The Victorian Road Trip Part 7 - the trip home... via cows and snow!

Our night in Melbourne was relatively uneventful. Aside from our hotel being very noisy (main road and thin walls) we all slept fairly well.  Although we had breakfast supplies with us, we planned to go out for a big breaky before our morning of driving.  The previous night Anto had found a nearby cafe so we headed that way a bit after 7.30am.  Of course we got rained on in the 5 minute walk and then found the cafe was closed, with no sign of imminent opening.  Luckily we happened to notice some serviced apartments that we had stayed in on a trip to Melbourne 6 years earlier. They were only about 2 blocks from where we were now staying.  We also remembered that there were cafes near the tram stop closes to those apartments.  Five minutes later and we found the same cafe we had eaten in six years earlier.  The food was still pretty good, although the crowd (and staff) seemed significantly more hipster than in 2008. Astrid and Soren managed to charm the cafe patrons as usual, and thoroughly enjoyed their breakfast.

Once we headed out of the cafe, we headed back 'the quick way' and found that the cafe was almost directly opposite our hotel but one street over.  Oh well, we managed to stretch our legs before the mornings car trip.

Back to the hotel and we got packed up while trying to entertain a grumpy Soren.  A bit after 9am we were ready to hit the road and again Soren was asleep in the car before Anto was even out of the carpark.  The plan for the morning was to cover around 200km, heading North West to Denison to visit Anto's Uncle Peter and Aunt Jenny.  They run a dairy farm and Astrid was excited to see their cows, and other assorted animals.

Aside from the first 20 minutes of driving to get onto the freeway, the rest of the drive was very uneventful.  Astrid was happily watching her TV shows and Soren was napping.  We made it all the way to Traralgon before he woke up, and from there it was only a short hop to the farm.

Astrid and Soren were very excited to be released from the car and to explore their surroundings.  After a drink and a chat we donned the gum boots and headed out to the muddy paddocks to visit the cows.  Astrid loved chasing the calves, and then talking to the herd of cows (who thought that they should be getting more food out of us).

After communing with the cows it was time to go and meet the pet goat.  The goat thought Astrid was fun to play with, unfortunately the goat was bigger!

Even better than goats and cows was a ride on the motorbike around the house...... what cows? Now there were motorbikes!

Peter and Jenny took us to their neighbours house to meet their chooks. Very pretty show chooks who were being washed and blow dried for a show. The were indeed attractive chooks! They also had some cute cows....... Astrid was again impressed, until she spied another motorbike!

After a play with the animals, some lunch and a tour of the neighbourhood we had to bid farewell so we could head off to Bairnsdale.  We all enjoyed the catch-up and visit to the farm, and Peter and Jenny got to see a more grown-up Astrid and to finally meet Soren.

We headed off around 3pm and Soren was well and truly ready for his afternoon nap and slept all the way to Bairnsdale.  We were spending the night at Anto's aunt Sue's place.  We arrived just after 4 and 20 seconds before Sue made it home from work, and 5 minutes before Anto's aunt Jen arrived from Melbourne. Sue and Jen also hadn't seen Astrid since she was little or met Soren, so it was a big day for rellie introductions!

Much to Astrid's delight Sue has horses, so she got to feed the horses and say hello to them.  As if horses weren't enough, Sue's son Brenton arrived with his very cute dog Gus and puppy Louis.  It was doggy overload.  They were a little excitable for Astrid's liking but she did get some pats and they were extremely adorable.

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After a big day of animals and driving the kids were bathed, fed and in bed at a decent hour, leaving time for the adults to eat in peace and catch-up.  We did all manage a fairly early night though, ready for the trip home in the morning.

The plan was to make a hasty exit when the kids woke up.  Astrid managed to be awake at 6am so we had a quick breaky, fed Soren, packed, farewelled and were on the road a bit after 7.  It's about 6 hours from Bairnsdale to home, with only a few decent stopping places.  We figured Soren would be awake for awhile so we could drive for an hour and stop and get coffee in Orbost and let the kids have a break from the car.  Of course he fell asleep after 40 minutes in the car so we had to forgo the coffee idea and kept driving. Astrid was being well behaved, enjoying her last day with free reign on the car DVD player........

With Soren still asleep 10km out of Cann River we were debating whether we could keep on driving and stop in Bombala.  Astrid then decided to win the award for the most random tantrum of the trip.  With no warning she started screaming from the back seat 'let me out of this car NOW, I want to stop right here.' This of course woke Soren up and the tantrum kept going until we pointed out that there was other 4 hours of driving left and we were in the middle of a forest so it wasn't a good idea to stop.  With a cranky 3 year old and an awake baby we figured we should stop in Cann River for food, leg stretching and a bathroom break.

Cann River never fails to underwhelm us and this visit was no different. Some very average coffee, and a croissant so bad that even the food monsters Astrid and Soren wouldn't finish it.  Still, we had a break and it was time to hit the road.  Nic got to spend the next part of the trip in the back entertaining two tired kids.  We tried to convince both of them of the merits of having some sleep.  After an hour or so, just before we reached Bombala, Astrid gave in and Soren followed not long after.

With the adults rejoicing at some peace and quiet we settled in and tried to get some driving done while they napped.  Then something weird happened.  About 5km out of Bombala we started seeing chunks of ice on the road. Then there was snow in the distance. Then snow next to the road........ pretty soon we were driving along surrounded by snow. Snow piled up on the side of the roads. Farm houses with snow thick on their roofs.  Sheep grazing in white fields.  It was completely surreal.

Cars were pulling off the road and kids were playing in paddocks off the highway and snow men were appearing everywhere.  It was after 11am and there was quite thick snow everywhere, it must have been more impressive earlier in the day.  We seriously debated waking Astrid and letting her play but with another 2.5 hours of driving we weren't sure that was a good idea.  The camera gear was also in the boot, so we had to make do with photos of the snow with a our point and shoot, while driving.  The kids always go to sleep at the wrong moment! As we drove through Nimmatabel the snow was piled up in the streets, but Astrid and Soren kept on sleeping.  We knew Astrid would not be impressed if she realised what she was missing.

About 10km out from Cooma the snow started to disappear. The kids had missed their chance.  We did briefly consider continuing to drive and hoping we made it home before world war 3 broke out in the back seat but decided that we needed a break and everyone needed feeding. Soren woke up as we reached Cooma so we figured McDonald's was a safe bet. Us and half of Canberra heading to and from the snow...... the place was packed.  We often go to McDonald's when travelling for coffee/drinks/toilets and occasionally food.  Usually there is something acceptable at the McCafe. This time there were no options except cakes or the usual burgers. We gave in and let the kids share a cheeseburger.  Astrid had gotten to 3 without having a McDonald's burger, Soren got one the same day at 9 months.  Astrid was very unfussed by hers and mostly wanted to play in the playground, Soren demolished his as we got disapproving looks from nearby parents. Nic couldn't find anything vegetarian except cake, so had an iced frappe. Such a healthy lunch for all imvolved!

We eventually dragged Astrid away from the playground, with tears, but avoiding a full tantrum.  The homeward stretch awaited. The kids tolerated the last hour and 20 minutes fairly well, although we were all pleased to see the Brindabellas and know we were almost home.  We made it home right on 2pm, and found Mikl and the animals all alive and well, inside in the warm.

Aside from the inevitable unpacking and large pile of washing, that ended our Great Ocean Road adventure.  We had a good trip, survived 10 days in the car with 2 small kids, returned Trevor's car unscathed (it didn't even smell of vomit) and had plenty of good memories and lots of awesome photos.  Astrid spent the afternoon telling us how glad she was to be home with all her animals and things, and her own bed. She did spend the next few days though playing 'holidays'...........

Not quite the Swiss Alps......

Ever since Astrid's first visit to the snow, while we were in Switzerland, we have vowed to take her back...... to the snow (Switzerland is also on the agenda, but that might be awhile away).  Here she is in Switzerland, enjoying her first taste of snow in October 2012 at Jungfraujoch, at a mere 3466m above sea level.

Last Winter, by the time we had a Fiji holiday and got through Astrid's birthday and all our other around the house jobs, Winter was over. Of course I was also pregnant with Soren, so a day trip to the snow wasn't high on the agenda.  Now it's Winter again and we still haven't gotten around to that snow trip.  Astrid would love a day at the snow, but Soren is too little to get much out of it, and it really does seem like a lot of effort to drag two small children up the NSW ski fields for a couple of hours play time in the snow.

The weather has been foul here the last week or so....... We have had lots of days where the apparent temperature really hasn't got above zero for most of the day, and it's been sleeting or snowing for part of the day. OK, the snow wasn't sticking but there have been snowflakes in the air.  Luckily for us (and our lazy parenting) it did actually snow at nearby Corin Forrest. It is only a 30-40 minute drive from our house, so a much more manageable (and cheaper) outing with 2 small kids. 

It snowed so much there on the Tuesday last week that they had to close the road.  We thought we'd try and get there later in the week to see the snow. Wednesday we were busy but Thursday seemed like the best option.  Wednesday turned out to be a slightly warmer day and some of the snow had melted but it looked like on Thursday morning that the road was open and there was at least some snow.

We packed up enough spare clothes, food and possessions to last us a week away, and headed out after breakfast.  Astrid was beyond excited about going to the 'snow.' We hoped she wouldn't be too disappointed with the fairly pathetic local snow. Luckily she couldn't remember too much about Switzerland!

Soren had a nice nap in the car as we drove, and Astrid was becoming increasingly distressed that she hadn't yet spied snow. About 200 metres from Corin Forrest we started seeing snow on the ground.  When we got there, there was at least some snow to be seen. Although it was obviously starting to melt!

As we got out of the car we verified it was snowy and very cold, but Astrid was keen to go and investigate. The staff had closed off access to the other side of the creek, where the majority of the snow was, and the snow play area was also closed.  Apparently the day before some kids had broken into the snow play area and ruined their base coat of snow. That and the slightly warmer temps meant that there wasn't much snow left where we could access.  Us and a several other families with young children were wandering around looking a little disappointed.
  

Undeterred Astrid had a play in what little snow there was and built a tiny snowman.  Soren enjoyed being rugged up and warm. He looked confused as to why he felt so warm and cosy but his face was freezing!

Just as we were thinking of heading off the staff looked a bit worried about all their potential visitors running away due to the lack of snow, they decided to open up access to the other side of the creek.  Yay, more snow.......

Astrid loved running, jumping and playing in the snow. she also thought making tiny snowballs and throwing them at me and the camera was the best fun ever.

Of course it quickly turned into having to sit in the snow....... thank goodness for waterproof ski pants!  Soren had his first stand in the snow, and looked like he desperately wanted to have a good crawl around in it. We didn't think that was a good idea though (mean parents)!

There were plenty of other small children around so we had a play and built more snowmen.  Other kids had come equipped with their own carrots and kindly donated some to us for use on snowmen.  The small patch of snow eventually become littered with small snowmen, built by various small children (and parents).

Astrid was obviously getting a bit hungry and decided to eat the snow...... at this point we thought we had been cold for long enough and headed into the cafe to warm up and have a hot drink. The warm fire and hot chocolate made Astrid a happy girl. Soren looked on in envy and made to with demolishing several biscuits (since under no circumstances was he going to drink his bottle).

 

It was now lunch time and miserably cold and windy. Despite that, we had to drag Astrid away from the snow, with the promise of another snow visit in the future.  Next time we might even manage some tobogganing, and hopefully slightly more snow!

Both kids managed to nap all the way home and we declared it a successful outing. It wasn't quite the Swiss Alps, but it was quick, easy and fun, so a pretty good day out for two young kidlets.