Alpine Shire holiday

We returned to Mount Gambier today after a lovely two-week holiday in the Alpine Shire region of North East Victoria, where we used to live.

The video shows the kids jumping into the Ovens River at Porepunkah.

We stayed in a four-bedroom holiday house on the Buffalo Creek Road, south of Myrtleford. It was a little remote from town (8km), but offered great scenery and plenty of space at good value.

James (6) wanted a helicopter to pick up the house and take it back to Mount Gambier!

Regular readers will know we visited Bright and Porepunkah, swam in the Ovens River and Lake Buffalo, climbed The Horn and enjoyed fine food at Milawa and Beechworth.

The weather was a mixed bag. Some days were hotter than we were used to (from previously) and there was a cold snap, but most days were perfect.

I commented to friends that in our nine years at Porepunkah we could only recall one day over 40 degrees. I kept daily weather records for much of that time as well.

However, we struck two 40-degree days during our holiday. That followed some similarly hot days earlier in the summer and more are forecast this week.

Deny climate change? Not me.

Our house was air-conditioned and we avoided the worst of the heat by cooling off in the river or lake.

Despite being away for four years, a lot of people remembered us. Juliet took the boys into Myrtleford for a haircut and the hairdresser remembered everyone’s names. We bumped into many people we knew.

The drive was just under 10 hours, including voluntary and necessary stops. We travelled up via Ararat, Bendigo and Shepparton, returning via Melbourne and Ballarat.

The return trip was on better roads and slightly quicker, despite the longer distance. Kathleen and Maggie both get carsick, unfortunately.

I’m a great believer in three-week holidays. This one was terrific, just a little short.