Ginger and Ed's Excellent Adventures

We left the wonderful Nariel Creek area and headed back up into the mountains. Our camp neighbors from Canberra mentioned a place up in the Snowy Mountains where there is a limestone cave that is open to tourists. Our route took us to Khancoban before turning off onto a road that wound through hilly farm country and slowly up.into the gum forests. As we climbed we passed two reservoirs and drove across the dam.

We soon reached Kiandra and the Snowy Mountains Highway. A few km before camp we saw wild brumbies (horses) in a meadow not far from the road. We set up our camp at Bullock Hill, a place frequently used by horseback riders. It was a lovely afternoon and we decided to walk one of the tracks towards the east.

Back at camp dark clouds were threatened thunderstorms. We had just started dinner and decided to deploy the awning. We barely finished when the first drops began to fall.

We could see not so distant flashes and hear thunder in the distance. Soon it was over us and the sky opened up and sent the torrent down upon our camp.

The storm eventually passed and stars came out. In a short while the full moon began to rise. Er could still see lightning in the distance in three different directions. It e was s the most amazing display I have seen in my life, with a full moon and more than 10 flashes a minute.

We took advantage of the lull to settle in to our rooftop nest for the night. It wasn’t long before we were fast asleep. But an hour or so later we were woken by a fierce pounding rain and hail and thunder and lightning all around us. We watched for a bit, then covered our ears and borrowed under the sleeping bag and went back to sleep.

Morning broke calm and clear. For a bit. By the time we were packed up and heading out new thunderstorms were brewing. A short drive brought us to Yarrangobilly Caves.

We decided on a guided tour of Jersey Cave. It was a good choice. For a tourist cave there were some amazing formations.

We were underground for over an hour and when we returned to the surface we found storms had left hail on the ground.

We also took a self guided cave walk to Glory Cave.

After a snack back at the rig we decided to check out the thermal pool. It wasn’t very warm, but it was comfortable enough for a quick swim. By that time of day, we had it to ourselves.

A full day. Headed down the highway back towards the coast we checked in to our “million star” hotel. It was calm, clear, and we enjoyed stargazing until we could no longer keep our eyes open.