What the...?

Anzac Day usually marks the unofficial start of the descent into winter, a time when heating can be rightly justified and soups and stews replace salads and snags. In reality this usually means a drop in temperature to the high teens and fine, sunny, autumnal days for many more weeks to come. Or it has in the past. This year, a rather big dump was deposited upon us.

Not in Canberra, which remained a balmy 8 degrees, but some 600 metres higher up in the Alpine area around Thredbo. When I planned a couple of days in Thredbo a few weeks ago I was picturing nice sunny walking across Alpine meadows to glacial lakes, fine driving along winding mountain roads to expansive lookouts and perhaps even the odd ice cream upon the summer decking. What I got, once the rain had swept through and turned into white stuff which continued all of Sunday, was a veritable winter wonderland...