :)

Us at the Flight Spectacular - fantastic display of different birds, trained to fly right over the audience.  Even had a trained wedge-tail!

Cwocodile.....

They also had platypusses..... platypii (??) ... which are just great to watch.  I'd like a nice pet platypus for Christmas, please.

Anyway, after Healesville, we set off through the Dandenongs....

 ....Through beautiful countryside and crazy turns like this

....to another overcrowded campsite at Heathcote, where we stopped for the night. 

DAY 25 (19th May):  Technically, Heathcote was a stopover on the way to Echuca, but upon a quick google, we discovered a local adventure to be had - Heathcote had some "Pink Cliffs" to be seen!

 The clouds meant that the photos don't really do the colours justice.  And again "Smile for the camera, J"........ STARFISH!!

Not a natural phenomena - Heathcote had a goldrush, like many places in the day, and instead of the normal sluicing, someone decided it would be an awesome idea to use a water cannon - resulting in the above.  They only lasted about 6 months before being shut down, but by then, the damage was done.

From Heathcote, we traveled to Echuca - and the paddle-steamers!  The Murray is a reasonably large river!  Booked a port tour that included a cruise - fabulous stuff.  Steam engines run almost silently, so the only noise is the sound of the paddles hitting the water.... magic.......

Us on the Adelaide.  Interesting story about the bridge in the background - took three years to build, and then wasn't opened for three years, as neither NSW or Victoria could agree on who should host the opening!  Finally started being used when the townspeople "stormed" the bridge in frustration.  And its technically never been opened!  AND (cos I know you all appreciate this little lesson in Australian history) until recently, railway maps missed out the little bit that went over the river - ha!  Ok, going back to the pictures...

The steam engine....

Trees on the side of the Murray.  More interesting facts - any tree that falls in the river can't be moved, because of the environment they provide for the native fish.  Even if it blocks the river for the boats.

 The wharf.  You walk right down to the bottom to get on the boats

 

 The Adelaide - the oldest working paddle-steamer in the world.  In it's heyday, it was a freight boat, and used to tow barges carrying the equivalent of 40 semi-trailer loads of wood.  Full of facts today, aren't I?

J making friends with the local cat.  

DAY 26 (20th May):  Today started at the National Holden Museum.  Gotta love a Holden or two!  Or fifty.....

There's just something about Toranas........  :-D

Ever onwards - from Echuca, we headed to Albury-Wodonga.  Along the way, we found another uncharted Big Thing 

By now, being an aficionado of the Big Thing, I was a little disappointed in this one.  It seemed a little too mass produced - they have ones remarkably similar in the playground in Donnybrook.  It was pretty funky though.  Check out his shoes!

Continuing on the way, there was the big Wine Bottle (as if I could miss that one out!) in Rutherglen:

Which was actually, as you can probably tell, the old water tower converted into a "bottle".
We also stopped in at Numurkah, where Pete's Mum grew up - these ones are for you, Dot  :)

 The main street

 Primary school

 High school

 The neighbours - still the same?  The Cooks?  He still drives the school bus.

 The house that is now on your old property

The dairy??

And just an FYI  :)  Hope we found the right place - we went to the information centre, and the lady called up someone from the Historical Society, who came in from "the farm" to look it all up for us.  So now we have an old surveyance map with all the properties on it.

So, back on the road - where did we stay?  Albury. It had the cheaper caravan parks!  So into NSW we went.... but just for overnight.

DAY 27 (21st May):  Course set for Jindabyne!  I wanted to travel over the Alpine Way, but we'd heard mixed reports on whether we should or shouldn't do it, towing a trailer.  So we TRIED to be responsible, but unfortunately (!!) the parks office was closed in Khancoban, and so there was noone to tell us that we shouldn't.  And what an awesome drive it was.  Man from Snowy River country (I just bought Banjo Patterson's book of verse!) - just glorious.  Has anyone else read the Elayne Mitchell "Silver Brumby" series?  I LOVED them as a kid, and they were set in the Snowies - fantastic to see all these places referred to in the books.  Ok, to pictures - there's lots - I love this part of the world  :)

Stopped in Glenrowan to check out the Ned Kelly museum ("Smile for the camera, J"!) - if you're ever in the area, the museum attached to this statue is probably NOT the one you should see - walk further down the street.  Interesting though - the letters he wrote to various people are worth a read.

 Lake Hume...

 Stopped off to go for a walk down a track....

 .... to an old railway bridge in the middle of the bush.

M "waiting" for slow ol' Mum to get back to the car.  He's not really into his nature appreciation.

 Then stopped in Corryong - the home of The Man from Snowy River.  I didn't know it based on a real person's ride!  More with the history - evidently there was this bushman Jack Riley, who lived right up in the mountains, running the cattle for a station.  Used to know the bush really well, and had a hut up there.  Banjo Patterson stayed with him a night, and got the story of this wild ride he went on after a valuable colt, and a few months later, there was the poem! 

 High country valleys.

 Looking out at Scammell's Ridge Lookout.

Mountain stream - Leatherbarrel Creek.

 First glimpses of Snow  :)

 Stopping for a play at Dead Horse Gap.  We stopped, and another family had stopped as well - they were much better kitted out than us for snow weather!  Anyway they said that we could borrow their toboggan......

 Wooohooooo!

Trying to be tricky here - hope the movie works!  Does this count towards my professional development, all this self taught techno stuff?

 Snowballs..... the snow was actually very old and icy, but hey, you work with what you've got, eh?

 M anticipating a snowball....

Slopes of Threadbo - not quite up to par yet....

Finally we made it to Jindabyne, where we are now.  There.  I've caught up with myself!  More adventures to follow - we're out looking for more snow today, although I'm not sure if we'll find it, as it rained last night.....

As always, stay safe  :)

K, P, M & J