EXCEED March 2017 | Page 21

TRIP REPORT

Friday January 27
36 C From Colac Colac ( Clack Clack ) Caravan Park thru Nariel Valley . Travelling over Nankervis Bridge onto road to OMEO . Onto Nariel Gap Tk , then past Kippell Lane on left . The paddocks are overgrown with thistles and the scourge of Blackberries . Past Grays Tk recreation site . Onto Walkers Log Rd . More creeks lined with Blackberries ! Climbing , climbing up , up and so dusty with little wind to blow it away . Gibson ' s Gap / Walkers Rd . Dragon flies in the sun , onto Walkers Rd . Then to Link Tk for Morning Tea . Mt Pinnabar Tk in The Alpine National Park .
Mt Pinnabar has the grid point at the top , expansive views across the High Country . It also is the highest 4WD track in the state .
Steep decent at times on the way to Tom Groggan . Views of Tom Groggan Station through the trees . Onto Davies Plain Tk . Stony Creek Tk . Tom Groggan Tk ( Dry weather only ). Crossing our Mighty Murray River through 2 feet of water ! Into Kosciusko National Park . Kangaroos nestled under the tree not leaving at our arrival with so many other Campers . Then to Scammel Spur Lookout . Finally to Khancoban for a much anticipated Ice Cream . A truly wonderful drive Thank you Laurie and Chris .
Lael & Joy Lea 1536 .
Saturday , 28th of January 2017 . ( Sue ’ s 39th birthday , again )
Woke up early this morning ( bloody Kookaburras ) after a long day out on the tracks yesterday . Sue had already slipped out to the showers , and just as well because the whole park was about to come awake and the place was packed , so an early shower was very wise . This gave me an opportunity to salvage her birthday present and card from the bottom of the cupboard in the van and place it prominently on the table where she would see it when she came back in . Big , big browny points here , I ’ ll collect later .
9:00am start today and it was going to be 37 degrees . Our first stop was Corryong where we had to search out Jack Riley ’ s grave . “ Who ’ s Jack Riley ?” I hear you say . Funny , that ’ s what I said too . The mythical Jack Riley is reputed to be ‘ The Man from Snowy River ’, immortalised as a hero by Banjo Paterson in his poem “ The Man from Snowy River ”. We searched the grave yard , looking at names and dates and ages whilst searching for the grave . Always quick on the uptake , I spotted Laurie ( after he called me ) standing next to an unusual grave stone . There it was , ‘ Jack Riley , The Man from Snowy River , 1841 – 1914 ’. The stone was erected by the Shire Council , a shrewd move .
From the grave yard we made our way to the local medical centre to visit a jigsaw puzzle , not just any jigsaw puzzle but a giant one made up of 24,000 pieces and posted onto a large board which was mounted in one of the waiting areas of the centre . The puzzle , titled ‘ LIFE : The Great Challenge ’, measures 4.28 metres wide by 1.57 metres high . It was once officially registered as the world ’ s largest commercial jigsaw puzzle in the Guinness Book of Records . The very patient ( no pun intended ) lady , Anne Tempest took around 12 months and countless hours putting the work together in four sections , then had trouble finding a place to mount it for show . Luckily , a chance conversation with a friend saw it finally housed where it lives today . The framing alone cost around $ 700 , paid for by seven different community groups . The finished , framed and mounted work measures 4.5 metres wide and stands 1.7 metres high . The final picture is well worth viewing if ever you visit the area . Within the puzzle it has two pieces transposed , which we found , which makes for an interesting exercise trying to find them . Anne is reported to be working on an even larger jigsaw puzzle made up of 33,600 pieces .
© Vol 34 No . 2 - March 2017