OTR: Deloraine

Today we went from summerish-temps to winterish-temps!

We were up and at ‘em early this morning. Not because we had 105+ miles to drive. Rather because we wanted to make sure we arrived at Cradle Mountain National Park [CMNP] early enough to start enjoying our mountain getaway.

Breakfast was at Banjo ... at the nearby mall. We’ve seen this pastry chain in other cities, but have not gone in … opting for mom & pop shops instead. Now we know better. Honestly, this was probably one of the best breakfasts we’ve had in Australia. Fresh, warm-from-the-oven spinach and ricotta rolls … a piping hot ham/egg/tomato croissant sandwich … a fluffy raspberry muffin. All delicious.

By 8:30a, we were on the road … heading to Deloraine. It was a photo of a scenic spot overlooking a small cataract that put this small town on today’s itinerary. That it was on the way to CMNP didn’t hurt. The town is bisected by the Meander River, and as it turns out, there was a nice river walk — the Kooparoona Niara Cultural Trail — with a couple of critters statues to enjoy … and a Yarning/Healing Circle similar to the ones Aboriginals have used for ages to tell stories amongst themselves.

After our walk, we found a picnic table overlooking the river … in the sun and out of the wind that was picking up. We wanted to take advantage of the strong 5G Telstra cell signal to take care of a few trip logistics. That done, we were back on the road again by 11:00a.Read more