East Coast South to North

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Day 2 Bairnsdale to Wymah

We began with a pretty drive along the Tambo River to Swan Reach and and then up into the mountains and to Omeo. Spectacular road and views: glimpses of snowy mountaintops in the distance. Coffee break in Omeo was bracingly cold (the weather, not the coffee, our thermos is doing a great job every day). There were some lovely old buildings in Omeo, especially the courthouse near the park where we stopped. After Omeo we had our first dirt road drive, a winding and wet mountain road. A shame that it was raining – my pics would have been better if the sun had been shining! But it was a pretty drive all the same, through all kinds of forest. Especially interesting was the burnt Alpine Ash that we passed. Unlike other eucalypts, these trees don’t regenerate after being burnt, the replacement growth is the new seedlings. Fire causes the release/propagation of the seeds. However it takes a new tree 25 to 30 years to reach seed-producing maturity, so if there are fires close together, a forest of Alpine Ash can be lost. There were some small seedlings appearing, about 1 or 2 metres high – I hope they get to the mature stage!
Lunch at Mitta Mitta (I’m fairly sure that’s right) – anyhow it was a lovely little park right next to the river, with a bridge that was a good vantage point for taking pics! We continued on down the mountains to Hume Weir, and the car ferry that links Granya to Wymah, across the Murray River. Very quaint little 2-car ferry made of timber. The ferry operator suddenly got very busy that afternoon when a convoy of 11 Peugeots and 2 4WDs arrived all together. At 9 minutes (I think?) and 2 vehicles per crossing, it took some time to get us all over the other side and into NSW. Our day ended with a lovely evening at Tony Nott and Annie Brown’s gorgeous new house looking over Lake Hume. Yummy pumpkin soup, great BBQ, and reminiscences of trips past, as well as a spectacular storm, wind and rain sweeping in from the Lake (but we were safe and warm). Thanks Tony and Annie!

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