HELLO GROOVERS;;;
Louise here at the helm of the blog, to bring everyone up to date with some more of our adventures travelling around Aussie; all good so far, the weather has been a bit up and down, the dreaded Cyclone Yasi hit Magnetic Island (Townsville) as reported in the last blog; the damn thing has been dumping so much rain on Australia it is not funny, with the drought we have had for the past 10 years, well and truly over. Even Lake Eyre which was flooded at the start of our trip in June, and only gets flooded 'once in a blue moon' is now flooded yet again. Cyclones plus we are now in a 'la nina' event is not a good combo, but I am hoping we are over the worst of it now.
We are currently back in New South Wales, having crossed the border about lunchtime today from Victoria. Our plan is to divert north west into the Alpine country again and go to see Mt Kosciusko (highest in Australia) and also Thredbo and Perisher; I did not think much of Mt Hotham to be honest, one main street with loads of accommodation dotted around; due to the crap weather our planned bushwalks were a non event, so we charged on and here we are back in NSW.
I have to say the visit to the Chalwell Galleries walk/rock outcrop at Mt Buffalo was something else! 9.2.11 - We were luckily warned by a neighbour Annie at the camp site, that 'you will have to climb over some big boulders' - OK I can do that with a bit of a leg up from Matt - no problem. But...when we got to the hard part well, it was very challenging to say the least; Matt had to go down on his bum over a big boulder to get into the chimney area, with me following; Matt did his usual con job on me by saying, 'yeah lou, its pretty easy, just watch your head...' Well, once in I was committed to going forward through the gap; I looked up to see abut 3 large boulders the size of a fridge jammed above me in the chimney, and I immediately thought of Aron Ralston, the guy who had to chop off his own arm when trapped in a similar place; I had my trusty Swiss army knife with me, but I figured Matt could go get help if anything happened; then again, there was my life insurance policy... (only joking). It was tough to slide on my arse down the huge boulders but Matt was in front telling me where to place my feet and after 20 mins or so we were out. I felt very invincible after that gruelling climb/crawl and did not moan about the rest of the walk, or shall I ever again... (yeah right, - Matt)
OK I will finish now; have a happy Valentines day on 14th Feb; I may go nuts and wear the sexy lingerie to bed, this consists of a pair of undies that have not been mangled by the launderettes we have used on the trip, and a bra that has not similarly been ruined! Use your imagination - or not, as the case may be...
Louise xxx
A view from a bush walking track above Falls Creek Ski Resort 6.2.11
A view along a walk around Falls Creek 7.2.11
This pic was taken a day after the weather had cleared from the Cyclone Yasi when its weather pattern hit Victoria. 7.2.11
Matt on a walking track at Falls Creek, it was one of the most perfect day of our trip so far, the air was so fresh and the sky was so clear. Everywhere you looked it was worth a picture, especially with all the flowers blooming!
"A day to remember"
The dam at the top of Falls Creek 7.2.11
Louise at a lookout over the Valley that runs between Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo.
This pic was taken when traveling from Falls Creek to Mt Buffalo. 8.2.11
Matt beside the lake at the camp spot at Mt Buffalo. 8.2.11
The weather stayed perfect for almost a week after Cyclone Yasi, so we made the most of it and tried to fit in as many bush walks as possible.
The staircase to get to the summit of Mt Buffalo called "THE HORN". 9.2.11
It was a 1km return walk.
At the top of "THE HORN" the views were amazing, you could see as far the eye could see with 360 degree views.
We could even see Mt Kosciusko in the distance in NSW.
Just below us were some people abseiling.
Matt felt like jumping on a rope and having a go!
On another walk at Mt Buffalo, this was called "THE CATHEDRAL" 9.2.11
Louise inside a cave, we had to go through on another walk at Mt Buffalo, this walk was called "THE CHALWELL GALLERY" - a climbers 'chimney' about a shoulder width wide... 9.2.11
It was quite a tough and challenging walk this one, where our climbing skills had to come into play!
Matt climbing through the cave of the Chalwell Gallery.
Looking back up into the cave of the Chalwell Gallery, you can just see the light coming through the top of where it all started. It was narrow, but had 3 handholds installed to get down the steepest section.
Matt having a breather just after having climbed down through the cave of the Chalwell Gallery. 9.2.11
Arriving at Mt Hotham, Vic. for lunch (you can see how quick the weather rolls in with the clouds in the background) which is built along the Great Alpine Highway (the highest road in Australia)
We did plan on staying there for a day or two to do some walks, but the weather forecast was rain, rain and more rain, so we pushed on down the mountain for a few km's and onto a place called Dinner Plain (a township that is part of Mt Hotham).
ADIOS AMIGOS...
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