At Bairnsdale we found there was no accommodation as the DNRE (Department of Natural Resources & Environment) and the CFA (Country Fire Authority) were in town en masse. We moved on towards Bruthen and finding nothing there either, headed for Omeo. The road was splendid in the afternoon sun and I enjoyed the drive in that open golden light. Gentle, rolling, hills, clear, smokeless sky and bitumen underneath was a respite from concern for me.

Omeo is a beautiful town. I found it quite a surprise. Nestled in these smooth, brown hills with clean distinctive buildings, we found a unique and effective accommodation for the night and enjoyed our brief time there.

There were lovely plants and I got up early and had breakfast in the local bakery surrounded by CFA brave souls who had also filled that town to protect from the surrounding fires. I read that Omeo had been severely affected by fires in 2003. There were posters on the wall describing the effects of a great firestorm that had ravished the area and then the flooding rains that followed had created harmful environmental consequences as unprotected topsoil had washed into the water supply.

From Omeo we headed towards Jindabyne on an amazing road that passed along the Snowy River. The road that passes through Suggan Buggan is one that has to be experienced to be believed. It is a slender dirt road that winds along a cliff that looks out onto vast treed ranges. There is no room for error on those roads. We stopped at one point to take photos after a few kms, and a weary driver stopped to warn that it seemed to go on forever, he looked tired and concerned and wanted to know how much further he had to go on this road. He had traveled from Queensland and was heading towards Tasmania. I had already began to feel queasy from the height and his stress made a deposit in my mind! Andy remained his usual calm self and loves the challenge and adventure of roads like that.

Entering Jindabyne was majestic. The lake is vast and it is surrounded by mountains. It is quite a big place really although much of the commercial nature was subdued as it was summer and it is the snow that draws the crowds in places like that. We attempted to get a spot at the caravan park, yet it was booked out. We searched for landmarks from the film we had recently seen, ‘Jindabyne’ (which I loved and will possibly write about later). We stayed at a ski lodge and it began raining and we were glad we weren’t in the tent.

Trip to Wollongong #1

January 22, 2007

johblogs

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We took almost a week to arrive in Wollongong on the 1st of this year. We experienced a range of weather. We left the smoky Latrobe Valley on December 27th, although we had intended leaving on Boxing Day, we were delayed by a day. Heading towards the hills, literally, we passed through Seaton on our path towards the ranges. Many of our planned routes were closed due to the bushfires that were burning and we saw lots of smoke and burnt out areas.
Our first night was spent at a delightful creek where we had our first swim. It felt invigorating to wash off the dusty, smoky aura that had surrounded me. The chill of the river water had me breathing deeply.
We camped here for the night. I must admit I felt nervous as I could hear in the distance trees falling in the bush. I heard 3 or 4 and that was enough for me. At some point during the night gentle rain fell on the tent and this soothed my fears enabling me to sleep deeply.
The next day we headed back on the dirty, churned up 4WD track heading across a river crossing first then up a hill. The road had been graded, probably due to the fires and we had some difficulty with it. We headed towards our planned route towards Mt Angus, hoping to make the Moroka River that night. The road became totally impassable with huge trees blocking the road entirely. We found another path, and from there we headed to Bairnsdale with the intention of staying in a motel and revisiting the route from there. We were tired. It had been challenging. My challenge was fear. I was apprehensive about the fires and the roads and the heights, Andy had to do all the decision making and concentration on driving. The road was the worst we had traveled on and the car, hit rocks underneath on two occasions, once causing damage that he had to repair. I am pretty blessed to have such a competent companion.

Law of Attraction Stories

January 20, 2007

johblogs

reflection 3 Comments

I spent time on a beautiful beach at sunset in Austinmer was taken at the end of a wonderful day I had during the week we spent at Wollongong. Lots of magical things had happened and I felt really happy, grateful and peaceful.
Peak Performance has a good story to support your thinking around the laws of attraction. Don’t we all need as many triggers to think like this as possible?
Steve Pavlina discusses Gratitude and states

“When you feel grateful for existence itself, you move from doing grateful to being grateful. At this level you finally activate the Law of Attraction because you’re broadcasting gratitude all the time. It becomes part of your identity. Ultimately you attract circumstances that resonate with who you are.”

I looked up my wish list today on Froogle and found that I had actually received everything that was on my list. I was quite astounded and as I looked back over it I reflected that I had a range of things; from things I knew I would probably get, to things that seemed quite impossible at the time. I also noted that the ‘things’ had come to me in all different ways and it would have been unlikely for me to predict how they would come, at the time. The point is that I decided I wanted them, I made the list then forgot about it and it happened. I’ve made a new list needless to say. I want to apply that elsewhere!

Wollongong Trip – Omeo to Jindabyne

Trip to Wollongong #1

Law of Attraction Stories

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