Blogs from Jindabyne, New South Wales, Australia, Oceania - page 3

There is a lovely road which passes through the Alpine and Snowy River National Parks as it crosses from Buchan in Victoria to Jindabyne in New South Wales. The road is remote; more than half of its 180 km length is dirt track and it climbs steadily to peak at 1343 metres at the 150 km mark. Just a few 4WD vehicles pass along this way, plus the occasional lunatic cyclist. Within the protected park areas dense bush runs down to the roadside and extends for miles around; outside the park territory, rolling farmland stretches away for ever. There are no services to speak of, just a handful of wilderness camping areas beside the Snowy River or its several tributories. We started our preparations for the journey to Jindabyne in Bairnsdale, shopping there for the stock ... read more

I'm aware that it's only been about 24 hours since my last entry, but this one couldn't wait. It's been an interesting day for me in the heart of the Snowies. By way of prelude to this blog, I might make mention that Banjo Patterson's quintessential bush ballad, "The Man From Snowy River" manages to capture so vividly the ruggedness of both the Snowy Mountains and the Australian Stockman alike. I had hoped that on my trip to this treasured part of Australia's natural and historical heritage I would somehow mirror the feats of the great legend himself, hurtling down the mountains astride a glorious beast, kicking up flint stones, waving my hat above my head with one hand. Ironically enough, it was another Patterson poem, namely "Mulga Bill's Bicycle" that my experience seemed to resemble. ... read more

Frigging freezing night. Took all night to get cozy. We go to snow now. I can't believe that I went to bed last night with frozen buttocks! lol Yes, it was super cold out last night! I woke up with a sore throat this morning but it only lasted about 1/2 hour. Guess I was breathing through my mouth last night or something. Or fear among fears...I'm getting sick?!? We spent a lot of today driving on windy roads because we're driving through the Snow Mountains. So we spend a lot of time playing games like celebrity head and naming movies etc. Plus I seemed to nap quite a lot today. I just couldn't keep my eyes open! Once we got up to Jindabyne and went up the mountain to the snow/ice. We first threw a ... read more