Going South again
We have taken advantage of a gap between tradies at home to head for Mallacoota for a couple of days. We left the ACT area a tad later than usual so that Frances could do her gym class and set off from Queanbeyan at noon. It was 7oC then, and we had speculated (on the dog walk that morning at -2oC) about the likely temperature at Nimmitabel as we past through. I went for 11oC and Frances for 9oC.
The start of the drive was uneventful although a cement pumper going up the hill towards Googong at 40kph was a cramp. While stuck behind it we passed Mr Plod conversing with a guy in a Victorian plated car: soon after we got to the Monaro Highway the Vic car came past, obviously in a mood to make up for lost time.
Approaching Michelago we met the first fog bank.
This knocked the temperature back to 3oC but as we emerged from the fog it went back to 7oC. Frances was looking optimistic for Nimmitabel!
The next major patch of fog was shortly after Bredbo, where the weather seemed to have got a lot of punters visiting the Christmas Barn. This fog bank was quite extensive - but not dense enough to require slowing down (visibility about 300m) - and cold. The in-car thermometer got down to 3oC as we crossed the mighty Numeralla.
After that we had no more fog and the temperature climbed gradually all the way to Nimmitabel. It was 8.5oC at we passed the sign for the Great Dividing Range (from where Frances could look back as see the snow on the Main Range). At the South end of town, passing Lake Williams, it hit 9oC. Well done in the passenger seat!
There was no snow in the area, but ice was visible in the shaded puddles, and frost on the shady banks beside the road. In the usual spot after turning off the Snowy Mountains Highway, the Main Range was clearly visible and snowy! We didn't stop for a snap as I wanted to get along Imlay Rd before too many marsupials came out to jump in front of us. We did stop briefly in Bombala to let the small dog have a comfort stop and noticed a very informative map. This showed that the Genoa River, which flows into Mallocoota Inlet crosses the Monaro Highway only a few metres past the start of Imlay Rd
As soon as we got into Imlay Rd there were 3 wallabies standing beside the road. They stayed in position - it was a nice sunny patch - and were the only ones we saw in the 56km . It was a very quiet drive: I only remember seeing 1 log truck in the whole road and the only road works were right at the end, where I think they had been doing a controlled burn.
Once on the Princes Highway Frances decided to have a nap as the road would be less bendy than the Imlay. That lasted about 2 minutes as I had to brake heavily on encountering this.
We met this stupid, and very dangerous, situation last trip on the way home as were joined the Snowy Mountain Highway. The truck at the front is carrying a warning sign about road works. Unfortunately this was the first warning and effectively blocks the road so one comes round a bend at 100kph and there is a big, stationary truck! I know one should always be able to stop and I did, but I was very nervous while I was tail-end Charlie,
No more dramas on the drive. Unpacked the car etc and decided to go for a short walk to ease the kinks out of our backs and legs. The inlet was brilliant.
The water level is a little high as the mouth is still blocked.
Getting back to the house the temperature was dropping quite quickly from 12 oC to 8oC, so the fire was lit!
The start of the drive was uneventful although a cement pumper going up the hill towards Googong at 40kph was a cramp. While stuck behind it we passed Mr Plod conversing with a guy in a Victorian plated car: soon after we got to the Monaro Highway the Vic car came past, obviously in a mood to make up for lost time.
Approaching Michelago we met the first fog bank.
The next major patch of fog was shortly after Bredbo, where the weather seemed to have got a lot of punters visiting the Christmas Barn. This fog bank was quite extensive - but not dense enough to require slowing down (visibility about 300m) - and cold. The in-car thermometer got down to 3oC as we crossed the mighty Numeralla.
After that we had no more fog and the temperature climbed gradually all the way to Nimmitabel. It was 8.5oC at we passed the sign for the Great Dividing Range (from where Frances could look back as see the snow on the Main Range). At the South end of town, passing Lake Williams, it hit 9oC. Well done in the passenger seat!
There was no snow in the area, but ice was visible in the shaded puddles, and frost on the shady banks beside the road. In the usual spot after turning off the Snowy Mountains Highway, the Main Range was clearly visible and snowy! We didn't stop for a snap as I wanted to get along Imlay Rd before too many marsupials came out to jump in front of us. We did stop briefly in Bombala to let the small dog have a comfort stop and noticed a very informative map. This showed that the Genoa River, which flows into Mallocoota Inlet crosses the Monaro Highway only a few metres past the start of Imlay Rd
Once on the Princes Highway Frances decided to have a nap as the road would be less bendy than the Imlay. That lasted about 2 minutes as I had to brake heavily on encountering this.
No more dramas on the drive. Unpacked the car etc and decided to go for a short walk to ease the kinks out of our backs and legs. The inlet was brilliant.
Getting back to the house the temperature was dropping quite quickly from 12 oC to 8oC, so the fire was lit!
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