Snow had fallen during the night on the hills beyond the lake, and the clouds above promised more of the same. As we packed up camp ready to move and briefly chatted with the couple next door who had ventured into the mountains yesterday despite the bitter weather, we almost regretted that we were not staying another day. But then I did not wish to just hang about camp in case we might decide to travel back toward Khancoben, so in the end, we carried on with Plan A and drove out of Jindabyne, checking back over our shoulder across the lake to see the sun shining, and sharing regret with one another. But then, you cannot do everything – travel, like life, is all about compromise.
As we neared Cooma, we checked out the lookout on Mount Connor, promising views back over the mountains and the Monaro plains. The views were indeed lovely, the road to the top a first gear job in three stages and the wind cold and decidedly unpleasant. A couple of quick photos and we were back into the cruiser and heading on our way again.
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| ANZAC Parade in Cooma |
It was our intention to fill the diesel tanks here in Cooma at the Woolworths Caltex but the roads were all closed and the ANZAC parade was about to start. We parked near the creek, as we had the other day, and joined the crowds, all of Cooma it seemed, in the freezing temperatures and waited for the parade to begin. There were soldiers, the old diggers (some tucked up in cars – probably because they were cold rather than too lame), the band wearing light shirts with red vests and no doubt regretting they had not put on their woollen underwear, the CFA volunteers and hundreds of school children, some looked barely old enough to be out of kindy. In fact half of Cooma was in the parade and the other half cheering them on. Up the main street they went, around the round-a-bout and over to the cenotaph for the service. By this stage we were frozen to the core and instead headed to the one shop open, a bakery which was doing brisk service with others who had decided enough was enough.
The NSW Corrections Museum is situated in Cooma and visitors are guided through by inmates from the current jail across the road. This had been on the agenda for when we came back through, however like most tourist attractions, is closed on Christmas and ANZAC days. Similarly I had been keen to return to the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre to review the relief models in light of having now travelled the region, but alas, had to forfeit that too.
And so we came north, travelling again on the Monaro Highway, over beautiful farm land populated with sheep and cattle, through Bredbo where one there is a Pancake & Crepe Restaurant (closed on ANZAC Day) and no bakery, stopping briefly at a rest area just north of Colinton, just a mark on the map, and then on to Canberra.
I had always had the idea that Canberra was laid out in geometric lines on a dead flat plain, with little character. It is true that we have only driven from the south through to this camping ground at the more northern end, but this city of over 350,000 seems anything but featureless. We paused briefly at the Information Centre and collected an armful of pamphlets and will spend the evening planning the days ahead.
The camp here is very busy and even as we set up, more caravans and motorhomes were arriving. Obviously they, like us, seek out the camps that charge the least exorbitant price.
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