Saturday 7 December 2013

Week 33 - 34 (LAST) Wilson's Prom. NP, Lakes Entrance, Jindabyne/Kosciuszko NP, Canberra, Moss Vale, Sydney.

Well here it is our last Blog
From Wilsons Prom. we headed east along the south coast to Lakes Entrance.
The roads in Victoria are diabolical.  Lots of potholes and very rough.
These roads took their toll on the Pajero and we suffered our only major vehicle problem.
4 days in Lakes Entrance while the diff. on the Pajero was fixed.
 
 
Interesting road signs on the way to Lakes Entrance


 
 
Lakes Entrance is a fishing port and holiday destination.
We took a boat trip on the huge inlet/Lake in this region.

 
 
The manmade entrance to the vast inland Lakes
 

 
 
The boat we were on



 
Some of the bays we passed by
 

 
Wildlife on the shores

 
Interesting decorations on the beaches
 
From Lakes Entrance we headed further East to Cann River then North to the Border
 
 
We were heading for the Kosciuszko NP to stay at Jindabyne.


 
 
Lovely camp at Jindabyne next to the Lake.
This is snow skiing country and in winter this must be very like Hanmer Springs.

 
The Lakes and rivers around here are the start and catchment for the Snowy River Power Scheme.
 
 
On a day trip we drove up to Thredbo one of the skiing Villages.
In summer used as a mountain bike meca.  Chairlift to the top and huge rides back down.

 

 
 
 
 
Like most ski villages the place looked expensive.
We saw no evidence of the landslide of the late 90's that came thru the village killing 18.
 
 
 
More OZ wildlife about.
We also went round to the other side of the Range to Charlotte Pass.
About as high as we have been in OZ and we drove!!

 
Great views of Mt Kosciuszko OZ's highest mountain 2229 mtr
You can ride nearly to the top by chairlift or even mountain bike!!




 
Some of the ski valleys
 
 
Lake Jindabyne and dam.  Water from here pumped thru tunnels as part of the Snowy
River Power scheme.
 

 
From Jindabyne we headed thru Cooma and into Canberra.
At Cooma there is a great Info. Centre all about the Snowy Power Scheme.
Very impressive. 
 

 
We stayed north of Canberra and spent a day there to look around.
 
 


 

Next stop after Canberra was Moss Vale about 120 kms south of Sydney in the Southern Highlands
We had a couple here interested in buying our Pajero and caravan.
The short version is they did!
 
 
Camp at Moss Vale

 
Main street.  Mainly a retirement town I would think.  Nice spot.
We had 7 days here sorting the sale.
From Moss Vale on one day we took a day trip into Sydney via the train and returned with a rental car.


Flash double decker trains.
After the sale back into Sydney for a few days.  Stayed in a cabin.
 
 
Did some shopping and tiki tours around the city
 

 
Out to the beach to show off our bodies at Bondi
 

 
Lunch at another beach


 
Then out to the airport for the flight home
 
 
So after 27,000 kms and 7 months 20 days we have ticked off another bucket listing.
We had a great time and know heaps more about OZ and its people and workings.
OZ in many ways very like NZ but bigger and more money.  We still have heaps of places to see on the East, so you never know we may go back for another holiday.
Cheers for now and we, hopefully, will catch up with you all soon.
Dave & Judy (7/12/13)