1/26/2016

We woke up just in time to check out of the hotel. Then we went for breakfast at premier cafe. It was TERRIBLE and so expensive. I was so upset. We wanted to do some water sport in Jindabyne but our legs hurt and I didn't want to spend the money if we weren't going to enjoy it. So we took a walk around the lake and sat on some park benches. 

After that we decided to get on our way. We wanted to stop at Wildbrumby distillery for lunch but they were booked out so we just got a bottle of dandelion schnapps and 2 mini ice cream cones and continued on our way. Next stop was thredbo resort where we did a summer single person bobsled. 

It was kinda like a single person roller coaster where your car has brakes. It was fun. From there we continued along the Murray Valley Highway toward home. We stopped at the Murray crossing and got out to swim for a bit. The Murray river is the boundary between Victoria and New South Wales so we walked acrossed the river to Victoria at a 4 wheel drive ford but then had to go back to New South Wales to get our car and drive around to a bridge.  

We stopped again to splash in the water quickly at Geehi. But there really wasn't much there. Back on the road again we stopped at a lookout and looked back at everything we had hiked(except for the really tall one that was hidden behind the ridge) 

Shortly after we came across Murray 1 power station. The second largest hydroelectric plant in Australia which takes 95% of the water from the snowy river and reroutes it to the Murray for irrigation of Victoria, New South Wales, and South Australia. 

From there we went to our campsite on the Kiewa river. Again Damien set up as I made dinner. We had fantastic pasta with vegetables followed by a chocolate bar for dessert. After dinner we walked the 5 minutes into the town of kergunyah it was small and quiet except for town hall which was a buzz with card players. Looking through the window we were intimidated so we went back to the tent for some 2 player hearts and chips. 

Australia Day morning we woke up early and had the last of our breakfast supplies. Realistically our meals have just gotten more and more elaborate as the trip has gone on. 

We packed up and hit the road. We started out on a shortcut that Damien found on google maps. But then it turned into a gravel road, and then a dirt road, and then we hit a gate so we turned around and went the long way. 

The first stop on our trip home was Yackandandah, we went for a walk around the park and played on a jungle gym. A few kilometres down the road I passed a sign for pick your own strawberries so I quickly did a U-turn and we picked 2pounds of strawberries and 1 pound of raspberries.

With our bellies full of berries we took another detour to woolshed falls. 

We joined the others and went for a dip in the pools. It was very relaxing and refreshing. Back into the car we continued on our way to Beechworth and took a turn off to see Beechworth gorge. It was a 5km scenic drive. We would have been impressed but with so many other spectacular views we continued into town. We had lunch at Beechworth bakery, Damien enjoyed his Ned Kelly pie while I was thrilled to finally get a cheese and tomato toasty. And it was a really good! 

We walked around and say the local shops and found the court house museum. With entry we got another 3 buildings so we saw a telegraph station, Ned Kelly's vault, the courthouse, Ellen Kelly's cell, and the Bourke museum. (Ned Kelly is a famous Australian bush ranger and Ellen is his mum).

 3 hours later as many of the places were closing we quickly went to Beechworth honey where we got honey, ice cream, and sparkling necture. 

Then with one last glance at the town we started the long drive home. We tried another stop at a cheese factory but it was closed for the evening. The drive went quickly. We listened to the Australia Day countdown on the radio, Damo drove, and I got caught up on my blog. :)