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Published: April 15th 2011
Alpine Region
Iris climbed all those mountains in the backgroundSorry for lengthy blogs, but these are as much for my benefit as anyones.
Today was a true adventure for me and Iris. I left the town of Shepperton Vic and headed through Albury to see an old friend. It had been 6 years since catching up last and it was so lovely to see him, happy, married with a baby, and settled. As I headed off for the snowy mountains, I got to thinking about past, present and future and I realized that time moves fast, and if you dont pay attention, so many things can pass you by. While my reflections ran deeper than this today, I realized it was easy to feel nostalgic as I drove through the most beautiful scenery I have ever seen in Australia. That's the thing about natural beauty, it makes me feel reflective and contemplative.
While all this was going on in my mind, I truly marvelled at the scenery through Tallangetta, Corryong region, which I believe is "man from snowy river" area. I have never seen such beauty, it made me want to marry a farmer and milk a cow, which to some may seem strange, but there you have it.
After basking in this spectacular scenery, I dared to drive up...up high through Mt Kosciuszko National Park, with a 4tonne bus. I have never been so proud of myself on an adventurous drive. I am someone who can drive anywhere with minimal fear, but let me just say, climbing up and descending down about 7 mountains in this region, some with snow on them as high as the sky, was intense. With narrow roads and cliffs that dropped right beside me, steep inclines and scary declines, I discovered that you probably shouldn't do this kind of thing in a heavily packed bus. This was only made worse by the fact that I was sitting on an empty fuel tank for the last 45minutes of the drive. Who knew it would take 2.5hrs to drive what I'm sure was only 100km, and I didn't realize there was no petrol station after Khancoban. As I reached the last peak along the way before Thredbo, I truly imagined I was going to be sleeping at the top of the mountain, either freezing to death or waiting until someone found me...dramatic I know, but this is the joy of having only myself to talk to, and when panic kicks in it's hard to calm myself down.
I drove into Thredbo, a tiny resort town that reminded me of Lake Lousie, Canada, got out in the 4 degree weather, filled the tank (freezing my arse off in a skirt & t-shirt) and came here to Jindabyne. It was late when I got here, but from what I can see so far, this is another beautiful town and when I step outside Iris in the morning, I'm going to be facing the picturesque lake and Mt Kosciuszko. I have never been this passionate about anywhere that wasn't on the coast before, I recommend this place in Autumn (or anytime) to everyone.
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250gilly
Gillian
sounds beautiful Lise. I am glad to hear you are enjoying yourself!