Kathleen
Beechworth, Australia
April 6-8, 2016
From Canberra we went the long way, that is, through the mountains toward Beechworth in order to take in the scenery and instead of taking the highway which would have knocked off a couple of hours. We did not regret the decision. We got to see a beatiful area of the country going up into the mountains. It felt vaguely Irish with mossy rocks and misty fields. We stopped into the Snowy River Hydro Power Appreciation center, which we thought was super interesting. It is amazing how much hydro power they are producing in this region. Since Steve and I both work in the energy industry, we found it all the more interesting. Nexy we stopped at the Snowy Mountain ski area, and had a ride up the chairlift. It was off-season, so no skiing, but we apreciated the view from the top.
Beechworth was a very small town with an old-westy sort of feel which was on the way to Melbourne and had good accolades for being one of the prettiest in the region. Unfortunately, they rolled up the streets at about 7:30 PM in town and we had a very difficult time finding dinner. The place we went, however, was historical and interesting and we sat up on the balcony of an old hotel. Next day Steve and I hired bikes and took a nice long ride on a lovely rail-to-trail path they had, having some pretty strenuous climbing to do coming back on the road. Any day on bikes is usually a good day and we arrived home tired but happy. Next day, we had an impromptu morning hike in a gorgeous little park that was right outside our front door and even saw an old tannery from the 1800’s, but alas, it was time to head to our next region, the Yarra Valley wine-producing region:)