Sea level to Summit!

After some R & R and many wines, lots of catching up and sharing...(Claire is in the 'end stages' of her nursing training so as you can imagine we had many stories to share)... we were back on the road...But firstly here is Claire and her family... Elly (right)...Hannah (left) and Jack (below) Thank you Claire for your hospitality!

The next section of our journey took us to the most southerly point you can reach on mainland Australia...sea level...then to almost the highest altitude in the Alpine Ranges...

Wilsons Promontory...we reached the National Park late afternoon and decided to stay in a motorcamp at Duck Point, so we could take our time experiencing Wilsons Promontory the next day...It was freezing cold there!



Duck Point at low tide looking toward Wilsons Promontory.

Next morning it was raining, but we went anyway...between the showers we were able to go to the beautiful spots this National Park has to offer....diverse scenery is all around you..heres a few of the wonderful scenes we photographed...


Squeaky Bay

Whiskey Bay
Tidal River The tea Trees were in flower..

Mother Nature had also put on a natural art display...seen on our 5 km walk to the Lilly Pilly picnic spot! I did find the cabins rather compact though!!!


Spring flowers Blue Wrens abound

From Wilsons Promontory we travelled north (well you can't travel any further south!) and rejoined of the Grand Ridge road...which we had driven to get to Wilsons Promontory..Wow...its like being on top of the world and the flora is awesome...Huge Mountain Ash and Beech trees, Ferns, moss, lichen and coolness...


View from one of the hilltops of the forest below.


Spent a night in a cabin in Tarra Gully...a down hill drive from the ridge road....cold overnight, but the visit the next morning to Tarra Valley was worth it...we both saw our first Lyrebird...unfortunately he was too fast to photograph! Again the vegetation in this area reminded me so much of New Zealand...
Also visited Tarra Bulga...there's a swing bridge there that goes over a gully filled with majestic ferns..After travelling through to Traralgon and Sale...and having had enough of the traffic and highways already, we shot of on a secondary road to Dargo to do a 4wd route through to Omeo...Camped that night at Collins Flat...right next to the swift flowing Little Dargo River...

Did try my hand at trout fishing...either I haven't got the knack or there just weren't no bloody trout!

Continuing the next morning...and after crossing the river...
my anxiety levels rose to maximum levels...the 'road' (the original bridle track) deteriorated and became increasingly vertical ...to put it simply...I nearly shit myself!...we have done many challenging 4wd tracks but this one 'took the cake'! Sure footed Suzy just 'walked' up the continual elevation...

View from one of the ridges on the way up

Guess the sign at the top says it all!

So we carry on along this track thinking we'd had the worst of it only to find that the 'seasonal gate' at the end was locked!...not due to open till the 1st November!...(the date ...1st October!!!!)

There was no way we were going to go back the way we came...and several others must've thought the same as they had made a 'side track' around the gate...primitive ...but do able...

Dingo corpse's hung on a fence nearby....

The site of Omeo as we got back into 'civilisation' was welcome...
But after a coffee and a bit of lunch we again went off the beaten track and drove through yet another 4wd track through the Alpine foothills to Cooryong.

Next day we journeyed through the Alpine National Park stopping at one of the many hydro stations along the way... Pictured...the Snowy River Hydro StationAlong the roadside were lovely Everlasting flowers (of which we picked a few for the dash of course!)Then, as we ascended to the very top.... we found SNOW!...Have never seen snow in Australia!...guess you wouldn't living in the tropics!...It was quite exciting...especially when Hans threw a ball of it into the front of the car that landed on my lap!


Further along the road we came across the township of Thredbo... I remember being on holiday in Australia in 1997 (before we moved to Australia) when the Thredbo disaster happened...

There appeared to be dwindling amounts of snow for the skiers...guess the ski season is just about over!
From the Kosciuszko National Park it was onto Cooma and Canberra...Had intended to spend a day looking around our 'seat of Government'...but it was not to be...arriving late afternoon and not realising it was a long weekend in NSW/ACT, plus that Floriade ( a flower festival) was on and other celebrations, conferences... basically there was 'No room at the Inn" so in the last moments of daylight made for Yass...even there, things were 'not looking good' in the accommodation department...finally got a room at a Motor Inn...


From Yass we travelled to Cowra...the town where the Japanese POWs in WW2 basically committed suicide by attempting to escape...for them it was a matter death before dishonour...Visited the Japanese cemetry there...The visitors information centre has an amazing depiction of the event, done with the use of hologram presentation...well worth seeing.


Outside is a beautiful roses garden...The rose named after Ita Buttrose was blooming there...

Doesn't quite match her usual lipstick colour but a beautiful rose all the same!