20th June
Having organised all my bags the night before, I was on the road to Mount Donna Buang by the planned 7:30am, but unfortunately Google Maps was still not talking to me. I made a couple of stops along the way - one to take a photo over the water from the Peninsula, and another at a stop next to the Yarra River.
However, it was an easy drive to Warburton, and then the ascent to the summit. It started to get really misty, then I started to see little patches of snow by the side of the road, then some snow dusting the ferns – this was pretty much the maximum snow I was expecting. Then more, and more, until I was actually in a WINTER WONDERLAND!
I could hardly contain myself – I was squeaking and squealing and sneaking shots out the window. This was so much more than I expected, I was absolutely thrilled and amazed. The last little bit of the drive started to get a bit slippery in the mush, and the carpark looked truly dangerous for the inexperienced, so I was glad to be able to gently turn the ute around before getting stuck and park on the side of the road as others had done– I think they had the same feeling.
Just wandering around the carpark area kept me busy for quite some time – I even found some tiny fungus! And icicles! And yellow snow…..
Then I joined the growing crowds heading up the path to the very summit, spotting more lichen, moss, and fungus along the way, even falling into a drift in my pursuit of them. Totally worth it. I met a fellow snow reveller called Mel on the way down, and we enjoyed a companiable walk down, pointing things out and taking photographs of each other. I think I spent around two hours exploring all up, and I was impressed that my boots had managed to keep my feet pretty dry. I had on three pairs of socks, leggings and jeans, three shirts, my neckwarmer, earwarmers and fingerless gloves, and my coat.
What a day. I’m stoked. I came to see snow and I did. I’ve been in it before in New Zealand, but this was something else. I think watching it gradually change on the road up was exciting, and seeing it on Australian gum trees, and their magical patterned trunks rising up in it was really special.