36:54.703S  149:14.335E

 

We set off in our new X Trail (which compares unfavourably to the Landcruiser), heading for the Snowy Mountains.  The dam at Lake Jindabyne has been opened to release water down the Snowy River, a historic event. 

The Snowy River Scheme was a major post WW2 project designed to generate Hydro Electricity and divert the waters of the Snowy Mountains westward to irrigate the Murray and Murrumbidgee River basin. It consists of 225km of tunnels, 16 dams and 7 power stations. The scheme was, and still is, seen as a defining moment in Australian history and has been a major success story allowing the development of a vast area of highly productive agricultural land, known as the Riverina, with the famous city of Wagga Wagga at its centre. More recently the scheme has come in for some criticism from environmentalists and farmers to the east, principally in Gippsland, Victoria. Ten years of drought and no natural flows down the Snowy River have adversely affected those to the east and environmentalists complain that the eastward running rivers have been allowed to silt up and fester with “foreign” plants like willow.   A great deal of pressure has been  applied to “Let the Snowy River flow again”. In fact, when we were here 2 years ago we were presented with a bumper sticker saying just that! The campaign culminated this year with the first major release for 40 years which saw 84,000 giga litres of water flow down the river. However, as Lake Jindabyne holds the equivalent of Sydney Harbour, 84,000 giga litres (about 84,000 Olympic swimming pools, so the papers say) is hardly significant!

 

So we made our way to Bombala, a town of 1500 people on the Monaro Plains in South Eastern NSW. The road up to town from the coast is 80km long and all uphill. If there is a problem with your car’s cooling system, this road is going to find it, and we had a problem! The radiator blocked, the car overheated and (luckily) the engine protection device cut in. Unfortunately, at the time we were about 30 klicks out of town and in this part of the world that means you are 30 klicks away from everything! So we limped back with the heater on full blast to help keep the engine cool, heading for the only garage and met a nice guy called Peter.  Then began a very long and protracted dialogue with the people who sold us the car the week before who eventually agreed to pay for (most) of the repair. However, it was Friday afternoon and the replacement parts had to come from Sydney. Nothing could be ordered until Monday and would not arrive in Bombala until Wednesday, if we were lucky!

 

So we faced the prospect of staying in town for the best part of a week.

 

Luckily, it was Bombala Race weekend where the local horse track is brought to life for its annual event and ALL the good people of Bombala get together to dress up in their finest gear, drink and gamble. All the riders are locals, all the horses are locally bred and it’s the biggest social event of the year. We borrowed a car from Peter to get ourselves out there just as the first race was about to begin so we couldn’t lay a bet on that one , but thereafter bet on every race and finished the day about even which for a couple of people who had no local knowledge, don’t know one end of a horse from the other, don’t know how to lay a bet (or how to collect our winnings) was pretty good.  

 

After the races everybody made their way back to town and gathered at the RSL club. (Returned Serviceman's League) I’m sure this migration could only have been achieved with the considerable co-operation of the local cops (there are two) who must have decided to get as drunk as everybody else or (very wisely) decided to ignore the normal Australian habit of leaping out from behind a tree with a breathalyser in hand. Everybody got back safely but EVERYBODY was VERY DRUNK. We were collared by a group of ladies who spilt the beans on all the local gossip and rivalries to Stef whilst I was regaled by some bloke about the joys of Bomala life whilst also watching England lose to France on the huge screen above the bar. Obviously, my discomfort at our pathetic display was a source of huge amusement! Later, a really good pop group, with a brilliant Janice Joplin look alike singer, entertained the crowd but we stole the show with our jive routine which we are perfecting in time for the wedding!

 

By Monday, Stef was keen to head back to Melbourne to help Jen with the wedding plans. This involved catching the only bus that week at 08.00 to Canberra, 2hr 30min away and a flight to Melbourne. I stayed with the car and enjoyed three days in a very typical Australian country town. I became well known, everybody on the street enquired about how the repair was progressing, I drank in the pub and was always included in the conversation, and I ate in the only restaurant where I had the considerable pleasure of being able to sample the whole menu during my stay. The restaurant was called Priscilla’s Place and Priscilla was a Chinese lady who that weekend had decided to marry the bloke she has been shacking up with for God knows how long. It was a big do although because it coincided with race day nobody local attended. 90% of Hong Kong managed to get to Bomala though and a good time appeared to have been had by all. We were very lucky to get a room at Priscilla’s B & B cause it was race weekend and because of the wedding, but good old Chinese capitalism won the day! We believe some of the rellies must have slept on the floor.

 

And so, by Wednesday at 10.30, the radiator arrived with Irvin who runs the local truck. By mid day it was fitted, by 12.30 we decided that I hadn’t done any further damage to the car by running it hot and I set off for the 7 hour trip back to Melbourne. I did manage to see the Snowy River with water in it whilst I was in the area by borrowed Pete’s car again, and it was great, but no pictures cos I left the fun saver at Priscilla’s.

 

Fantastic part of the world, completely different to city life, genuine, hard working, honest people earning an honest living surrounded by some of the most spectacular scenery in the world.