The High Country - Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain

There was another heat wave coming and the forecast was much cooler up in Dinner Plain, so that's where we headed. Research into The Great Alpine Road told me it was sealed and suitable for caravans, with some saying it's steep and windy but no problem and others saying to avoid it! The section from Harrietville to the top of Mount Hotham is about 30km with an average gradient of 4.2%, but some sections are closer to 10%. We were in second gear most of the way up, and dropped down to first for the steep tight bends. The drops off the side were probably enjoyable for thrill seekers, but not for us! It wasn't until near the top (and where it had levelled out a lot) that I realised I should have been taking photos and videos.

We didn't pull over at any of the lookouts because Dazz just wanted to get to the top. Once we were up we stopped just before the village, and then in the village to go for a walk.

Even though it had been over 30 degrees at the bottom of the mountain for a few days there were still a couple of patches of snow - too far to walk to for a snow fight though!

Dinner Plain was a pretty village. The free camp was small, but we had a nice spot on the side of the road next to the grass. The sun was rather warm so we tried out our new awning. It doesn't quite fit between the car and the van, but we were able to make it work. We spent a pleasant afternoon sitting in the shade chatting to one of our neighbours before going for a walk around the village.

The next morning we walked down to Carmichael Falls. The main falls were not very exciting and there wasn't much to see, but there were smaller falls along the stream that were pretty.