Despite being super tired from a busy day’s skiing, for some reason I struggled to sleep so got up bright and early, dressed and wrapped up in all my warm gear to go for a walk to the lake. It was a beautifully sunny day, but the air was still bitterly cold and there had been a frost – I guess it was probably snowing up at Perisher.
The caravan itself was very close to the lake, so it was only a stone’s throw before I came to the water’s edge. With the sun shining down, it made for a very picturesque walk indeed. The mountains in the background were mirrored in the clear, calm water which was very pretty, although I can imagine that it would be even prettier in a few weeks when it the winter has really kicked in and the trees are dusted with snow. There were lots of birds hanging out at the lake, the seagulls in particular were making a lot of racquet, they all seemed happy enough.
Having had a bit of a wander, I decided to head up to the little shopping place and find somewhere to have a coffee. My wish was granted when I came across a Gloria Jeans, so I installed myself in there, next to the roaring fire and read a newspaper, whilst watching the world go by. After a bit I had a text from Heather who had woken up to find that I had vanished, so I assured her I was ok and then returned to the caravan a short while later.
When I got back, Heather and I got our bags all packed up and loaded up the car. After saying goodbye to the caravan, we went for a bit of a drive into the national park in order to drop Dylan off at the train station, then started on our way home.
Having originally arrived at Jindy in the middle of the night, it was very different driving in this area during the day – it seemed to take much longer as for much of the way, either side of the road was just flat nothingness for as far as you could see. Once out of the hilly bits which are greenish, the land becomes quite brown and pallid. Still at least we had each other for company – I can see why Heather prefers driving with someone else in the car – it really is a boring drive otherwise! We stopped at the ski hire place and returned my kit, then carried on, chatting and listening to music, until we hit Canberra and decided to get out to stretch our legs. It was quite cool because it meant I had now visited another state on my trip (even if ACT is only a state within a state) and we didn’t exactly go far into it; only to a service station a little way in, but it still counts!
We then continued on our way, for our last hour together, as Heather dropped me off at Goulburn, so I could go and see my friends Pete and Iris, who I stayed with in 2005 and saw again in 2008. It was also exciting because I got to see my friend the Big Merrino once again – the large concrete ram/shop which stands proudly at the top of the highway, really close to Pete and Iris’ house. When we pulled into the drive, we were greeted warmly by Pete and Iris but I was surprised not to be leapt upon by the dogs, I guess the years are catching up with them as well as with me; they’re certainly not as spritely as they were five years ago and could only muster a couple of barks before sitting back down again.
After waving Heather off to complete the final bit of her drive home by herself, we went in the house, sat in the kitchen with a cup of tea. I spent the rest of the afternoon chatting to Iris and Pete, about all the different things they’ve been up to, their daughter’s move to Perth, the horses, the redecoration of their house, life, the universe, everything. It was lovely catching up with them.
A little while later, Iris decided it was beer o’clock, so we moved to the lounge with our stubbies, got comfy on the sofas and watched the news. I told them all about my trip and the experiences I had had, the places I had loved and all the reasons why I would love to stay. Iris was interested to know about my horse riding exploits whilst on the farm in Myella (way back in March) – being a professional horse rider, trainer and whatever else horse-y, she found my disastrous horse-riding stories hilarious! We talked about the different states I had visited and how they vary. We laughed about our lack of wine-knowledge (we both have an attitude of ‘I like it or not’), in comparison to beer and a few stubbies later we decided that it’s the difference between NSW, VIC and SA – none of us would ever fit in, in the wine-loving SA; it’s NSW and VIC all the way!
Iris had made a wonderful dinner (funnily enough a casserole with a lot of red wine in it – Iris had been given the bottle as a thank you for being a judge at a horse trials, had tried it but not liked it, so had put it in the dinner!) which we enjoyed with a glass of wine – a very sweet wine that Iris declared was cheap and cheerful, the only one she likes.
We reverted back to beer after dinner, settled back in the lounge and put on a film – one of Iris’ favourites; Australia (with Hugh Jackman and Nicole Kidman). She was surprised I had never seen it, seeing as I love Oz so much; I think someone told me it was long and boring when it originally came out so I never got round to seeing it. I thought it was actually quite good and rather entertaining. It might have been a bit on the long side, but when you have a few stubbies for company, it helps!
Once the film ended, we chatted for a bit longer and I tried to give some technical support for Iris’ video camera which she is having trouble with, but for some reason it was not playing ball for me either. We then had a look at Pete’s model train collection, which had grown immensely since I was last here! He is very proud of it and I was actually quite impressed with all the little scenes he’s made, Iris said it keeps him out of trouble! Before turning in for the night I said goodbye to Iris as she would be leaving really early in the morning to go to a horse show in Bowral, so I would not get to see her. It was a shame it was such a fleeting visit, but we decided that it was better to have seen each other for only a little bit, than not at all and it had been like we had only seen each other yesterday; they really are such wonderful people.
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