Day 5 (26-Dec-12) Jindabyne - Melbourne (565 km)

Today was designated a ‘rest day’, involving a day of driving only. As such, the start to the day was very leisurely, though again early, with Jindabyne fast receding in our rear view mirror by 07:10hrs. The traverse west along the Alpine Way through Kosciuszko NP was stunning, with low clouds suddenly giving way to clear blue skies as we past Thredbo. The route along the narrow road was alas very tiring also, involving steep ascents and descents, around innumerable hairpin bends, extending for more than a 100km! However, by the time we reached the border with Victoria, the terrain was mercifully flat, at which point we looked forward to an uneventful, yet pleasant, drive west to our intended layover in Epsom. Alas, our plans soon lay in ruins…..

 

While travelling on the Hume Highway we noticed distance markers to Melbourne, observing that, compared to the distance already travelled from Brisbane, the city was ‘just down the road’ (300km). Thoughts naturally turned to Nick & Nikki (N&N), so Astrid sent a quick SMS to Nikki to let her know that we were in the ‘neighbourhood’ and to wish her happy Xmas. This triggered a flurry of SMS and phone calls, which, within the space of 5 minutes, culminated in a sudden and major course correction. Rather than continue west to Epsom for a mundane dinner of leftover pasta, we opted instead to drop south on a ‘slight diversion’ to Melbourne and a sumptuous feast with N&N J. This impromptu decision proved to be a highlight of the holiday, for what better way to spend Boxing Day, if not in the company of good friends, debating the major issues of the day (not least Australia’s response to the Sri Lankan collapse on Day 1 of the test at the MCG), washed down with great food and great wine!