Hot Rod fun at Jamieson.......

On our last trip to Jamieson we had seen adverts for the High Country Muster (Hot Rods not Horses) in a few weeks.  We decided that this might be a bit of fun so we booked in to our favorite little cottage and drove up the following Friday afternoon.

We had dinner at Mansfield and arrived in Jamieson around 8pm.  Freddie and Angie took us in again for coffee and we met two of their friends who were staying, another photographer so of course Bill, Freddie and David were lost to Techniques etc. while the ladies enjoyed a natter of a different kind.  It was a couple hours later we arrived at our cottage ready for the Hot Rods in the morning.

The little town was abuzz with all the amazing cars parked along the kerbs and people everywhere.  The Memorial Hall was set up to feed the many Hot Rod members breakfast, lunch and dinner all cooked by various groups like CFA and the local school.

There was a wide variety of models, colours, decals and drivers.  During the day there were a number of other events some involving the cars others not.  The Cow Poo Lotto comes to mind though we did manage to miss this illustrious event.

We drove into Mansfield for some shopping and had a look around town before we returned to Jamieson in time for the main event.  Wokkas Cruise, is a parade of cars driving through the town. This was to run for one hour and I wondered how this could last that long as I can walk around the town in 30 mins.  The cars just drive round and round and everyone enjoyed the spectacle.  

There were many changes of drivers and passengers as they did their laps but I have to say that the most unusual passenger of the day was the Goose in one of the cars with three girls.  And it was quite happy to pose for photos too.

During this time Freddie took me into the Memorial hall where there was a display of all the posters for the previous seven years.  Each year the poster is done by the same artist and always features one of Jamiesons highlights.  This years it was Masters Hut.

Dinner at the completed a fun day at the Hot Rod Muster and then it was home for an evening in front of the fire.  Even though it had been a glorious day it was a very chilly night.  The next morning we enjoyed a leisurely start to the day before saying goodbye to our hosts at 10.00am and driving into town for the final event.  

The Duck race on the Jamieson River was billed as a highlight but I think the waders were the best to watch as they tried to stop all the little yellow rubber ducks getting away.  I'm sure more than one of them will end up in Lake Eildon.  It must have been freezing in the water for the poor girl that fell right in.

After all that excitement it was time to say goodbye to Jamieson again and rather than take the same route home we decided to drive home through Whitfield and the King Valley.  We stopped to look at Powers Lookout and walked down and up to the second lookout.   Since our last visit here many years ago they have put in new stairs making the descents and ascents much easier to negotiate though once out there it is still pretty hair raising looking over the edge to the valley below.  A remarkable view though and well worth the climb.

We stopped at Whitfield for lunch and found a tiny town where all roads lead to the Whitty Cafe.  We drove though to Cheshunt and then followed our noses home from there stopping at Euroa for a quick break.  A couple of hours later we were home again and this time the washing could wait until tomorrow.

During the following week Faye and Ethan met me in town and we took Ethan to see the Dreamworks Exhibition at ACMI.  He enjoyed it, especially the hands on computers where he could change sounds, features and special effects.  I enjoyed it again this time through the eyes of a child.  

After a yummy lunch in Federation Square we returned inside where we had a look ACMI’s permanent exhibition, Screen Worlds, The Story of Film, Television and Digital Culture.  It is here you will see a number of Oscar Winning film exhibits, early Australia TV shows and of course the kids just love the computer games.  Ethan played a Super Mario Brothers racing game with another boy.  Unfortunately the machine won but Ethan nearly caught up.

The next day I met Emily for lunch and then it was home to get ready for our next adventure.  We were off to Darwin for a few days of fun in the sun.

Until then..........