Snowy Mountains Road Trip

The view from our cabin

We had a wonderful Christmas in the Snowy Mountains, about 300 miles southwest (inland) of Sydney. The weather was considerably cooler (60-65 F) overcast and occasionally misty, so it felt a bit like Seattle. The unit we were staying in had a full kitchen, so I was able to whip up some nice holiday meals. Crepes for Christmas eve and a pinwheel flank steak with mushrooms and mashed potatoes for the 25th.

Mountain biking and hiking are the main summer activities there, so that suited us well. Mom mostly hung around the cabin and went for short walks on the paved trails and took in the scenery, especially the gnarled striped Snow Gum trees. I was taken with them as well. It's almost embarrassing how many pictures I took of those ghostly trees, but I just found them mesmerising.

Another favorite activity was the wheeled toboggan track which Erik loved.

Actually, Mark and I thought it was good fun too and had no complaints about riding it with Erik.

On the 27th Erik, Mark and I hiked up Mount Kosciuszko, the highest peak in Australia, 2228 meters, about 7500 feet. As a climb, it was, however, a disappointment not only because it was so easy but also because the clouds rolled in obscuring the view. On the positive side, the alpine flowers were beautiful and the temperature pleasant for walking.

After our five days in the "Snowies", we headed back north via the Yarangobilly Caves. We arrived too late for the guided tours but were able to go on a 40 minute self guided walk and had the whole cave to ourselves, which was rather nice. Unfortunately the pictures taken inside the cave don't quite do it justice, so I'm posting the one of the entrance.

Tonight we are in Dubbo, the home of the Western Plains Zoo. It's a huge wild life park with an amazing amount of space for the enclosures. It's so big in fact that visitors can choose to either drive their car or rent bikes to go from exhibit to exhibit. Since we had mom with us, we used our car. We were all impressed with how visible the animals were even though they seemed to be in a reasonably natural habitat.

As a side note, it was also mom's 75th birthday, the first time she has ever gone to a zoo on her birthday, and a very long way from her childhood in Green Bay, Wisconsin.

Tomorrow, we are off for Warumbungle National Park and hopefully to the Skywatch Observatory for some star viewing on New Year's Eve. The weather has been unusually cloudy, so although we have enjoyed the cooler temperatures, overcast skies won't be very conducive for star gazing.