The Road to Buchan Caves

There are 2 routes you can take from Koscuisko to Buchan caves -- one is 187 km and the other 357. The first takes almost 4 hours, the second almost 5. Guess which route we picked? Guess which route I would never, never, NEVER take again even if you paid me $10,000!? We started up here... we had to drive down and through ALL of the mountains you see in front of us!

The Barry Way is terrifying -- unless you love roller coasters or adrenaline I would not recommend it. The road is narrow (just over 1 car wide); the road is steep; the road is full of hairpin, blind turns; the road is gravelly dirt; there is a cliff on one side and rocks on the other with no shoulder or guard rail. At one point we came around one of these blind turns at the same time as a Land Rover. We both put on our brakes -- our car started sliding toward the edge of the cliff. We stopped inches from the bumper of the Land Rover. Then we had to back up to the very edge of the road and let the SUV pass. I was in tears I was so scared. For hours.

Part way through the drive we stopped for lunch along the Snowy River...

It was the fastest lunch we have ever eaten. It was broiling hot. We were immediately covered in flies. There was not even a hint of a breeze. We are sitting ON the picnic table because the ground was crawling with Bull Ants. We ate lunch in about 5 minutes and then raced back into the car. :-) Not the relaxing picnic on the Snowy River of our imaginations!

After hours of fright we finally got through the mountains and were back on a real road. After Suggan Buggan, the next inhabited area you come to is the location of Seldom Seen. We stopped at the Seldom Seen Roadhouse to get sodas and calm down. The Seldom Seen Roadhouse was run by a lovely and eccentric man... we chatted, petted his dogs and chickens, and walked around discovering his fun art.
Is that the Stig hanging out with a pig?

Here is a spider web made out of bicyles:

Very Nellie Mae Rowe. You remember her, right? If not, here is Ben's biography of her.

5 comments:

Tina in CT said...

OMG, what a drive! I'd also have been a nervous wreck. I've ridden in a bus and our own VW all through the Alps but the roads were much better. I bet you all were very glad to be back on level ground.

I'd have eaten my lunch in the car with the A/C on full blast.

Have you thought of making a digital scrapbook of all your blogs during your stay in Australia?

Anonymous said...

I do not envy your drive down the mountains. Very glad you made it!
The art looks very funny. Are the bicycles very small or the net is extremely large?
Olga

Katya said...

Those are full-size bikes.
The net took up the space between two very large trees.

Anonymous said...

Wow,
these trees must really HUGE. The bicycles look like toys.
Olga

Joe Ganci said...

Yours has become the most interesting blog on the web! I'm enjoying reading about your adventures. How cool that you are taking advantage of your locale to live life to the fullest. That picture a few days back of you petting the baby 'roo - wow, what a memory that will be for you and even more for yours kids, along with all the other photos and blog entries you're making.