We left Melbourne today and headed off for Wodonga, where Marnie and Ness' brother lives. We'll meet up with Percy and Rose when we get there and have a real Aussie Barbie tomorrow. We decided to take the scenic route to Wodonga, and passed the Maroondah Reservoir, where Melbourne gets its fresh water from. The road then took us though the Yarrah National Park, which had the tallest trees I've ever seen. They didn't have any bark or branches and towered over the road, like an enormous cathedral. It made you feel really small. Occasionally, the road cut though a hillside, and those monstrous ferns we'd seen the other day from the walkway above, were now dwarfing our car, looking down on us.

Passing Melbourne	Tunnel Out of Melbourne	Maroondah Reservoir	Yarrah National Park
Cathedral of Trees	Fishing in the River	Riverbank

This next bit isn't funny unless you've seen "The Castle," a hysterical Australian film about a family with a house nearly on an airport, and a vacation home in Bonnie Doon, where the power lines run over a beautiful carp filled lake, and where serenity fills the air. Needless to say, Bonnie Doon isn't on the main highway, but we just had to go see it after we stumbled across it on the map. Heh.. but Marnie's shortcut turned out to be a one lane side road though a beautiful valley. The road changed to gravel, but Joel kept up a good speed. Our blue, overladen station wagon held the turns like a rally racer. We all laughed, singing repetatively, "We're goin' to Bonnie Doon! We're goin' to Bonnie Doon!" laughing ourselves silly over the whole thing. The gravel road became a dirt road, and split in two directions. The driveways became indistinguishable from the main road, farmhouses in the distance, and a huge rooster tail plume of dust kicking up behind us, as Joel tried to keep the car on the goat track (road). Then it got worse! Joel's experience in the Land Rover parks, taking his Ute four wheel driving paid off, when the road conditions got really bumpy. If we were to loose a tire here we'd never get out. But, while joking about pulling handbrake turns, and laughing hysterical because we weren't even sure if this was the right road, the car turned nearly sideways, sliding toward the edge of a hairpin turn. Everyone thought Joel did it on purpose, but he confessed later that his legs were jelly in fright. He saved the car from the skid, and the main highway was just ahead. We couldn't stop laughing over the whole thing, and took the compulsory photo by the sign.

We had a picnic in Bonnie Doon, and saw the lake, and the power lines and everything. The laugh and photo we got out of it was well worth the drive. The footie got stuck at the top of a tree, and we spent a good half hour hurling stones at it trying to dislodge it.

Hills near Bonnie Doon	From the Gravel Road	Smooth Part of the Gravel Road	Ahh... Hear the Serenity!
We're Goin' to Bonnie Doon!	Picnic in Bonnie Doon	Dislodging the Footie	Sending Up Ness
Shake It!	Power Lines Over Bonnie Doon

On the way to Wodonga, we we passed though Beechworth, an old 1850's gold mining town, preserved in authentic 1850's architecture. I posted some postcards there in the ancient looking post office. Joel joked that it may take longer from here, since they have to wait for the horse and buggy to come by to pick up the mail. The bakery here is supposedly the best or biggest in Australia, but I wasn't very impressed by its size or pastery selection.

Old Gold Mines Near Beechworth	View from Beechworth Centre	View from Beechworth Centre	View from Beechworth Centre
View from Beechworth Centre	View from Beechworth Centre	Beechworth Bakery

In Wodonga, we finally met up with Percy and Rose (Marnie and Ness' parents), who've been staying here with their son, Peter, and his family. They made us a stellar dinner of steaks, chops, snags (sausages), and creamy potatoes. We even had a big family style Watchtower study.

Hills near Wodonga

Mum and Pop

Peter's Place

Peter on the Barbie