Jindabyne Group Tour September 2022

/ Garrulous Gwendoline

Hubbie and I left home at 10am this morning, in company with another 29 “seniors” in age range from late 50s to mid 90s for a six hour bus coach ride to Jindabyne. This is a private tour arranged from the complex in which we live, so we are all known to each other and looking forward to a fun five nights away.

Why is Jindabyne famous? Well, actually, outside New South Wales I don’t suppose it is particularly well known. It is located in the South-East of the state, it is near the Snowy Mountains, it is a popular year round holiday destination – but especially so in our short ski season, where it plays a valuable accommodation role for those who do not wish to stay “on snow” in the resorts within the Kosciuszko National Park, such as Thredbo, Perisher and Charlotte Pass.

One of its most famous claims to fame is that it is no longer in its original position, as it was flooded and relocated when the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electricity scheme was built in the 1950s and 1960s. You (and we) will be hearing more about that in the coming days.

For the moment we have arrived, settled in to our spacious motel room, had pre-dinner drinks followed by an enormous three-course meal – and managed to snatch a glimpse at this panorama of Lake Jindabyne, which can be seen from the back door of our room. The original town lies somewhere underneath it.

Perhaps one or two of you will have seen the 2006 Australian film “Jindabyne” which was filmed on site.

Until tomorrow…

30 thoughts on “Jindabyne Group Tour September 2022”

    • Yes! It was a lot of fun, and I will catch up the blog stories asap.
      But! Never a dull moment. Today, my girlfriend and I ran our first ever workshop on memoir writing. It was at a nearby library and timed to coincide with History Week. The theme this year was “Hands on History”.

      Next up, the UCI world cycle championships come to Wollongong and Bill and I are volunteers. He’ll be a driver and I’ll be assisting spectators.

      I’m dreaming of a peaceful Quinta in Portugal where I can spend my days growing zucchinis…

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  2. Yes, you put me out of my ‘memory agony’. I recognised the word ‘Jindabyne’ straightaway and just couldn’t think why I knew. Of course, as you say the film. I seem to remember slow, long shots of a wide lake and I am a fan of both Laura Linney and Gabriel Byrne.

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    • Yes, very atmospheric film mystery. These days, it is hard to separate Jindabyne from the lake. Just yesterday, I was chatting with someone who holidayed in the original town when she was 14. All under water now since 1967.
      I will catch up stories from our five-night trip there. This included Adaminaby. That town was actually relocated (although, in fact, many of those homes must be riddled with asbestos). Later towns were not – cost and effectiveness, etc, etc.

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        • In fact, in the early 80s I was employed by one of the branch companies of James Hardie, a name forever linked with asbestos building products. They sent around mobile lung-testing medical caravans. Only in my mid-twenties, it was obvious to the medicos that my lung capacity was below par. It turned out to be from having measles as a child, but the company smothered their report. It was another 20-25 years before I discovered I had bronchiectasis.

          You read it at the time, but it might be timely for us both (well, certainly me) to revisit a post I wrote all the way back in 2016

          Sharing a Message of Hope and Inspiration for 2016

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          • Well, having just re-read your post and comments, I can see that bronchiectasis is not a great condition to have when Covid is around. I think I remember you’ve already had Covid, but don’t remember you saying it was particularly ghastly. Do you think having bronchiectasis made it any worse?

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          • Bronchiectasis is the condition Judith Durham of the Seekers battled all her life, but mine is minor. Just a small portion of the right-hand lung damaged. All the same, I was very apprehensive about catching Covid. In the end, it followed the usual path: severe cough, low oxygen, long periods of almost comatose sleeping. The phlegm did not get trapped long enough to cause infection – so no antibiotics needed. Got out of it lightly I would say.

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          • Oh dear I hadn’t realised you’d been that poorly with Covid and very lucky you didn’t get a secondary infection. I had no idea Judith Durham had bronchiectasis and I am surprised she was able to sing so well with a lung problem.

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          • It was about par for the course if I get a cold which goes straight the chest. Sometimes I’ve had postural drainage, which is when the physio upends you and bashes on your back. Not in recent years, thank goodness.

            All the more amazing about Judith Durham, huh? I had no idea until her bandmates were talking about it after her death. They said she would have a severe coughing fit and struggle for breath and then go on stage and sing with that incredible timbre in her voice.

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