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Published: December 7th 2019
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Day 12 (4/12/2019) Recovery day today to rest up. Took a leisurely walk around Mansfield, enjoying the cooler weather before the heat arrives next week.
Had the trout we caught for lunch which was absolutely delicious. Nothing beats fresh fish that just falls apart & has that nice clean taste.
Had an afternoon siesta which means I must have needed the rest. Done a lot of walking on this trip.
Dinner tonight was satay sticks & mashed potatoes.
Day 13 (5/12/2019) Got up at 5.30am for the drive to Big River. Wanted to fish this area earlier in the day before the sun got up. On the way drove around a bend to find a kangaroo in the middle of the road, but it quickly moved out of the way.
Arrived at Big River just after 7am & the sun was already bearing down. Fished several sections of the river for 4 ½ hours, keeping 1 brown trout & releasing 4 others. Water level of the river had dropped quite markedly, making the fish harder to find. Was quite hard
work, but still a reasonable return & was back by 1.30pm.
Detoured via some back roads on the way back & came face to face with an old fashioned cattle drive. 2 old bushies on horseback, whips in hand driving the herd along the dirt track. Was something you do not see much any more & was glad to have been there.
Since I was back early enough, decided to have rolled roast pork for dinner with jacket potatoes & roast vegetables. Absolutely superb meal to finish a tiring day. Had no trouble getting a good nights sleep!
Day 14 (6/12/2019) Woke up fresh & seeing a nice day ahead, drove up to Mt Buller. Arrived there to find the road to near the summit was closed due to construction works of a 100ML water holding facility. This meant we had to take the long way via the rocky bush track, which was made more difficult as we did not bring hiking boots as there was no warning the road would be closed.
In the end the walk was not too
difficult & the views, both along the way & at the summit were quite spectacular. Then came the return journey, always easier back downhill than it is to go up. Felt quite good at the end of it & should have no trouble sleeping tonight.
On the drive back we stopped in at the Delatite Winery, where Deb tasted a dozen or so wines with generous samples. Must have been good as the more she tried, the louder she became! That means I will have to put up with someone snoring tonight.
After that long walk, dinner was steak, mushrooms & chip rings which filled our hunger quite nicely.
Day 15 (7/12/2019) Woke up nowhere near as sore as we thought we would be after yesterdays long walk, with the exception of wind burn. With warm weather coming, walked the perimeter of Mansfield during the early morning. A reasonably flat walk with the accompaniment of a gentle cool breeze made the walk quite pleasant. It also helped us to keep the joints moving after our efforts yesterday & reduce any soreness.
Sat down to an
iced chocolate & a scone with jam & cream mid walk to have a bit of a rest. At the end of the walk, picked up a wood fired pizza from the Mansfield Hotel which was delicious!
Went out for an evening fish on the Delatite River. Saw only 2 fish in 4 hours. Locals say the native fish are invading the river & decimating the trout population. This fits in with Vic Fisheries agenda to stock more native fish than trout. Even the Howqua River is struggling in the lower reaches & the trout will be even harder to find in the future.
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