This return journey from return leg of our tour of Tasmania, started when we got out of the Spirit of Tasmania ferry in Geelong. We took a cab to our Melbourne CBD hotel to rest for the night before heading to Sydney in our SUV. After breakfast and coffee we took a last stroll around Fed square and started the drive up north at around mid day, much later than we had planned. Passing through the plains of Victoria, the pastures littered with cows we arrived at Keotong, in the western foot hills of Kosciuszko National past in NSW. With multiple stops to fuel both the car and the family we arrived pretty late around half past eight in the evening, nearly six and a half hour after we left Melbourne, much later that we anticipated.

We stopped at a local pub for a quick dinner of country snitzel and pizza before heading off to the mountains and the dense forest. We were told by the pub owner lady that we better rush before it gets dark.

When i took Right to head into the mountains, my heart sank, it was 96 km to Thredbo, the place we were supposed to spend the night, we might spend the night in the forest! The road through the mountain was thrilling, with silhouette of the mountains on our left looming while a dense forest on the left throughout. I felt as if I could hear the mountains breathe. The road was narrower than the other similar forest ones I had driven in NSW but was high quality and well maintained. We could see the shadows of gorges, mountains and trees right next to us and would fill us with sense of scariness and beauty at the same time.

On the dark road we had to dodge quite a few wild life running in front of us. Sometimes we could see some cars stopped in a small open area by the road, probably the hikers and travellers spending night in the woods.

We arrived at our Alpine hotel in Thredbo little after 10 at night and so glad to see the 24/7 reception open and a receptionist expecting and welcoming us. Near the hotel we could still see some hikers making their way back to their place of stay as well, in the dark.

Our hotel was a well built wooden mansion with rooms full of authentic snowy rustic taste. It felt truly like being in a wooden log house or a forest cabin. We could finally go to bed at midnight, all tired, we went to dreamland easily.

After driving more than 1000 km in 24 hrs through towns, villages, mountains, dense forests, swerving and trying not to kill wild life running in front of the car, rivers, I know what I want to do next..drive more! That is how I felt when we finally arrived in Sydney.