dazjet 'n family: Corryong Continued

After our 'big day out' exploring the 'Great River Road' it was time to have a simple day venturing not too far from camp. We popped in to Corryong (6 kms from Colac Colac). The boys rode bikes in and then rode up to the lookout.... Zac several times to get his distance and elevation up for his Duke of Ed challenge.

The rest of us drove into town... Gemma and I wandered up and down the main street - Bacash's Emporium looked like a store from several generations ago. Upstairs they had all manner of second hand goods from the usual things you'd expect such as books and kitchen utensils, plus a few things that you'd expect in a country town including saddles and other horsey accessories... but then there was a random ticket machine / parking meter!

The view from upstairs in Bacash's was nice... across the roof of IGA to Mt Mitamatite.

After Ethan finished his ride, he joined us and we went to Macca's Cafe (no, not the golden arches) and enjoyed milkshakes and hot chips.

The afternoon was spent by the water back at the caravan park. We drove back to the lookout after dinner to see what the sunset looked like from there.

Mt Mitamatite is still closed following last year's bushfires, but Mt Elliott another nearby mountain escaped the fires. It is also a popular launch pad for hang gliders and paragliders. We decided to drive up and take a look - hoping to see people throw themselves off the top, but the views were meant to be pretty good, so that would make the trip worth it.

The road up, well it's not a road, but a track and it goes through private farm land. So we found Fisher's Track and closed the gate behind us. We knew it was a 4WD only track and the drive was very steep - reputedly over 45 degree angle we were told. The Pajero made short work of it and got us up the track safely. There were a couple of crests where we could only see the sky over the end of the bonnet!

When we got to the top there was a hang glider setting up and getting ready for a flight. He was joined by three others! While we were waiting we enjoyed the terrific views. You can see Corryong, across to Mt Mitamatite and across the rugged Snowy Mountains.

We watched in awe as the four hand gliders took to the sky and soared among the thermals. It was interesting talking to the pilots and watching their pre flight rituals.

Fisher's Track continues across the ridge of the mountain and re-joins the sealed road further along, so we decided to descend the mountain that way. It was a lot less steep.

After a late lunch we again spent the afternoon enjoying the cool running waters of Nariel Creek as it snakes it's way through the Colac Colac Caravan Park.

The following day was our last full day before beginning the journey home. Daz, Jet and Zac took a short drive through Cudgewa, to Tintaldra and back via Towong. Refueled the car and bought a couple of supplies ready for packing up tomorrow.

Tintaldra is on the Murray - there is a giant Murray Cod sculpture on an old bridge pylon.

We like visiting the old historic Tintaldra store... so called in for a morning ice cream!

Guess what we did all afternoon?

On his rides up to the lookout yesterday, Zac came up with the idea of having a BBQ dinner there. He'd spotted a nice new, clean BBQ... and it came with views. So that is what we did. A great idea - the views in the evening light were fantastic. Lots of bird life including galahs, corellas, king parrots, black cockatoos and a family of magpies that tried to hijack our dinner from us.

Although a sprinkling of clouds would have made for a more colourful sunset, it was a pretty good light show as the sun slipped behind the distant mountains.

The journey home went a little like the journey up... we all travelled together back to Everton. I set up the caravan with Ethan and Gemma, with Jet and Zac heading home as they both had to work the next day. Their trip back took them to Glenrowan to see the giant Ned, then a catch up with Ros, Jet's friend in Benalla.

After the others left - the three of us went for a bike ride along the trail towards Wangaratta, we then had a quick dip in the pool - which felt quite cold after the creek at Colac Colac. Dinner outside was a tuna mornay which took great team work to prepare.

A ride back along the trail at sunset was enjoyable once again... and for the third time I caught up with my friends - this herd of cattle who literally came galloping to the fence to greet me!