W is for Walking: 14km along the Great Victorian Rail Trail

Walking from Maindample to Mansfield

Over boiled eggs and toast last night Lee reminded us that we have known each longer than we have not know each other. We all met in our 20's and here we are at a timeshare in the High Country of Victoria, spending time together, as if the distance between Johannesburg and Melbourne does not exist.
A privilege indeed.

And we spent our morning walking the section of the Great Victorian Rail Trail between Maindample and the Trail Head at Mansfield. Over 140km of the original rail track is now converted to a wonderful space for walkers, cyclists and horse riders.Fabulous use of the land!

We dropped cars at each end and walked the 14km stretch through the countryside, which is a golden biscuit colour, marvelling at the form of the gums, the deep blue of the sky and we just loved being out.

It was the hottest day we have experienced to date here in Australia, mid 30's, so we kept the pace gentle, talking all the way and bridging the years.

Q is for Quirky signs: An echidna on the road

A gate on a walk - reclining kangaroo is a delight

Travel delivers some quirky moments and not least of all these come from the caution signs on the highways here in Australia - with their images of the weirdly wonderful animals of this great continent - kangaroo, emu, echidna, wombat, koala.

So I have been watching the verges for glimpses of the wildlife, there have been loads of kangaroos but no sign of the others.

Yesterday as we were driving to the summit of Mt Buller, I saw my first Echnida, just off the road, about a rugby ball size, short quills, with its strange little face and it's long snout of a nose.

No sooner were we out the car than it sensed danger and started to burrow furiously, hiding its face underground!

Fred and Guy tried to encourage it to surface without any luck, we all hooted with laughter when the Echidna came up for air - its stuck it's long nose out of the ground and took a breath. So odd, so how about a wombat next?

Postscript: on the road today I noticed a dead animal on the roadside, we turned around and it was a wombat, much larger than I expected, full bodied and strong looking. Would have preferred to see it alive though.