Pre-backpacking weekend roadtrip to snowy river
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Photo Journal of Snowy River Roadtrip - 27 entries ]
Moore, xinners, tonza and I managed to line up a boys roadtrip away on short notice to the snowy river in eastern Victoria over the weekend.
After work Friday, jase chauffeured us to Bairnsdale (285km) where we played pool at the g-bar. It was pretty empty for a Friday night but the dj was alright. We stayed in a riverside cabin at the Mitchell gardens caravan park (ie. Not the noisy freeway side) which was good
value.
Saturday morning we met up with this top bloke dean who operates a wild caving business in Buchan. Caving consists of getting underground in a jumpsuit and helmet and exploring, crawling, rolling and squeezing through some very small cracks, cavity’s and tunnels in the Buchan underground cave system. Sliding down the 'letterbox' was definitely a highlight (imagine a fifteen foot sloped crack between underground rock that is about 30cm wide and then imagine squeezing in and sliding down - definitely not for the claustrophobic). This was definitely one of the best activities we have done in Victoria. The touristy royal cave tour we did afterwards was really boring in comparison except for the stalactites - and no, I don't mean souvlaki.
Saturday afternoon we arrived at the Karoonda park holiday farm in Gelantipy where we spent the rest of the day playing tennis, table tennis, indoor badminton, horse-riding and pool before kicking back with beer and bbq to watch the man from snowy river. The Karoonda park farm is a school holiday venue and we had the run of the place to ourselves - awesome!
Sunday, we checked the McKillop bridge and little river gorge in the snowy river national park before heading home. The gorge was picturesque, but they probably weren't worth the effort of the windy two hour drive just for a look - unless you plan on lining up rafting or kayaking activities.
memorable quotes:
- Bairnsdale is 'bens-dale', not 'barns-dale'
- Buchan is 'buck-en', not 'beu-chen'
- Gelantipy is 'gi-lan-tipy', not 'gee-lan-tipy''
(sorry to all the locals we offended)
Weekend cost (per person):
$8.50 - half chicken, coleslaw, chips and gravy at Dandenong chicken shop
$12 - slab of coopers pale ale & ice for esky ($47/4)
$28 - Mitchell Gardens cabin with kitchen and ensuite ($113/4)
$3 - pot of beer at the Bairnsdale g-bar
$13 - food shopping for meals & bbq
$12.50 - slab of coopers pale ale & ice for esky ($50/4)
$35 - Buchan guided wild caving *highly recommended
$13.50 - Buchan 'royal cave' tour
$25 - Karoonda park horse trail ride
$25 - Karoonda park accommodation ($103/4) *recommended
$8 - Counter Meal lunch at Buchan pub (potato wedges)
$8 - Vietnamese dinner in Springvale
$30 - petrol for trip (3 litre 1988 skyline - $120/4)
= $221 total per person for the weekend
Contact Details of Accomodation/Activities:
Mitchell Gardens Caravan Park, Bairnsdale - 5152 4654
Wild Caving with Snowy River Tours, Buchan (Dean & Rob) - 5155 9305
Karoonda Park School Holiday Camp, Gelantipy - 5155 0220
