4 Stray Katz: Champagne and mussels at the Snowy River

Willis Campground, Snowy River, Vic

Wed 30th March - Sat 2nd April

Daniel was keen for a few days camping along the Snowy River. It’s one of his favourite places, he’s been coming here since he was child and it holds very special memories for us – it was the place where he proposed 14 years ago!

Although the weather certainly put a dampener (literal and figurative) on our time there, we still had many memorable moments.

- We enjoyed a bottle of Moet by the campfire and reminisced about our engagement (and also wondered if we will ever get around to getting married!).

- Daniel cooked up the trout that he and Jackson caught, resulting in a delicious dinner.

- Daniel and Emilia spotted a brumby on morning walk/ride and we all saw 3 brumbies on the drive out.

- The kids collected freshwater mussels and decided to eat one – the result was hilarious to watch.

- Emilia made an apple and blackberry crumble from apples we collected at Edi Cutting and from blackberries Daniel and Jackson collected at the Snowy – it was the most incredible dessert I have ever had. It is amazing how much better food tastes when you are camping (and it is cooked on the campfire).

The rest of the time was spent going for walks and exploring the area. Jackson spent hours collecting firewood and he started getting up early to light the fire in the morning. He is becoming a real hunter-gatherer. The kids also enjoying riding their bikes and trying out Daniel’s fat wheeled bike on the rocks.

We heard from some fellow campers that the weather was predicted to become even worse over the weekend, so we decided to leave early Saturday morning. We are glad we did as it bucketed down all day Saturday and Sunday and we may have ended up having trouble getting out (the road out is narrow and windy).

Orbost

Sat 2nd - Sun 3rd April

We spent Saturday night in Orbost and caught up with Markus (Daniel’s brother) and his work colleagues from Port Campbell, Deb and Pete, who are all working at Orbost at the moment. After a boring day sheltering from the rain in the van (Emilia and I) and watching a wet and dirty match at the local footy (Daniel and Jackson), we were keen to get out. We had a great dinner out at the local Thai restaurant, which we were all grateful for as the weather didn’t allow us to do anything else.

We awoke to more rain, but managed a short walk around town before packing up the van to leave. On the walk we discovered a bower bird nest, complete with hundreds of blue ‘treasures’, the kids were pretty excited to see it so went back with their cameras whilst we packed up (in the rain!).

The drive in from Jindabyne was treacherous.

The sign we saw after the road in from Jindabyne. It definitely wasn't very suitable - lucky Daniel is a great driver.

Not much of a lookout!!

The narrow, steep road into the camping area Daniel was determined to get in to.

A tight fit - this is why caravans are not recommended!

It was worth the drive down to get to this lovely camp spot on the river.

Reminiscing about when Daniel proposed at the Snowy River - 14 years ago! Thanks for the champagne Val and Henry.

Escaping the bad weather and starting their scrapbooks - thanks for all the supplies Lisa B.

Running for a quick swim whilst the sun was out - then we stood by a roaring fire as the sun was out for less than 10 minutes!

Mussel collecting (and showing off his muscles)

Jackson spent a good few hours collecting, breaking and stacking firewood so he and Emilia could have their own fire.

Ready to taste one of the mussels they collected - Daniel said they had to commit to eating it if they took its life.

Emilia downed hers with a large gulp of water.

Jackson, on the other hand, took a long time and several dry retches before he swallowed his half mussel. I don't think they will be cooking river mussels any time soon!!