Days 13 & 14 Lakes Entrance

Monday:
Drove from Cooma to Lakes Entrance yesterday.   Went through a fair bit of rain,  cloudy patches,  then lovely sunny spells.   Like Melbourne - 4 or more seasons in one day!   Cold and windy all the way.

Metal tree and birds.   Memorial of some kind?

We turned off before the 6km were up!

These logging trucks are everywhere.

Stopped here (Cabbage Tree Creek) for coffee.

Tuesday:
Walked over to 90 mile beach this morning,  using the footbridge!   It goes from the town to the sand bank that is the beach.   Maybe the photos will explain it better!!!!
Had coffee on the way back at this little cafe - MMM Truffles Factory - quaint place.   We were served with matching cups and saucers,  and souvenir spoons!   There were paintings of early Australia,  old furniture,  lounges,  and the lady who served us was 'older',  and wore a cute little hat.   There were people playing euchre (?)!     Reminded me of when Mum,  Dad,  Aunty Barb and Kevin used to be in the euchre club at The Gap.   Great atmosphere,  great coffee,  great home-made scones.   Even the bill was presented on a silver plate!!!!
This afternoon we went on a cruise of the lakes.   Boy,  is there some money around these lakes!!!!!!!   The number and size of the yachts and motor boats,  to say nothing of the houses!!   Also,  the number of black swans down here rivals the number in Western Australia.   At the moment the new bubs are hatching,  and there are nests everywhere.
This is a beautiful place,  and when I win lotto we will be back here for a holiday!!

Sign outside the coffee shop in Lakes Entrance.

The shell and marine museum - very interesting.

Sign in the beautiful coffee shop - fabulous chololates too!

Panorama of Lakes Entrance from the Ninety Mile Beach side of the lake.

Back view of the lifesavers lookout tower.

Beach side view of the lookout tower.

The footbridge across the lake.   The only access to the beach.

Timber sculptures along the Esplanade,  representing
WW1 events and tributes.

Timber sculpture of Simpson and his Donkey.

Tomorrow,  we're off to Merimbula for one night.   After that,  we're not sure;  as long as we're in Sydney by Saturday afternoon to fly home.   Depends a bit on what happens with Aunty Nancy and Alan.

Update on Alan Fuller.   Rang Karen this morning.   Alan is still in the hospital,  being treated as a palliative care patient,  until they find another place for him.   There's no change in his condition.   Jan has been staying with Aunty Nancy,  but is going home today;   Karen has taken the week off work,  and will stay with Aunty Nancy till the end of the week.   After that,  who knows??

Day 12 Cooma

Hello again.
Fairly easy day today.   Drove to the Gaden Trout Hatchery today.   Saw trout and atlantic salmon from the jelly ball egg,  through the tadpole stage,  small fish,  large fish,  farmed out fish.  
Took a detour back to Cooma through Dalgety.   This town and district was a front runner for the national capital back in the early 1900s.   In the end it was discarded,  possibly because it was too close to Tathra,  on the NSW coast,  and Victoria didn't like it!   Anyway,  the Snowy River flows through Dalgety,  and the bridge there is one of only four that cross the River;   that's all the way from Mt Kosciuszko to the Murray River!
Wierd weather today.   Showers,  sunshine,  cloudy,  but always cold,  cold and windy.
There was a rally of pre 1965 cars in Cooma this weekend,   Some fabulous old motors,  and the sad thing was Alan knew nearly all of them!   A lot of the owners stayed at our motel,  so the cars were in the car park.   Some of the drivers (and their wives) are older than us!!   A couple of the wives used walking sticks!!
Off to Lakes Entrance for a couple of nights tomorrow.
More later.

Snowy River,  Dalgety

Bridge across the Snowy River at Dalgety

Vintage cars driving through Cooma

 

Day 11 Cooma

Hopefully,  photos to follow!!
No touristing today.   Spent the afternoon at the RSL watching and betting on the races.   The watching was more successful than the betting - big surprise!!

Cooma from Mt Gladstone Lookout

The road ahead

Yellow lines and tall red markers in the National Park

Al skating on thick ice

Freezing wind at Charlotte Pass

Me struggling on thick ice

This is the group on a three week adventure 

Al at the top of the chairlift at Thredbo

Al filling his water bottle with running water (melted snow)

Selfie on the chairlift

Nearly at the bottom after a twenty minute ride

Yellow and red back to white and white

This wierd sculpture is on the shores on Lake Jindabyne

The Great Dividing Range,  with Mt Kosciuszko the tiny bit of peak at the very back

Days 8 & 9 Snowy Mountains

Evening everyone.
This post will be a bit of a photofest.
 Yesterday, we drove down to Cooma from Canberra.   Lovely drive.   The scenery is beautiful - rolling hills,  old ruins,  cattle,  sheep.   Overcast skies,  but quite pleasant,  otherwise.

Arrived Cooma too early to check into motel,  so went to the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre.   This is where you follow the story of the Snowy Mountain Scheme.   A lot of technical stuff meant little to me - you're surprised,  I know - but the story of its construction and the people who contributed to it is fascinating.
What a project!   The biggest construction project ever undertaken in the southern hemisphere.                                                                                          

                                                                       

Thursday now.    We headed to Adaminiby this morning;  about an hour's drive north of Cooma.   Not much to see there except the Big Trout,  so we moved on to the Yarrangobilly Caves.   Went through two caves - South Glory was disappointing, even though I counted 207 steps!!!  but Jillabenan was great.   Not a very long or deep cave,  but the path through it is narrow,  and you are so close to the stalacmites and stalactites.   It wasn't nearly as cold as South Glory,  either.
The roads in and out of the caves area is something else!   6km of narrow,  winding,  winding gravel road in,  and 7km of the same on the way out.   Just as well each way is one way!!!

Having trouble uploading photos,  so the photofest has become a wordfest!!!

Friday:    another beautiful day,  sunshine,  blue sky,  comfortable temperature.
Off to the snow today.    Drove through Jindabyne,  around Lake Jindabyne to Perisher Valley,  then to Charlotte Pass.   Nothing is open in these towns now the snow and ski season has finished.   Had breakfast at a little cafe at Perisher Valley - had to stop someone to ask if anything was open - in the back of a building housing the railway station - yes,  railway station - medical centre,  ski hire, and heaps more.   The only thing open was the cafe!!!   Looks really rundown with everything closed and no people around.   I think the railway station was part of the Skitube,  going to Blue Cow (ski run?).  Possibly an underground system,  saw no rail lines anywhere.  
When you reach Kosciuszko National Park the lines on the road change to yellow - bright yellow - and the road markers are red - some of them up to four metres high! - so how much snow falls here?

Anyway,  walked to the lookout at Charlotte Pass.   The view is spectacular!!    The wind freezing!  freezing!  freezing!   Still a lot of snow on the mountains,  as well as on a lot of the paths to the various viewing points.   Charlotte Pass is the end of the road.   From there you can walk (hike) to Mt Kosciuszko.   Takes six to nine hours (round trip),  without allowing for the snow you have to walk through,  which slows you down.    We settled for the distant view of the mountain!!!!!

Spoke to a man who was taking a group of people to Rawsons Hut for the night,  then to the top of the Mt Kosciuszko,  and back to Thredbo.   They had already climbed Mt Hotham (Vic),  kayaked for three days, (can't remember where),  these two days in the mountains,  then off somewhere else.   They arrived by bus at Charlotte Pass,  so not the whole trip has been hiking.   About three weeks altogether,  carrying those huge backpacks.   Not for me,  obviously!!!!!

We went from Charlotte Pass to Thredbo,  back the way we'd come - only one road in and out!   Again,  the walk to the top of Australia was too long and hard for us - still a lot of snow to walk through!!!   Did the chairlift instead.   Just over twenty minutes from bottom to top.   We walked on the path from the top of the chairlift to the lookout,  and used the steps (100) to get back to the top of the chairlift for the ride down.   There is a path from the top of the chairlifts to the top of Mt Kosciuszko,  but still too long a walk for us!!!!   Also,  I think spikes on your boots would be a good idea,  save a lot slipping and sliding on the snow!

Had lunch in Thredbo,  then headed for home.

Today is a rest day.   Bit overcast,  pleasant temperature,  rain overnight.
We thought the races were on here today,  but no,  mistaken - again!!   So we're going to have lunch at the RSL and play punter for the afternoon.   Alan said we haven't done this since Yamba,  when we used to go to the Bowls Club with Mum for the TAB,  coffee and cake,  and a few beers.   Not a cheap afternoon then,  so hope we do better today!

Alan Fuller update:
He has septicemia (?),  to add to his perforated bowel.   Probably the cause!!!    He's in paliative care,  but don't know where.   They were hoping he could go to paliative care down near Jan and Barry,  then Aunty Nancy could stay with Jan.   It's a terrible thing for A. N. to have to deal with.   She really needs full care herself!   Will get an update from Karen tomorrow,  and include it in the next blog.

Love to all

Still can't upload photos!!!!!!