Christmas

It seems odd not to have Christmas at home. After extremes of temperature during the previous week, Christmas Eve dawned hot and clear. I decided to book into a caravan park with power and run the aircon until I was cool. I set myself up under the awning, did a load of washing and opened a piccolo champagne. By then the van was cool and I spent the next few hours under the air conditioner reading.

A few weeks ago I met Diana at a couple of Toastmasters meetings and she generously invited me to join her family for Christmas dinner. Her husband David had cooked a turkey and a ham. With roast veges and salad followed by trifle and later pavlova, I was as stuffed as the turkey by the end of the day - then I went home with a care package!

Although I had talked to all my grandkids and got their Christmas stories it was good to have Diana's kids around. Emily and Jamie were bubbling with Christmas excitement.

Summer has definitely arrived. I talked to a couple of travellers the other day and they said they were heading to a nice cool riverside. I headed for a nice cool shopping centre. Coffee shops and Maccas are cool and they have wi-fi. However I did go for a drive down the Mornington Peninsula mainly to see the sand sculpture exhibition at Franklin. The theme was Imagination. It featured fairy tales, nursery rhymes and folk tales. I am going to put them into a separate book eventually. It was lovely to hear the kids - There's the White Rabbit. Look at the Old Woman Who Lived in a Shoe. There's the BFG - and Peter Peter Pumpkin Eater.

The Beauties of Nature

I am making this a photography post.

The swans provided entertainment as I sat by the van

Lakes Entrance

Snow gums

Schizophrenic Weather

Mt Baw Baw before we arrived (of course)

A large cruise ship in the harbour, plenty of buses and taxis on a Saturday, shoulder to shoulder crowds at the markets! The signs all said, extra busy with one-day-only tourists.So why did I decide to take a scenic drive which is difficult on the best of days? Because I didn't read the signs. I just thought that, as it was a lovely clear days, the view from Mt Wellington would be worth the drive. On any other day it would have been a good decision.

The rocks of Mt Wellington invite climbers

Hobart from above

Fascinating rock clusters. I could fill a book

I will be interested to drive up again some time and see what it is like in normal traffic. My little excursion was so hair raising on the way up, that I stayed at the summit much longer than I intended, plucking up courage to drive down again. Buses, mini buses, taxis and the usual motorhomes and campervans snaked up and down the mountain. I gripped the steering wheel, dropped into first and second gear and crawled along, never knowing what might be bearing down on me from the next corner.

All the way uphill, I muttered at oncoming drivers , Move over. Can't you see I have a steep rugged cliff waiting to rip the side out of my car, and you just have guide posts. On the way down, my story changed, Move over. You just have a few rocks to worry about but I have a sheer hundred foot drop. The view was slightly clouded by the time I got to the top but worth the drive. I was interested in the rock formations. The whole area was like a moonscape, strewn with lichen covered boulders. It would be a good setting for an alien-invasion movie, with the winding road an ideal pursuit scene.

When I gaze up at the brooding mountain looming over the city, I can populate the peaks not only with natural features but also with extra-terrestrial beings.A fantastic world made even more so by my imagination!

Horse Riders and Hikers

After a quick trip through Bright and Mt Beauty, I looked for somewhere more interesting to stay. I discovered Longfords West Horse Yards. I've never noticed these horse yards before. They are set up primarily for horse riders during the summer months. There are fenced areas set aside for the horses and fairly level camping grounds with cooking pits, tables and benches, and the usual drop toilet. I had just scooted past when I saw campers up the hill from the road and drove up to see what was there.

What I found was a very warm reception from Ruth and Lisa who were on a riding trip and from David who was hiking. Ruth and Lisa had come from Adelaide with horses and pack horses to ride the Alpine trails. David was from Melbourne and had pitched his tent for a few days hiking. The campfire was alight and very welcoming. The evening was clear and cold.

David, Ruth and Lisa appreciate the fire

Through the trees are two horse floats, my van and David's blue tent

The welcome stayed warm but the weather didn't. The next day was cold and incredibly windy. The van rocked in the wind and I would have been terrified if I had to drive in it. The other two ladies and I declared a doona day - a book, chocolates if available, and a day curled up under the blankets. David walked! Well, there is a story there. He got as far as the first alpine hut, lit a fire and spent the day in comfort.

 Hearing the weather forecast, I was soon in bed. Having slept for about four hours during the day, I amazed myself by sleeping another 8 hours. I missed the first snow shower next morning but made up for it by slipping on ice on my non-slip step stool. The snow wasn't enough to settle and I was soon on the road. With minus 1 temperatures during the night and 7 forecast for the day, I tried to tell myself that this really was Summer.

I have come a trifle closer to Summer this afternoon. I stopped at Angler's Rest for lunch but it was quite crowded, though very beautiful. I continued to Old Coach Road and am parked near a lovely clear creek, which I am sure would be freezing. The temperature here reached 13 degrees during the day so it looks warmer than it really is. My neighbour Alan spent the day out with his metal detector but I don't think he found any gold although the nearest town Omeo was once the site of several gold mines.

Alpine Highway

As a victim of a badly pruned tree, a branch sticking out into the leafy shrubbery in a parking area, I headed back to Bairnsdale to arrange the replacement of my rear window. A day on the phone and driving around kept me in town so I stayed at a caravan park by the river for two nights (which included a pretty impressive fireworks display from the park next door). My window, of course, is curved glass, tinted, with heating strips and has to be ordered in. The branch had punched a hole in the window and crazed the rest of it. A helpful fellow traveller named Warwick did what plumbers do best, and pulled everything together with duct tape. That should hold it until the new window arrives on Friday or Monday. His wife Linda came with her Dyson and gathered up all the glass that had fallen into the back of the van and onto the bed.

In the meantime, I have decided to drive the Alpine Highway for a few days. As the sun has disappeared again, the coastal strip is not very inviting. I am sitting in the Blue Bee cafe in Bruthen getting my mail done before planning for tonight.Whoever coined the phrase 'as changeable as the weather' must have had Victoria in mind. For such a tiny town, there is a lot of history including the plaque commemorating the first successful parachute jumper. in Australia - beside the nose cone which is all that is left of the plane he jumped from.

I was also intrigued by the sign for the New Cemetery, which contained graves that were nearly 150 years old - and is segregated by race and religion.

I had a very slow trip on the Alpine Highway, partly because it is a steep winding road and partly because I had to stop so often to take photos. It is incredibly beautiful. I spent the night at Mt Kosciusko Lookout, very cloudy at night and a glorious clear morning.

An early start took me to Dinner Plains, the highest village in Australia. I'd never heard of it till a few days ago. It has dozens of Alpine style houses, many of which are vacant in Summer. It is only a few kilometres from Mt Hotham and its huge ski areas. There is still a bit of snow on the mountains and lying in some of the hollows near the road.

Cafe at Dinner Plains

Twisted trees

From Mt Kosciuszko Lookout where I camped overnight.
Mt Kosciuszko is the highest peak in the mountains opposite

It's amazing what determined people can achieve

Two Days of Sunshine

I had a day in Sale. The highlight was a river trip to the Swing Bridge where the entire middle span turns parallel to the bank to allow shipping through. It is one of five in Australia. I had a guided tour to myself but my driver cum tour guide assured me that he does the trip twice a day even if he doesn't have passengers. He pointed out the wildlife on the banks, including several koalas. We were actually in a canal made to link Sale with Lakes Entrance, through three major lakes. The link is not used commercially any longer.

That made my trip to Lakes Entrance more interesting. It also coincided with a couple of fine sunny days with incredible views of the Lakes.

Along the foreshore of the town is a series of timber sculptures honouring military veterans.

Just along from Lakes Entrance, Mollie and I camped at Lake Tyers at the boat ramp. She is an early bird and was gone when I woke next morning - to clanking and clunking. A string of cars, trailers and boats stretched in angled parking on both sides of me, parallel parked in what I had assumed to be free camping. I was dressed and out of there in less than five minutes.