Nearly 5 hours of driving got me toTumbarumba for my few nights accommodation. I had decided to check out the various sculptures along parts of the Snowy Valley - for the Aussies it's based on Sculptures by the Sea.
I obviously picked the right days because 'mein host' mentioned that it had been raining solidly for the previous 4 days!
My accommodation is along a narrow, pot holed dirt road and is in the middle of 'farm land'. I hear nothing but birds twittering - one baby magpie nearly didn't see another sunrise! One more whine for food and he was going to end up in a pie!!! There is a very occasional bleat of sheep or moo of cows.
The rain has really affected this area causing vegetation to grow at a rate unable to be controlled - ground is too wet for mowing! It has also caused the roads to be in a terrible state which haven't been helped by the logging trucks belting along them. No speedy driving here! Luckily traffic is light as you never know when you have to take action to miss a pot hole! I don't fancy being stuck by myself with a dodgy wheel because I didn't take evasive action!
I ventured out to the local golf club for a meal. The few locals at bar stopped talking and drinking as I walked in - it was as if I'd just landed from Mars! I can only say that the food was edible, just!
Nights are cooler here and instead of sleeping under 2 layers I had 4! Still I slept well!
Breakfast in a local cafe was good and set me up for my day of checking out the sculptures at Tumbarumba and Tooma. The creeks have risen and the paths are muddy and wet but it was an interesting walk around the sculptures here.
Made of timber, luckily no one has set fire to it!
Tooma was 35kms of pot holes to Tooma. It was suggested that I call in to Paddy's river falls as the water is pounding and it certainly was - normally it's a trickle!
I could see snow in the distance as I continued my drive.
When I reached Tooma - don't blink or you'll miss it - I called in at the pub which has stood since 1893. Got chatting to the landlord who had obviously bought the pub unseen from his place in north Queensland and was now in no man's land! Tooma has a population of about 100 people which includes the surrounding area!
Heading back to Tum.... I called in at a vineyard which housed one of the sculptures - well it did until it was taken away to be repainted, I think it had been part of Sculptures by the Sea! The salt and snow hadn't helped the paint! I took a moment to check out the wine they produced an bought a couple of bottles - have to help the local economy!
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