An iffy sort of day
As we expected from the forecasts, Tuesday dawned cool and overcast. With storms forecast for the morning, we decided to stay in and wait to see what the afternoon brought. Our little studio apartment is very comfortable so it’s not hard to relax and read while we wait to see what the weather does. And what it did, late morning, was to bucket down. Phew! We’re glad we were cautious.
However, with the weather clearing, as forecast, in the afternoon, we decided to do two old favourite walks – part of the Thredbo River Walk, leaving it to join the Meadows Nature Track, which we left partway to descend under the chairlift. Hmm, that’s a pretty tricky downhill track which we’ve done once or twice before but may not again! The walk was only 4km, but according to Len’s fitness tracker we walked the equivalent of 35 floors up and 42 down.
Having had a light, but delicious salad lunch at Central Road 2625 Cafe, we were uncertain about dinner. We settled on T-Bar which we haven’t been to for many years – mainly because its menu is pizza and pasta focused. However, they have a small selection of other dishes so off we went. Len enjoyed his Beef Cheeks with Polenta and I my Pumpkin and Avocado Salad with Grilled Chicken.
After dinner, we returned to our apartment to watch some tennis, and were pleased to see Dash and Ash win their respective matches. (Daria Gavrilova and Ashleigh Barty, that is, of course.)
A glorious day
Today, Wednesday, dawned a very different day – mild (forecast 19°C), calm, and with a clear blue sky. Perfect for walking. So, up the chairlift we went to do one of the downhill walks – Merritt’s Traverse this time – that we often do on our first day. It’s a good walk with, surprisingly (well, surprising the first time you do it) a decent uphill stretch that gives a decent cardio workout! According to the fitness tracker we walked 6.2km, doing the equivalent of 9 floors up, and 86 floors down. Our knees held out – just! It’s a pretty tough downhill walk, including a couple of kilometres down gravelly service roads.
Over the years we’ve been coming to Thredbo in summer, we’ve watched it expand its summer attractions – particularly in the sporting/recreation area – to bring more people to the region in summer. In recent years, the mountain bike courses have been expanded and formalised, sometimes to the detriment of the comfort of us walkers! Bikes are supposed to give way to walkers but of course it’s easier for walkers to move aside. However, my point here is that near the end of this walk we discovered a new activity in the area – Disc Golf – which explains why we saw a big stand of discs (aka frisbees) in one of the sports stores the previous day. I’d love to see some people playing it!
Anyhow, we lunched at the Central Road 2625 Cafe again, before returning to our apartment to rest our weary knees and legs – and continue our reading (which for Len is Tony Park’s The cull, and Sue, Jenny Ackland’s The secret son.)
For dinner, we did our usual first day thing – given we’d done our first day walk, and all! – and went to Bernti’s Bar and Grill. The food – two share plates, one Chorizo, Haloumi and Endive, and the other, Roasted Spiced Pumpkin with Soy and Sesame – was delicious. Len finished up with a Lemon Meringue Cheesecake, which was one of those deconstructed desserts and was also delicious! (I tried a tiny spoonful or two.)
Taking those lifts up must be refreshing and the promise of delicious meals after the downhill hike enticing. Wish I were there.
Haha, Carolyn. So true – and it would be lovely to have you here. (What terrible things are happening in California at present! What a rough time that area has had over recent months.)
Lovely photos Sue! It looks so green! Enjoy yourselves.
Thanks Kate. On way home now through pouring rain!