17th – 20th February, 2017
Friday 17th
Today we farewell Kosciuszko NP, but not before seeing a little of the Snowy River Scheme. I’d love to know more about the Scheme and visit all the sites – next trip!
We left the park via Khankoban, then to Corryong for some shopping and on to Jingellic on the NSW side of the Murray River, not far away, for the night. This lovely campsite is free and is situated between the Bridge Hotel and the Murray River. The beer garden overlooks the camping area and across to the river. However … it is Friday night. The place was packed with groups for the weekend, and the pub was busy with drunks wandering through the campsite quite late. Not happy.
Saturday 18th
We moved 5km down the river to Gadds Bend Reserve, on the Victorian side. Fantastic! Camping is anywhere along about 250m of the beautiful Murray River, where it’s fairly shallow, with a few little rapids that make that delightful sound and is very easy to access if you want to swim. The River Red Gums that line the banks are stunning. Only us and two other campers here, very spread out.
Gill and Steve and I went for a walk along the road and found a gated lane called Redbank Track. We followed this up the hill for a kilometre or so getting beautiful views back over the Murray and the surrounding hills on the New South Wales side.
A great fire on the banks cooked our BBQ tea. The setting sun turned the wispy clouds pink, which were then reflected in the river.
Sunset at Gadds Bend on the Murray River.
Unfortunately the couple up from us came over to share the fire and rather spoilt the serenity of the evening with their ceaseless chatter about themselves – no art of conversation!
Early morning mist on the Murray River at Gadds Bend campsite.
Sunday 19th
I’d have been very happy to stay here another night or two, it’s such a beautiful spot, but more bushwalking beckons and our next goal is Mt Buffalo. There’s a free camp at Cotton Tree near Granya State Forest which we stopped to take a look at, then walked via a restored scout hut to a small waterfall. The track continued up the hill but the condition of it was very poor.
The restored Granya Scout Hall on the walk into Granya State Forest, just up from Cotton Tree campsite.
The Ranger recommended a campsite at Boyd’s Bridge which we moved on to for the night. We’ve been quite spoilt with lovely camping areas beside rivers.
Monday 20th
Early departure for the very pretty town of Bright where Gill and I have appointments at the beautician for a little bit of maintenance. It’s a Caravan Park tonight, giving us the opportunity to get the washing done; it’s also quite cold and Mt Hotham, not far from here, is expecting snow tonight – not the night to be heading up into the mountains. Bright is a tourist town, being so close to Mt Buffalo and Mt Hotham, and is filled with interesting shops, eateries, wineries, berry farms and boutique distilleries – all of which we supported.
This afternoon we went for a really lovely walk around the river that flows through the town.
Fishing for trout in the Ovens River at Bright.
Dinner tonight was at Shimla described as an Italian Indian restaurant. The proprietors/cooks were Cesare (Italian) and Prue (Indian). Our meals were delicious and as we were finishing up Cesare joined us at the table and opened another bottle of wine which we all shared. A very convivial evening.
An Indian meal greatly enjoyed at the Shimla restaurant, Bright.
For more photos taken during this stage of our trip CLICK HERE.