20 and 21 October 2012

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Saturday we decided to spend another day in Mount Beauty as the sight of the Kiewa River right in front of us as we got up was too good to leave behind. We spent the day reading, eating and drinking by the River and it was something you wish you could bottle and take with you forever. Just before lunch we strolled into Mount Beauty and poked about the shops before taking a scenic stroll around the township. It was, pardon the pun, beautiful.

Sunday saw us drive up the road to Bright and grab a coffee. The problem with terrific country towns like this is they tend to have specialty chocolate or lolly shops and in this instance it was the latter that did me in.

After lunch we decided to start the trek over to Omeo via Mount Hotham. The problem with some maps, as is the case with ours, is that they provide details on the route you need to take as well as distance but there is no information provided on the scale of the incline. It soon became evident that we were not driving around Mount Hotham.....we were driving up the side of it! Up and up and up we went and for a lot of the journey we were stuck in first and second gear. It was literally white knuckle stuff as we edged closer to the peak; the roads got narrower but no less windy and all of sudden there were snow markers pointing out the edge of the road with a sheer drop down the mountain on the other side.

We were now driving past snow and the air coming through the vents was ice cold. On the positive side it was an amazing experience to see the vast expanse out over the horizon. We stopped at the top to take a photo but being in shorts and tshirt we did not last long outside of the van.

The descent down to Omeo was far less challenging. What a day.

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