We drove further west and quickly entered the Kosciusko NP. The road hugs the valley wall and climbs and decends through dense alpine gum tree forest. It is also a skiing area but only in a few places are slopes cleared. Our highest point is a pass called Dead Horse gap at 1582 m. Along the way down we stopped at a small campsite along a mountain stream where some campers had set up their tents. They must be out cycling or walking somewhere. Further down (at 950m) is a lookout point where we had (leftover) lunch and a rest. After some 70 km we drove out of the park and back to rolling hills. In Shelley and surrounding area we saw hectares of burnt out trees and young trees destroyed in last January bushfires. We camped for the night at a free campsite along the fast flowing Mitta Mitta river. Several fishermen are trying their luck on catching Trout here.

From Mitta Mitta riverside campsite we followed the winding road south towards Omeo. We however decided not to go to the south coast but stay in the mountains. We turned off and over a steep climbing road to the ski resort of Falls Creek. It lies on a large treeless plateau at 1700 m. We made a 4 km roundtrip walk past a refugee shelter from 1920 and one of the first ski lodges when you still had to carry your skis up the hill. Again a fantastic drive through the gum/eucaliptus forests. From Falls Creek we decended to Myrtleford (via Mount Beauty and Bright) which lies in a large valley where they grow  grapes, hop, walnuts etc. We are camping next to a small stream. There should be 3 palatypus swimming around (according to the camp owner).

From Myrtleford we drove to Mansfield. Here we stopped for coffee, sandwich and a bit of shopping. In fact Mansfield is the start/end point of the 134 km Historic Great Victorian Rail cycle trail to Tallarook. The trail winds in the foothills of the Victorian Alps between these two towns. We followed this cycle trail on our way to Broadford free campsite behind the Bowl club. We made special detour to see the 201m Cheviot Tunnel, made using handmade bricks from local clay. This was constructed to pass trains across the Black Range, just outside Yea town. In Yea we stopped at the old train station just to get an idea how it was then.

The drive on the motorway to Geelong was uneventful. Just make sure you are in the right lane out of the 5-6 you can choose from. We were early in town and had a shared sandwich at one of the trendy new places situated in a converted warehouse in the harbor. The ferry left at 18:45 so we had several hours to kill in the camper after arriving at 14:30. We are now in our cabin and are about to sail out af the bay into the open sea. It is expected to be a rough sail…..