With Teddy on the mend we have had the chance to explore Jindabyne and Thredbo a little more the last few days. Greg took the girls up the mountain on the Scenic Chairlift and they were treated to some wonderful views and Jemma finally got to have her snow fight with Jasmine!  Greg also took the girls on the bobsled in Thredbo and they  LOVED it. Unfortunately we made the decision to keep Teddy home and warm so I missed out but I am looking forward to coming back, there is so much to offer during Summer too!

The weather here has been nothing short of remarkable. We packed so much warm clothing that is sitting unused as the temps in Jindabyne have been around 20 degrees and beautiful!  Certainly is a lovely place to work from here in the warmth overlooking Lake Jindabyne with a coffee beside me, yes, this is living!

Yesterday we were going to take a hike around Charlotte's Pass however unfortunately the roads are still closed so instead we visited a few places locally, these are the places you always drive past and say "We should go in there" but never do - Check them out, you will love it.  There are so many great little places just off the main roads that are worth checking out.

We started with a trip to the Visitors Centre that has lots of fantastic info on what we could do, and they also had displays with different bits of history, from dingo traps to old kitchen ware and info on the Snowy Mountains Scheme.  Jas of course wanted to know more about the scheme so we will have to take her to the Info centre in Cooma I think. This was a great place to start and Greg managed to pick up some great local knowledge for the 4WD tracks during the summer months too.

From the Visitors Centre we headed to Wild Brumby Schnaps Distillery.  Greg wasn't sure if he liked schnaps but tried it anyway and we have both fallen in love with the Devil's Tongue, Chilli Schnaps ohhhhhhh... I can't wait to get home and make a hot choc with a shot of that mmmmmm. We decided to have lunch there too as the kids were having a ball playing with the cow bells (one was bigger than Teddy's head) and exploring the gardens. It was a delicious lunch of ham sandwich for the girls (Jasmine chose a Leg Ham and Salad sandwich after her cousin got her eating salad - Theresa I am eternally grateful!!) and Greg and I shared a schnitzel burger mmm, I'm hungry just thinking about it.

After lunch we had about an hour to kill and I saw an advert for Snowy Mountains Cookies in one of the newspapers so we found them just up behind Jindabyne.  The girls thought it was pretty good to look through the window to see the people making the cookies and we bought some 'imperfect' cookies that tasted fantastic - Both girls highly recommend the gingerbread men.

At 2pm we took the Gaden Trout Hatchery Tour, something we always drove past and said we should do, and many people recommended yet till then had not!  It was absolutely fantastic!  Run by Department of Fisheries, we got the see the 4 types of trout they breed and release throughout NSW. We saw a video on how they strip the eggs from the fish and how they nurture them from eggs to release.  We then walked around the various ponds feeding the fish, the girls loved the feeding frenzies of the Rainbow Trout and Atlantic Salmon! Jemma was enthralled by the rows and rows of trays of fish at all levels of development from egg to fry. This is the first time I have seen her right up next to our tour guide taking in every word AND (Kathryn and Karen, Jemma's Preschool teachers will love this) Talking and asking questions to an adult! Jemma has become really shy since starting preschool and to see her so interested and actually talking to our guide Kelly was really fantastic. I know I say this almost every time I write the journal but I really do see the best come out in all of my children when we are on the road.

It really was fantastic to see how they bred the trout and with a renewed interest in fishing, we were on the hunt for some worms and a fishing license! The girls are determined to catch a trout now and Jasmine loves the idea that she could provide us with dinner. Definately take the time to visit the Gaden Trout Hatchery, even just to feed the fish! There is a family picnic day at the Hatchery in November and they also run fishing clinics for the kids (yes, they get to fish in the ponds where they are pretty much guaranteed to catch a trout!) Jas and Jem are already pestering us to attend the next clinic in January, I think they might win this one.

Jemma took very good care of her worms for fishing and watched them amazed as they squirmed around in the container. I thought she might protest to putting them on a hook, but no - she wanted to catch a fish too! Unfortunately they weren't biting last might but Greg will take them out again tonight.

Right now Greg and the girls are making the most of their toboganns from Time 2 Ride, I am about to start looking through the papers to find a couple of little out of the way businesses to visit this afternoon. We don't want to head home tomorrow but ah well, school starts next week.  This has been one of the quickest school holidays in history!