April 12th Mt Beauty - Falls Creek

Awaking to the sound of steady rain it was obvious we were not going any where today. Alan was off to Falls Creek for business and invited us to join him.  Having never been there we jumped at the opportunity.  Before leaving the house Kevin spotted a mob of roos only 50m up the drive and a few remaining deer wandered in close paddocks.

Road to Falls Creek Ski resort

Cloud base was only 300 ft above the valley floor and having retrieved a few necessities from the aircraft we drove 31 kms of continuously winding and steep road through cloud and drizzle to Falls Creek ski resort.

A smattering of snow lay about with a few cars passing us by covered in snow on roof and bonnet.  Although cloud and steady drizzle limited the spectacle we were greeted with occasional snow falls, something Kevin had never seen.

Alan and Cooney run the Ski Resort Transport Company and a few restaurants so with the ski season nearly upon them they were organizing staff and machinery maintenance in preparation for the 380,000 visitors expected during the 3 month ski period.

Arriving at Falls we spent time updating the daily blog whilst Alan dealt with work issues with Jason – his Manager.   Whilst we waited it started to SNOW! Yippee…. Jason and Jim (maintenance man) took us by 4WD up to the Cloud 9 restaurant which was at the top of the ski runs and chair lifts. 

Falls chair lift

 The higher we climbed the deeper the snow got.  With the explanation that the roads we were driving on are under 2 metres of snow during ski season we understood why the travellator stairs and lifts were way higher than any person could reach.

We played in the snow with Kev getting a direct hit on me with snow balls (whilst I wasn’t looking).  With the temp down to 2 degrees we couldn’t stay outside for long so we wandered the empty restaurant making phone calls to family at home gloating about being up in the snow. {Sorry family} hehehe.

The quiet eeriness of a snow filled land was in contrast to the offices where the team was organizing staff for the coming season. Thank goodness one café was open to feed the current maintenance workers and staff so we headed there and enjoyed steaming bowls of minestrone stewp served with chunks of fresh bread.  A few coffees later we returned to various restaurants and with work over drove back down the mountain to Mt Beauty. 

Ravine with creek view

Although a direct track to Falls Creek is only 12 nautical miles the continuously winding road climbing through steep ridges and heavy forest is 31 kms making it a spectacular drive with endless valley views and cascading creeks from the persistent rain.

Back at ‘The Farm’ we enjoyed another pleasant evening with Alan, Cooney, Sue and Roi (local restaurant owners/friends) who prepared a beautiful roast with vegetables dinner. Quite a few bottles of red were consumed before we all retired listening to the rain again.