Bombala

Hi lovelies,

Yesterday we left Eden and the coast and headed inland.

Bombala is a beautiful village on the Monaro Highway between the coast and the Snowy Mountain Ranges.

It is known as Platypus Country and we were hopeful of seeing some of these timid animals.

 We came inland on the Imlay Road, and it was a dream to drive on.   

The road was built and is maintained by the forestry department.  Logging trucks were in abundance on the road, and they do tend to move along 😊. 

It was a much gentler climb than any of the other roads in from the coast, and well worth the detour to have a stress free drive.

We were discussing the logging as we drove along and I said that it would be interesting to see some loggers working.  We were blessed to be able to catch this man maneuvering around logs like they were match sticks. 

 The scoop thingy (technical term) had a saw on one end and he was able to trim the logs to desired size as he went.

Our stop on the side of the road to check it out was cut short as we received a visit from a worker who said that we were not allowed to stop along the road.  Oops.

There was evidence of reforestation going on, and they entire area was quite pretty.

We arrived in Bombala just in time to have some lunch.  We then headed off for a walk into town.  I will admit to it being chilly here.  It was a little windy and the temperature at lunch time was quite crisp.  

It was sad to see a number of the shops closed, but the buildings are lovely.

I did find a papercraft store so we wandered in and I did find some paper that I just had to have. 😊.

We are not sure what these strange folk were doing hanging out behind the local pool.

It was then back to walk along the river bank and see if we could see any platypuses. The walk starts with this lovely memorial to the shearers.

 Alas there were platypuses to see view, but the river was well alive with birds,

 and the trees too.

A visit to the information centre gave us more info on what to see, so we headed back to the van to grab the car and go for a drive. 

Our first stop was the lookout.  It shows a lovely view back over the town and towards the Snowy Mountains.  It was a bit cloudy so the day view was a little washed out.

From there we headed to the Platypus Reserve.  We had been told by the lady at the information center that we might also see wombats there.  I think we were more excited about this than the platypus.

Alas no wombats, but we did find a few wombat holes.

We were the only people at the reserve so we grabbed our chairs from the back of the car and sat at the viewing platform to see if we could spot any platypus.  

They are so cute, and while it was pretty easy to spot where they were as they leave a wake behind them like a boat,

 

they themselves were a little hard to see.  This could be for a few reasons, the reflections of the banks and trees in the river, the fact that they are small or that they appear to be a similar colour to the water.  Not that these photo have them the same colour.  Not sure what I did to the camera.

  We did feel blessed to see them.

Today was a mixed bag.  It was Robbie’s 59^th birthday.  We did not have a lot planned, just some more platypus viewing, and a visit to the railway station and to Lavendar House.  The best laid plans etc.

We headed into town first to grab a new heater as the little one in the van gave up the ghost.

We passed the town bakery, so got a birthday treat for Robbie.  Then a couple of op shop visits and off to the train station. 
The entrance to the railway station has this unusual sculpture

Though the station is not really well maintained it was pretty interesting.

The tiled roof on the station was very unusual.

We loved the turntable.

and the cows that were grazing.

Alas for me that was the end of seeing things.  Family phone calls to help with problems meant that Robbie wandered Machinery Shed

and Lavender House kind of on his own.  
Lavendar House was originally built as a convent.  It now houses a huge array of donated memorabilia.  

 He did say it was very interesting, and I love the photos that he took.

Back to the van, for a nap, but more phone calls meant that did not happen, for me anyway.

This evening we headed back to the Platypus Reserve.  We thought if we went a little later we might see a wombat, but alas not. 

We did see some more platypuses and they were worth the stop in Bombala.

Question – what happens to the awning on a van when one or both of us do not check that the straps are on before we head off. ☹.  This was not a pretty site when we landed in Bombala yesterday.  

 Some running repairs until we can get it fixed, meant we found the silver lining in the situation. 😊

All for now lovelies.

Stay safe and keep enjoying life.  

Love us.