Day 1. Coach driver Matt. away at 9.30 am with 30 members and drove to Strathfield for a further 8. Comfort stop at Pheasants Nest then lunch at our own expense at Trappers Bakery in Goulburn (lovely fresh steak and mushroom meat pie). Continued down Hume Highway and then Federal Highway. Skirted Canberra and drove through to Cooma for a cuppa in the rain. Finally through to Jindabyne late afternoon. Hotel very comfortable. Enjoyed first Happy Hour before a very good dinner.
Day 2. Very nice buffet breakfast at 7:00 AM and away in bus at 8.30 after picking up Guide, Justine. Spent some time in the discovery centre at Jindabyne seeing a film on the area. Drove to Wild Brumby schnapps distillery and sampled their wares. About 18% alcohol but found them a little sweet for my liking. Admired their beautiful copper still. Continued on the Alpine Way to the ski tube base at Bullocks Flat then on to Dead Horse Gap and back to Thredbo for a sandwich lunch followed by a run up the mountain in the chairlift. Was nice and sunny in the valley but unfortunately the top of the mountain was shrouded in cloud and from half way up in the chair lift visibility was down to about 50 metres. With the wind chill factor at the top it was 2 degrees with a stiff breeze so didn’t waste any time in descending into the sunshine. Then back to the motel for a very pleasant happy hour and a nice dinner. And so to bed.
Day 3. Our first destination was the Gaden Trout Hatchery where we spent a very interesting couple of hours learning the ins and outs of raising brown trout, rainbow trout, brook trout and salmon for release into the States rivers from a very knowledgeable guide, Kayla. Then drove through to Charlottes Pass where there is a ski resort. Apparently most of the road is snowed in all winter and guests reach the resort by snowmobile. We had a good view up the valley to Mount Kosciuszko. Coming back we called at Perisher and then Smiggin Holes ski resorts which were all closed until the start of the winter season in June. Amazed at the number of chairlifts at all three sites. Back home for a barbecue lunch in the bistro and free time before our usual happy hour followed by dinner. A good day with sunshine all the time- pity it wasn’t like this yesterday
Day 4. Through to Cooma with the first stop at the gaol- fortunately only temporarily. Good talk by the Warden followed by a trip through the museum. Then to a new museum for cars, mainly post war but also a few vintage models including a lovely 1927 Buick.
Apparently a very strong car club in Cooma. Also included a display of motorcycles including a very streamlined bike of more than 20 feet which apparently achieved an official speed of 411 mph. A sandwich lunch in the park and a bit of a wait for Matt who was having very bad toothache and had managed to arrange for a dentist to remove it that afternoon.
Day 5. This was the highlight to me with a visit to the Snowy River Information Centre. First a video explaining the complete scheme- including Snowy 2 – and then time to wander around the excellent museum. Following this we drove to Adaminaby where we saw another video this time concentrating more on the move of the old town and the people side of things. We then did a tour of Adaminaby followed by a drive to and across the damn wall of Lake Eucambene. This was far from full at 48% and apparently has only once flowed over.
Day 6. Home again, home again jiggity jig. This time we did a tour of Canberra, round the outskirts of the new and old parliament houses followed by a drive around the Embassy Circuit. Most interesting. Morning tea at Poppy’s Café adjacent to the War Memorial then back to Goulburn to Trappers Bakery for another steak and mushroom pie! Showers all the way home.
Conclusions. A very good tour, with great company, plus a friendly and competent driver and guide. The country was particularly interesting. Mountain scenery with not many trees but multitudes of granite rocks known as tors. Following the excessive amount of rain we have had this year it was amazing to see the growth of grass- probably will be a fire danger when it dries out. However, as usual on these Probus tours, the main benefit lay in the camaraderie and the chance to get to know people better.
To provide after dinner interest, Ray McGimpsey recited “The Man from Snowy River” by Banjo Paterson on the first night, followed by Henry Lawson, “When your Pants Begin to Go” on the second night. “Said Hanrahan” by Patrick Joseph Hartigan next night (We’ll all be rooned), then a modern Bush poet Murray Hartin,(Loretta Heath’s son) “Rain from Nowhere”, and finally Banjo Paterson again, “The Man from Ironbark” on the last night.
Ray McGimpsey