Continuing Corryong

Mt Mitamatite dominates the skyline to the north of Corryong. Last summer it was still closed to the public due to the bushfires the previous summer. This year it was opened up again, so we visited! Although it is a very short distance from town, it required a drive around to the back, closer to Tintaldra. Then it was a 16 dirt road up the back of the mountain. Initially this road traversed farm land, then into the regional park. 

Our first stop there was at Embery's Lookout. Terrific views down to Corryong and across to the Australian Alps. On the opposite side of the valley was Mt Elliot - where we drove up last summer to watch the hang gliders taking off. We sat on rocks and soaked in the stunning views, while also admiring the wild flowers that have taken over in the bushfire recovery.

Back in the car for a few more km's and we came to another lookout and picnic area. It was a short walk to Falcon Point with different views to take in. 

From this point Ethan and Gemma rode their mountain bikes down off the mountain. Mind you, it was not all down hill and some of the 16 km's involved going up hill, so they had to work hard! We met them at the bottom and loaded the bikes back on the roof. 

The water back at the caravan park was again very inviting after that expedition - especially for Gemma and Ethan! 

To give Zac some driving practice, he and I drove to Bluff Falls, in the Burrowa Pine National Park. It was only 30 to 40 minutes away from Colac Colac. The national park was also closed last summer due to the fires. Our visit prior to that the falls were a trickle. This year they were flowing as it has been a wetter summer. But much of the infrastructure at the falls has not been rebuilt yet, so we were not able to get down to the base.

The penalty to go down to the falls was just too much, $909 would have broke the bank. If it was a straight nine hundred we may have considered it. But we took photos from the fence line instead.

On our second last night at the caravan park, it rained all night. It thundered all night, some of it very close and loud. Lightning was also frequent. We were told the next morning there had been 75 mls of rain overnight. We suddenly had lake views around the caravan park and the river was way higher than it had been the day before. The water was a muddy brown and it was recommended that everyone stay out as the water was expected to keep rising during the day. 

A morning in Corryong was in order then, the weather had brightened up so the three children rode in and we drove. 

The number 12 tram terminates in Corryong, under the watchful eye of Mt Mitamatite! It's actually outside the Men's Shed, so it maybe a project. We all met up for thick, cold milkshakes.

On the last night at Colac Colac, Ethan was in charge of cooking dinner... and it was nice and spicy!

The trip home was over 2 days. We stopped in Benalla for a night at a friend's property. This first pic is Lake Hume where we stopped for coffee on the way to Benalla.

While Ros and Jeanette had a catch up chat during the afternoon, the kids and I went into town and had a wander around the art gallery which included an interactive chalk exhibit where we got to add our own details. Our work is now on display at the Benalla Gallery if you want to see it...

The final leg home yesterday was a simple drive of just over 200 km's. We had a coffee stop at Yarck which is 22 km's before Yea. Great little bakery and coffee shop in Yarck called 'Bucks'. It also has a little 2nd hand book shop that we had a browse through. 

Another holiday done and dusted - according to the caravan log book, we have spent 345 days in the caravan in nearly 12 years. The van has travelled over 28000 kay's. It's starting to have some minor issues, such as the door handle breaking on the last day of the trip. It needs a new awning, a good clean, cut and polish! With the kids getting older, before we know it they'll not want to join us anymore, so we enjoy these moments while we can! See you on the next adventure...

Back to Corryong

Our 3 days in Euroa was largely spent in and around the water. We did a quick visit up to Violet Town to have a look around as well.

The final day, Jeanette and Zac joined us again, this time to continue the rest of the journey with us. We left J's car at a friends place in Benalla for the drive up to Corryong.

This was about the 5th time we'd stayed at the Colac Colac (clack clack) Caravan Park, about 7km's west of the town of Corryong. Such a lovely spot, on the banks of the Nariel Creek (which is more like a river than a creek). Lots of shady oak trees and large spread out sites make it one of our favourite spots. 

We spent most afternoons, and a couple of mornings as well during our week long stay in the creek, floating down on the inner tubes. The water was higher and flowed faster this year. We also enjoyed a couple of sunsets from the Corryong Lookout, as well as a BBQ sunset dinner up there one evening.

Below is a drone shot of the caravan park

The weather this year was quite tropical, with the temp in high 20's and some evening / overnight storms. We got up on a couple of mornings to lake views around the campsite! 

Last year the borders to NSW were closed, so this year we made the most of the freedom with some trips across the Murray River.  On the first occasion we checked out the giant crayfish on the edge of the Murray at Towong. 

Inspired by the oversized silver crustacean welcome, we continued on through the rolling hills to the small location of Tooma, which comprised an old pub, guesthouse and park by the Tumbarumba Creek

A little further north we visited the lookout and memorial for the Southern Cloud airplane crash. This was a sister plane to the more famous Southern Cross. It crashed into the steep slopes of the Snowy Mountains in the 1930's but was not located until 27 years later. This lookout, which overlooks those mountains, although it was a bit overcast today, was built on the 50th anniversary of the finding of the wreckage. 

Later in the week we ventured further into NSW, by heading to Thredbo for the day. This involved 110 km's via Khankoban, the town founded to house workers building the Snowy Hydro Scheme. From Khankoban the road was very steep and winding, but very scenic. We stopped at Scammell's Lookout on the way. 

Found ourselves briefly in Siberia, all it has is a small parking bay and a sign, but another destination off the bucket list! 

Once at Thredbo we realised that it is equally as popular with mountain bike riders as it is with skiers in winter. Chairlifts and gondolas were running and the people with mountain bikes far outnumbered those without. We'll have to return and do the same on another holiday.

We bought 'life passes' which gave us the freedom to ride both the chairlift and the gondola as many times as we wanted. There was a forecast of storms later in the day, so we made the most of it straight away. First off we rode the Kosciuszko chairlift. Fabulous experience, quiet and peaceful - about 10 or 15 minutes to the top. 

Eagles Nest is the name of the top of the chairlift. This is where a number of walks begin, including the iconic walk to the top of Kosciuszko. We were not equipped for this walk today, and with impending storms, it was not on our radar. One for the future for sure. Instead we enjoyed the alpine scenery, devoid of trees, but plenty of wild flowers and even a few patches of snow (ice more than snow) which the kids thought was terrific.

We hopped off the chairlift and went straight to the nearby Merritts Gondola, which although starts next to the chairlift, goes up in a different direction. 

Most of the family enjoyed the chairlift more, rather than being inside the gondola pod. At the top there were no real views to speak of, but there was a cafe, so a Thredbo coffee stop was in order. The cafe at Eagles Next was closed and it proclaimed to be Australia's highest cafe. So perhaps this was the highest open cafe today - I like to think so! 

Once back down in Thredbo, four of us jumped back on the chairlift because we could. We just did a round trip without getting off. It was way colder as we approached the top this time, showing how quickly the weather changes in these alpine areas. 

Then we enjoyed the journey back towards Corryong. We stopped a couple of times to enjoy the scenery. Most notably was the lovely rest / camping area at Geehi, complete with its crystal clear waters, artistic pebble stacks and old pebble cottage built for drovers and hikers many years ago. 

Once back in Khankoban and the winding roads were behind us, Zac donned the L plates and drove us home and to top it off he BBQ'd our dinner... possibly with some incentive of being able to watch the cricket as he did.

One more post for this trip coming - and it will include a visit to Mt Mitamatite and also to Bluff Falls before the journey home.