Into the outskirts of the Victorian snowfields today, from Yea to Sale, from mountains to plains (again).
Yea is a town that services the snowfields and much reliant on day trippers from Melbourne in the summer months and the snow trippers in winter. So the town is fortunate in having an all year market to service.
The van park we stayed at was basic, with many long term residents. Some had been there for 40 and 20 years, with their personal gardens and add on to add ons. The shower block was unique to say the least open air ceiling all around to let the fresh air in , at least you didn’t have to worry about the mirrors fogging up , remembering of course that the outside temp was 2 degrees.
However the water was hot!!! Again we had an early start with the first stop at Alexandra where I took the opportunity to walk the town and meet some of its inhabitants. Met some local business people who echoed the concerns we had heard through NSW, SA and Vic.
It certainly is a small world met a local from Bowral and my days on the local council, and another who had retired and worked with me in Canberra.Tourism wise, it’s a very attractive part of Australia and I would encourage the day trippers to double their journey.
Stay over night or two rather than a day and help a country town. Saw a dusting of snow on the nearby peaks of the snowfields but otherwise a nice sunny morning.
From there to Healesville stopping at a number of small little towns in between, each with something to offer even if it’s only a counter lunch at the only pub in town. Heaps of photo opportunities and the driving pleasant.
We decided to head home from Pakenham, along the Princes Highway, through Moe, Traralgon with an over night stay at Sale where I will be testing a cabin. Now I know some of you sceptics will say I succumbed to an easier form of sleeping, but there was a special request to test a self contained cabin. It was quite strange taking my stuff out of the van into a cabin.
We were quite at odds about the extra space. I won with the queen bed; Wal got the bunks. Our tour seems to have generated a lot of interest from local media which is proving a worthwhile exercise to highlight industry needs.
There is a strong case being made for a national standardisation system and national accreditation of staff. Many information centres are staffed by volunteers and the quality of the service, whilst enthusiastic and friendly does need polishing.
I see some opportunities for the federal government to contribute and I will be developing these ideas in the days ahead.
Please, do the nation a favour and go see Australia.
Remember, your leisure time is probably someone’s job.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment