Wednesday 25th November Time to leave the lake. It won't be easy we have grown to love this place. We drove over to Jinderbyne which is quite a long way. The thing that becomes apparent down here is just how far things are apart in time even if not in distance. We did shopping and washing and visited National Parks re a pass for Cosey-oz-co NP. We drove up into those hills where the wind is either strong or super strong and for the first time had to batten down the hatches and sleep with the roof down. The wind hammered all night and then set in for a light shower of rain just on sunset which really did not clear till about 10am the next morning. Thursday 26th November Slow start but we decided we would take the rig and drive up to Perisher and do the Porcupine Rocks walk. The temp was down to about 8c by the time we left for the walk and the wind was howling like a wolf in season - I was going to say on heat but there was no heat in that wind. The view from the rocks is well worth the walk. We just about got blown into the valley below when we started to walk back down the path. We were fairly well chilled by the time we got back to Vicki and while we cooked up some warm soup the gale was trying turn Vicki over like a turtle onto her roof. We checked out Charlotte's Pass and then retraced our steps back down the mountain and into Jindybine for fuel and water. We checked in to Threadbo Diggings and hour or so before sunset and settled in for the night. Friday 27th November Mal was a pain waking up Sue so early she thought it was Christmas already. Today is walk to Kosey-Oz_Co - the top of Australia - Mal was worried if we didn't get going as early as possible then we would miss the last run on the ski lift back down to Treadbare Village. It was minus 2 in the camper and the little run of condensation on the strip around the camper was frozen. The toothpaste was frozen into a new iceblock format - which Sue was happy to pass on and go back to the old paste format. But not to be deterred we packed up and drove the 20ks or so up to Treadbare. The place is pretty quiet in Summer, though the school boy waiting for the school bus was wacking a stick against a snowgum just because he could. We parked and had breakfast and checked out the starting time for the first run 9am - Mal had jumped the gun we were more than an hour early, so we mucked around and we had our tickets by 8.45am and were the second chairlift that smoothly glided up the mountainside to a minus six degrees welcome. The landscape is just from another time and place, if one hasn't been then do your self a favour and go up above the treeline in the Snowy Mountains - it is truly filled with wonder. The vegetation is lush and so varied, the small pools still frozen in places as we walked along a steel walkway that is a pleasant grade. The large granite outcrops are strewn across the landscape which is all in all more soft rolling hills than gigantic peaks towering above. We just kept saying Scottish Highlands - which brought us to the interesting use of the Australian Alps - yes Sue did not believe Mal till she saw it printed up on a brochure in the Tourist Info centre. Doesn't the word Alps come from the word alpine? And doesn't the word alpine come from the fact that in Europe the only trees that grow up to the treeline are ALL PINES - Allpine - alpine????? So we should have The Australian Algums - well lets face it there is not a saw toothed mountain range to be seen so the Gummies sort of has an Australian ring about it. All that aside, the 6.5k walk is beautiful and even with our camera sounding like machine gun fire as the shutters clattered away we were at the summit by 11.15am. We had an early lunch and Mal sat and drew while Sue had a photo session with a very inquisitive Australian Raven. There was a steady flow of visitors however it did not feel crowded and unpleasant. A fresh breeze blew at the summit but once we descended into the first saddle it was several degrees warmer. Warm enough for a slide down some snow/ice using Sue's raincoat as a toboggan. Then we had another snowball fight but forgot to build a snowman - well we will just have to go back. In actual fact we are already thinking up ways to make a visit next winter when there is snow on the ground to transform the landscape into a wonderland. The plans are very sketchy but we will work on them over coming months. Surprise surprise we were back at the ski lift by 3.30pm and so we decided we would drive out to Tom Groggins campground. The road is fine, but dear me it is a long way down, we were in low gear it was so steep and lo and behold two inmates from the local mental asylum come peddling up the ruddy mountain, lycra straightjackets blowing in the breeze. Now we can understand bicycles, we keep meeting Ozgypsies roaming the country with two bike flapping off the back of their various shaped caravans or wagons. One couple up on Kosey were extolling the virtues of their peddle bike travels. Yes it has some merit we admit, though where do you stop, we saw a guy at Innot Hot Springs towing his ultraliught. What about a hover craft or a spaceship - the toy options are endless. We camped not far from another couple who had a slidon camper at Tom Groggins so we had a bit of a compare the issues chat - they also had a Mazda BT50 space cab, so interesting to see the Old Man Emu suspension upgrade still struggling to carry the weight of their camper - a Daveshon or something similar. Just imagine an evening without a galeforce warning, or sub zero temps. We sat around the fire and baked our spuds and then went to bed - what a great day. Saturday 28th November - night 100 When the campground cleared out we relocated to a better spot, filled up our water tank from the river, washed the clothes and then all our housework done we settled to enjoy our 100th day camping in Vicki and Bignose. Mal set up his studio on the picnic table in the shade and Sue wandered around trying to snap the female bowerbird that elusively skipped in and out. It also gave her a chance to back up her photos. Mal was busy cooking a damper for lunch when Pete turned up to ask about Vicki. So we do guided tours for $5 a head, to defray costs, and he was like everyone who has come and looked her over, most impressed by how much space we have all tucked neatly onto the back of a ute - and yes he has a Mazda BT50 space cab already so he could see exactly how it all went together. Unfortunately Mal got distracted so the damped had a black bum - but the rest was just terrific - no he does not share recepies - he is very secretive about his damper mix. Then our neighbours turned up. A couple with two small kids who are four months into an around Australia lap. They come from Perth and are now on the homeward run across the bottom. Well the two kids, a boy 6 and a half and a girl 4 and a half were onto Mal like bees on a flower bush. The girl wanted Mal to lift his arm so she could tickle him and the boy wanted to Indian arm wrestle him. I don't know what it is but little kids just warm to Mal instantly. The only trouble is they get so excited that then they get into trouble. Well they went off to bed as the sun set and Sue and Mal sat by the fire in their shorts and had camp oven strigonoff for tea. Then a hot shower and night 100 in the mobile eco resort deep in the Australian algums. Sunday 29th November We roll Gertie out of her trailer home. We gallop off down the road to Geehi Flat to check out the camping area. Look it is very nice, lots of space by the river with a splendid view of the mountains as a backdrop. The road through to Kenkoban is a bike rider's paradise. The road twists and turns, it convolutes it dances it stretches out and then contracts into a long tight turn before running down through cutting after cutting which tower above on either side. The day was warm and the ride was a treat. It was market day in the town. Very modest like a small Sunday school fete. Sue made a couple of phone calls and then we hightailed it back up into the hills. We turned North onto a dirt road that runs up to a lookout, another vehicle had left a trail of dust so we slowed to let it clear. Then we rode up the mountainside, through tall Alpine ash (yeah gum trees) and large ferns which rose teir upon tear up the sides of various gullies. We rounded a corner to see the dust making vehicle stopped in front of a very large gum tree which had fallen crashing to the ground and breaking up onto the road. However the branches were still too heavy for the chap and his wife to move. All four of us managed to roll one large branch out of the way enough for them to squeeze their car through. Just before the lookout there is a junction where the road forks to Geehi Dam. We turn and run up to the lookout. Well how surprised are we when we see two land rovers and a small BMW car parked there and half a dozen folk drinking champagne and eating processicetta and Spanish cheese. So we quiz them on the route they had taken and we quickly determine that the tree had fallen across the road after they had passed along the road. As we rode home the tyre pressure sensor sent out a warning for low front pressure and then light rain threatened to become heavy rain. So we packed up our camp and by sundown the threatening spots had drifted away and we sat out at the picnic table where Mal played some songs accompanied by Petraya on harmonica and marshall on miniature recorder. It was a lot of fun