Discover the autumn bliss of travelling to East Gippsland and Bogong with me.

This week, I returned to playing with landscapes.  This time I worked with ink rather than water colour and quite enjoyed doing it. I've decided that rocks are quite fun to paint and can look very zen.  I must rediscover some of my rock photos and have another attempt at capturing them on paper.

We made a quick trip down to Bairnsdale, which is in eastern Victoria, in a beautiful location between the ocean, the Gippsland Lakes and the snow capped mountains.  It was a cool 15 degrees with an icy wind blowing through, so it was bracing after the rather balmy 24 degree days of Brisbane, but I found it exhilarating.  We were staying with my mother in law, who has a beautiful home overlooking the Mitchell River valley with the mountains beyond.

The autumn colours were beautiful this year and gave me a bit of inspiration for some future art work.

Cold is very good for encouraging one to knit, so I finally made inroads into my various knitting tasks while sheltering inside the house.  As a result, the week I got back, I managed to finish knitting the doll's clothes.

Next on the schedule is to sew some additions to the doll's knitted clothing.  I have enjoyed this knitting experience so much, I have also started knitting a little rug in the left over wool, and a shrug in some Noro wool I had left over.  Hope I get them done while it is cooler in Brisbane.  I can't imagine using either of them in the sticky middle of summer.

As well as knitting, I made some more little hares.  I need to get the sewing machine out to make some clothes for them too as I am a bit over making tiny little jumpers.

At this week's class, one of my fellow artists brought in some freaky dolls her daughter made.  Very scary.  I have a feeling I may go back to making little monsters at a future date as a result of seeing her work.

Our other quick trip was to one of my favourite holiday spots in Victoria, Bogong Village in the Victorian Alps.  This hidden treasure is a great artist retreat at any time of the year, but it has also been discovered by cyclists, bushwalkers, ski and snow ski enthusiasts, bird watchers, wine and foodie enthusiasts and holiday makers of all ages because of its beauty and its proximity to many tourist spots in the north-east of Victoria.  We first discovered it when it was owned by the State Electricity Commission and were blown away by the way the cottages face Lake Guy, nestling into the European style gardens which were planted by the European immigrants who came to work on the Snowy Mountain scheme, surrounded by the native bush, and encircled by the mountains. Nowadays, the village houses are able to be rented by holidaymakers, and our family often visit with our friends. On this trip, there was snow on the the mountains, and the deciduous trees had almost finished their display of autumn colours, but it was still pretty stunning and I took a lot of photos for future works.

Early one morning, with the mountains exhaling a misty breath as the sun gradually warmed the frost ground, I walked beside the lake to the two streams that feed it and took a lot of rock photos to work from when I get home:

I saw no dingoes or wallabies on this trek, unlike other lucky hikers in the past, but I did spot swarms of wrens and finches, crimson rosellas, kookaburras and currawongs.  Really, this place is my idea of heaven.

Much as  I have enjoyed these two quick trips reacquainting myself with the beauty of  Eastern Gippsland and the drive to Mt.Bogong through the Ovens and Kiewa valleys, I am really in need of a break from travelling.  Getting up at 4.30 am to catch flights which are delayed is not my idea of fun, and my hips seem to be stuck in a sitting position due to all the car and plane trips. Collapsing on the couch at home in Brisbane seems like bliss right now.