Snowy Mountains

On Tuesday night, we stayed in Khancoban, which could be considered the gateway to the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park. The Snowy Mountains are known as the Australian Alps. The mountain range is in southeast Australia and straddles the borders of New South Wales, Victoria, and the Australian Capital Territory. It is the highest mountain range in Australia. 

Wednesday morning, we started out bright and early and drove to Canberra by way of the Snowy Mountains. We enjoyed the most beautiful scenery along the way.

At one place, we stopped at a Rest Area and there was no one in sight except a few kangaroos enjoying some breakfast.

We continued our scenic drive through the mountains.

We drove through the Alpine village of Thredbo, and the town of Jindabyne, billed as Australia's Alpine Playground. At least that's what it says on the sign entering the town. As we drove through the beautiful Snowy Mountains, we encountered very little traffic. In fact, we probably saw more kangaroos than cars on our drive.

When we arrived in Canberra, we stopped to eat at a Chinese restaurant called Happy's Place. It was the first Chinese restaurant to open in Canberra and apparently is well known. We enjoyed a good meal. Because the Chinese restaurant was located in the City Centre, we were able to walk around the bustling downtown area for a few blocks. We got a great feel for the city of Canberra, at least the City Centre, and we really enjoyed the ambiance.

After lunch, we continued to our niece's house, where we visited with our niece Millie, Millie's boyfriend Ben, and Joe's brother Tom. We had a great visit with family. We grilled chicken and veggies for dinner and sat outdoors on the back patio, enjoying the beautiful Canberra weather and great company. We all went indoors after to watch the evening match of the Australian Open tennis. We're looking forward to exploring more of Canberra tomorrow.