On Friday November 18 we boarded a plane to Melbourne where we landed on Sunday November 20th
We stayed 2 nights with our friends Patty and Jono and their 3 daughters in Aspendale. Very nice to catch up!
Two days later we drove to Thredbo to prepare for the ‘big climb’. We checked into the Denman Hotel and met friendly owners Judy and Ed.
Up early the next morning, November 23rd, for our climb to the top. Yes, ‘our’ climb: Mt Kosciuszko is 2228m high and Thredbo is at about 1400m, so nothing I couldn’t handle 🙂
We set off on Merrits Nature Track, which took us to the top of the chairlifts. From there it is a 13km roundtrip to the top, all the way on a boardwalk. Very convenient! The weather was cooperative, the worst being intermittent fog rolling over the mountains. When we reached the top we were totally fogged in, so no views, but that has been the story of most of Stephen’s 7 Summits. After spending about half an hour including lunch at the top we headed back down and the fog cleared.
At Black Sallee’s Bistro at the top of the Snowgums chairlift we enjoyed a well deserved latte before heading back down to the village. I took the chairlift down, Stephen ran down. Naturally.
Back in our room we enjoyed a bottle of Champagne, relaxed, put photos on Facebook and later went out for a nice meal.
Leisurely breakfast the next morning before setting off towards Sydney. There we stayed with Fiona and Phil and their 2 kids in Lilyfield. Took a couple of strolls down Memory Lane in Balmain and had Thanksgiving drinks with friends in our former local The London Bar. Caught up with lots of friends over 3 days, very nice! For our last evening Fiona cooked the most lovely dinner, and we got to invite friends as well.
All in all a very nice trip!!!!
Here are some photos:
Photos of Friends in Australia
I don’t have any photos of Sasha and Jonty (Phil & Fiona’s kids) or Liam and Max (Matt and Karina’s kids). They were so well behaved during dinner that we hardly saw them!