Monday 25 April 2016

Tostaree Cottages Far Stay, Tostaree

I can definitely recommend this as a great place to stay. It is a working sheep and cattle farm but you are welcome to roam through all of the paddocks. The owners, Greg and Vicky, are lovely people who are happy for a chat and full of local knowledge. We had such a great time here that we ended up staying longer than we intended. We got to set up our caravan in a very pretty spot, on beautiful thick green grass, camped in a paddock next to the pregnant sheep. While we were there a baby lamb was born and the mum and bub got moved into the paddock next to us. Every time the lamb bleated Rory would jump up and say “what's happening?” which was so cute but also got a bit tedious after a while. Vicky gave us a tour of their 300 acres in a farm buggy. Rory sat on my lap in the front while Greg and Tilda stood in the back holding onto the roll bar. Our kids absolutely loved every minute of it.... the ride, the farm stay, the animals and the excitement of waiting to see if any more sheep lambed as it was the beginning of lambing season. I think both our kids could happily settle into the farm life, as you could see them blossom while there. There were loads of beaming smiles from them both. (But Tilda also misses home and her friends so if we could have a farm of a couple of hundred acres at home she'd be thoroughly content and happy I think).
 The paddock of pregnant ewes
 Vegemite the pony
 Rory was a bit unsure
 The beautiful area we camped in
This bull was huge!

We did a quick trip to Lakes Entrance one day. It was pouring rain and we desperately needed to wash clothes so we went there to the laundromat. Through the heavy rain it looked like a nice place to visit and explore, and we did explore some shops while our clothes were washing and drying. It would have been nice to spend a day or two there without rain but it just didn't fit in to our plans.

We also rode the Rail Trail (http://www.eastgippslandrailtrail.com.au/ ). This looks like a great idea and would make a fun holiday, if you like bike riding or horse riding. The old railway line is being restored into a bike and horse riding and walking trail. We rode along a small section of it adjacent to the farm and rode down to an old wooden railway bridge. It is amazing to look at how things “used to be done” and to see the effort and intelligence that had to go in to the construction of the bridge, not to mention the size of the trees they used to make the pylons!



On the way to Tostaree we spent one night free camping on the side of the Snowy River just out of Orbost. We found an AWESOME hamburger place at Orbost... so good we ate there 2 days in a row (so good I have forgotten the name of it! Oops!). It was interesting for Tilda to see the Snowy River closer to the mouth. We were surrounded by dairy farms and the River had also passed through towns between Charlotte Pass and Orbost so the River was quite brown and slightly brackish. We drove to Marlo so that we could see where the Snowy River reaches the sea. I think that was a good thing to see it near the start of it in the mountains and then where the river meets the sea.


 Where the Snowy River meets the sea
The "other end" of the Snowy River

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