Albury to Melbourne 20004

From Albury south towards the snowfields. No snow in summer of course but last winter they had 2 metre of snow. Falls Creek is one of Australia's big ski resorts. Now it was a sorry sight with hardly a soul there. For a moment on the way I thought I had forgotten my snow chains because on the way they warn you to put them on and you are not allowed to start the trip without them. But it turned out that they were not needed.

On the way up we free camped in a park in Mount Beauty. Beautiful spot with a view of the highest mountain in Victoria.  1962 M  On the way down we stopped for a cuppa there as well.  In this part of the world everything is close together. You only have to drive half an hour and there is something else to see. 21 December and we are in Wangaratta.  According to our free camp info there should be an camp bout 4 KM north of here but that was the turnoff another 15 KM and we camped in a National Park where the kangaroos hopped around everywhere and not a soul in sight. 22 December and to Glenrowan. Here is where Ned Kelly was captured in 1880. He was he most famous bushranger because he wore metal armour to protect him from bullets. Here you can buy copies of the armour.

23 December and we have booked in to a caravan park in Shepparton for the Christmas period. A big park besides a lake.  Christmas was  quiet affair. Susan made a beautiful lunch and dinner and we had a few more drinks than normal. We started before the 5PM deadline. In the afternoon we bicycled in to town and around the lake. Boxing day on the way again and this time to a state forest north of Echuca. Very peaceful. A lot of fishing boats and birds. This one is for free but nicer than the one last night which cost $27. No hot showers and the toilet is a pit toilet but clean. The trees are enormous. The weather is perfect.

27 December to Echuca. This was the second largest port in Victoria and he largest inland port in Australia. The day we got there it was as busy as the old days. Old paddle steamers and modern houseboats. A hole street was devoted to the old days. In times of high water ships would reach the top of the jetty.

After lunch we headed for Taradale where we have friends who have 12 Acre and a large house with a tennis court which we did use and Susan is peeling of the nails of her toes as I type this. We had a marvellous time there. The weather changed from excellent to winter temperatures just to get us used to the Tasmanian weather.

After two nights on the way again to Anakie. 29 December. Here live Mai and Bart Goedegebuur who we visited last year in Lara.

We spend a nice few days in Anakie. Bram's parents came over from Perth just before the new year. New Year's celebrations were spend here.

2 January and on the way to Melbourne. Here we visited friends from Townsville who were staying with family. We had a very happy few ours and a delicious BBQ. It was 10.30 before we left and promptly got lost in the dark. We found a quiet street and slept there. Next day explored Sint Kilda and the beach. Beautiful weather but towards the night we had a taste of what was to come. Rain and cold.

Melbourne getting ready for our holiday.

This time we slept at the beach. We had to be at the boat at 7AM and no alarm clock. Because of the colder weather we have been sleeping till 8 or later. This time we did wake at 6. Had breakfast and got ready for the boat. No cars were waiting. The boat is enormous. We were one of the first to go on. The trip was fairly smooth and took 9.5 hrs. We forgot about quarantine and had to hand in all our vegetables.