Travels Down Under:
The Men of the Snowy Mountains
Thursday, April 14, 2011
* Lake Jindabyne to Albury, New South Wales, Australia *
Awake in the Snowy Mountains, Sir Thomas Leaf and Sir Bluey Bee crawled out of their bunk beds at the Snowy Mountains Backpackers hostel in Lake Jindabyne ready to hike
Mount Kosciusko. They were warned though from their Czech friends that it would be a tough feat due to weather. The duo however still persisted and ventured out. That morning, Sir Thomas Leaf began to absorb his understanding of the complexities and simplicities of Australian Currency as he photographed examples of the coins and plastic bills that don’t tear … fascinated with its design. Sir Thomas Leaf cooked breakfast that morning, surprising Sir Bluey Bee and introducing him to his very first “Egg in the Nest”. Onwards the adventurers drove off to the Snowy Mountains, past the Distillery, past Bimblegumbie, fascinated with the Emu and Wombat crossing signs, and on into Kosciusko National Park and into Thredbo. Sir Thomas never thought he’d be in a ski resort of Australia! It was a small town and very busy bustling with people. Instead of climbing to the top of the Mountain, and due to scheduling to get to Albury in time to check into the hostel, they settled on “Merrits Nature Track”, a lower elevation hiking trail going through the sub-alpine Eucalyptus forest in the hills along the bobsledding tubes. Beautiful rivers, waterfalls, faerie glens, and moments of Sir Bluey’s silliness … on through the Birralee Bush Camp, underneath the Kosciusko Express chair lift … before they knew it were back to the car and on the road again towards Albury. They pit stopped along the way at Leather barrel Creek Camping and Picnic area where they indulged in a Peanut Butter and Jelly sandwich lunch with tea and a chance for last minute fishing in the Snowy Mountains. No catches unfortunately. Back on the road to Albury, through the Western Fall of the Main Range, and on into the state of Victoria. They drove through Carryong which had a kids playground in the center of the town with a pirate ship. Sir Leaf restricted himself from leaping out of the car to play and practice climbing the masts. Passing through a beautiful reservoir that was flooded out with trees popping above the center of Lake Hume or Mitta Mitta River called for a photo taking moment. Driving past adverts for soda pop and candy being so expensive (example: Sale of 3 Coca Colas for $8), yet proclaiming such a cheap price tag in their minds, perplexed Sir Thomas Leaf until Sir Bluey explained the sugar tax that Australia has. Totally made sense at that point when realizing sugar does impact the National Health care. Our somber explorers reached Albury and after driving around in circles for 20 minutes, finally found The Albury YHA which was disguised in a Caravan Park. They checked in and met some nice Australian ladies who were in town for a conference. Sir Thomas cooked up Pad Thai (best he could with limited Thai ingredients he could find on the road trip) for Sir Bluey Bee as they rested and caught up with the world. The duo was not impressed with this YHA even though the YHA usually has high standards on what can be called a YHA. Up to their mildew smelling room and off to sleep for a big day of adventure tomorrow on to Melbourne.
Remainder of the Story, Photos and videos below the cut:
Do you enjoy these tales? Want more? Buy Sir Thomas Leaf a chai tea and he’ll tell you a tale …
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and will add more adventures, photos, stories, and reviews for your pleasure …
Bluey Goofing Around in Lake Jindabyne, evening of 4/13/11
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Birralee Bush Camp
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