84 Day: Saturday 15th December: Melbourne -Camping Jindabyne

Awoke in the dark at 7.10am and managed to make out the time without lights or glasses. I had been disturbed by our other bedmate Kwok who arrived at 4.00am and settled down to a quick snoring burst which died almost instantly. His snoring did not last long enough to wake John who was sleeping soundly as a result of all the booze he’d consumed last night. Once downstairs I became aware of the pouring rain well before I took our bags to the bus. Anne nagged me into running a few hundred yards to post some more Xmas cards and the street was difficult to maneuvre with the puddles and spray from the traffic.

The journey out of the city was easier than the one in and I must have fallen asleep because when I awoke it was to a wet but beautiful landscape of hills, trees and lakes. Anne said I'd missed the best views. We were now in the Snowy Mountains at an altitude of 1500 metres heading for our next and last stop in Jindabyne.

We were directed to a very nice chalet type hut with a double bed, lounge area and full cooking facilities. Before we had time to settle in we were wisked back off to the bar down the road for Leighton’s last sourced meal of cook your own stakes and salad. Once again the pieces of meat were a good inch thick and 10 x 6 and succulent. After the meal and a few beers we headed back to the campsite and our final drinking session together. The communal area was closed but this didn’t stop the lads from opening it up and settling down with boxes of beer and wine.

Gordan had instigated an Oscars award evening and he and Andrew compared it. For a week or so before everyone had been encouraged to write down any awards they thought was appropriate. I nominated Ben for the Best Bus Carpet for all the hours he’d slept in the buse’s isle etc. Although it was well thought out and presented, by Gordan and Andrew, it somehow drifted into a rather raucous event and eventually came to an abrupt end as a result of the complaints about the noise from elderly campers in the immediate vicinity. Anne was nominated for being the only person on the bus to have a song composed about her and I for promoting Sheffield.