WiFi is very sketchy out here on the farms of Nathalia, so I haven't been able to post anything in a while. Here's what's been happening.
March 7 - Our visit with Aunt Elaine, Uncle Hec and other members of the Opray family was enlightening as we looked at over 500 scanned pictures from Auntie Carmel’s estate covering the last century. Aunt Elaine, almost 93, was able to name the people and places of 90% of the pictures. It was almost like watching an old newsreel with color commentary from someone who had lived through it all. It was absolutely fascinating. I was so glad we’d made the effort to visit these two lovely people. Aunt Elaine assured us she would still be here the next time we came. I hope so as she made sure I had plenty of the scones with jam and cream.
We left at 3:30 with me taking the wheel for the first time on the left side. It was a tiny bit nerve-racking as everyone, including Elaine and Hec who were leaning on their canes, came out to see us off. We made our way from the hill country of Gippsland to the Dandenong Ranges. I drove through roundabouts and around tight curving roads up Mount Dandenong until we finally reached the mountain retreat called the Arnica Manor. We arrived while it was still light and felt like we were walking into a wealthy family’s holiday cottage, which it was in the 1930s.
After we unpacked we headed back down the mountain to the village of Mount Dandenong where we found an IGA. We picked up a few supplies and then across the street to a pub called Kelly’s where we enjoyed two “pots” of beer and a beautiful steak.
We’d left Melbourne at 8:30, drove about two and a half hours out to Dumbalk, spent four hours with the family, and then another two and a half hours to Mount Dandenong. It was a long day and we turned in early.
March 8 - The next morning we set out to explore the mountain. It was a short walk from our “retreat” to the top of the mountain where we could just see the outlines of the city of Melbourne. The day was so beautiful we thought a nice walk in the woods around the mountain would be just the thing. The tall gum trees were thick in the forest and the trail was hilly but wide and even. We'd planned this to be a "rest day" to recover from all of the sightseeing we did in Sydney and Cairns. But the trail and the forest seduced us further and further into its depths.
We passed by Burke’s Lookout and the site of a terrible plane crash on the mountain in the 1940s. We kept walking on trail after trail thinking surely one would lead us to a road. We plunged down the mountain unwittingly on trails that felt like we were just winding around. After two hours of walking, we stopped to consult a map.
 |
| Where are we? |
We couldn’t tell where we were or which way was out. So our intrepid guide, the only Aussie on our team of two, made the only reasonable decision available, “Let’s walk back the way we’ve come.” When we turned around and I realized that for the past forty-five minutes we’d been walking down the mountain and not around it, my heart sank. But I quietly said to myself, “buck up bucko,” and began the reverse march up the mountain. Our little walk in the woods turned into a three-hour odyssey.
When we arrived back at our retreat, we were both We ready to eat. We drove down to the little town of Olinda where we shared a salad and a wood-fired pizza at Dudley’s. After a stroll around the shops, we finished off the day with a cup of coffee and a pastry. I liked the looks of the passion fruit sponge and ordered one along with a flat white (coffee with cream).
 |
| Olinda Cafe |
Mary asked me if I was going to share it. I told her as gently as I could muster, “Get. Your. Own. Sweetie!” And she did.
March 9 and beyond. We are in the homeland of Nathalia now. And this evening is the huge gathering of three families all converging on the Nathalia Lawn Tennis Club in downtown Nathalia. There could be hundreds there. Stay tuned.
No comments:
Post a Comment