We set our alarm for 8am and were on our way by 9:15am. The first part of the trip is on old territory through the Tawonga Gap. We turned left once through the gap and meandered along the Kiewa Valley Road. Some lovely photos here.

We continued on our way to Mitta Mitta – more photos – and then turned off to Dartmouth Dam. Spectacular scenery all along the way and we arrived at the picnic area of the dam in time for lunch. Russ got some excellent bird photos too.

The Dam wall is enormous, and the Cascades is the contoured rocky hillside where the rocks for the dam wall came from. It must have been an incredible sight all those years ago when it was being built.

We got photos of some of the equipment used in the Water Commission projects all those years ago, and we then stopped off at the lookout car park on our way down again. The stairs are a killer! We both realised that neither of us is as fit as we thought we might be, and tomorrow might have a few sore muscles.

We took the longer way home through little towns like Eskdale, Tallandoon and Tangambalanga before turning back onto the Myrtleford-Yackandandah Road. We stopped at Myrtleford and took a photo of the Big Tree (a red gum that is many, many years old and a familiar landmark and meeting point for locals).

By the time we got home Russ cooked a steak and I had a small helping of curried sausages. Tomorrow is a day of rest before the big, all day trip to Melbourne on Thursday.