Baby, It's Cold Outside

The weather man forecast that this weekend would be a tad wintry - with a nasty cold front with snow travelling from Tasmania, through Victoria and New South Wales and even into Queensland in a couple of days time.  They were right!

As we had nothing planned for the day, after lunch we rugged up and hopped in the car to see if we could see some snow.  We decided to head towards Oberon, one of the highest towns in the area at 1100 metres above sea level.

We caught our first glimpse of the snow at the top of Oberon Mount, near Mayfield Gardens that we visited recently.  Doesn't it look bleak.

We were surprised at the number of cars coming from the direction of Oberon.  We like getting off the beaten track, so we turned onto a small dirt road "Faugha Ballaugha Road".  Don't you just love that name.  I've been told by a good source that it is pronounced "Fogga Bogga Road".  Anyway, we haven't been up there for several years so today was a good excuse.

As the road got higher the snow got thicker, especially in the scrub.

Brrrr!

We enjoyed coming across these old relics of times gone by.  Imagine trying to keep warm in that little house.  It is built of pise (compacted earth and straw).  The walls wouldn't have been too bad, but so much heat would have gone out through the roof (yes, even when it had a complete roof).  Mind you the kitchen, around the fire would have been rather snug.

Another relic.

It was drizzling most of the time as we drove along, (which explains the spots on many of the photos) so there would have been much more snow to see earlier in the day.

We travelled a couple of little roads and by the time we reached Oberon we were ready to have a nice hot cup of coffee and some cake.  Well, it appeared that we weren't the only ones with that idea.  You were battling to find a parking spot in the main street!  I think everyone within coo-ee must have decided to go for a drive to see the snow.  All the coffee shops and cafes were packed out.  Not to worry, we would have a coffee and cake when we got home.  But, which way to go home?  Why not through the Dog Rocks Forest.

This route would take us through the village of Black Springs, which is the highest in the area.  It wasn't long before the snow cover increased.

Many years ago I worked with a girl who lived in this house.  She travelled all the way to Bathurst each day.  I didn't envy her in the winter time.  Yes, she had the occasional snow day when she couldn't make it to work.

Black Springs. Yep, that's high at 1210 metres above sea level. Time to get out and have a little play.

Oh Christmas Tree, Oh Christmas Tree.

Imagine how much snow would have been here earlier in the day.

How lovely.

Now, Mick is the first to tell you how he hates the snow, having grown up on a property in the snowy hills around Bathurst.  It meant being out in horrible weather looking after stock.

Who was it that decided to build a little snowman?

Poor dear, he looks a little cold.

We had to have a selfie with Mick's snowman.

He is just a baby snowman.

We came across quite a few snowmen in Black Springs, as it had by far the best coverage.  If you look closely, this is definitely a snow man.  Cheeky beggars.  We had a chuckle, as in the late 80s there was a really big snow fall.  We had a new 4WD car so with one of my workmates we came for a drive out here and went up into the forest.  We made a snow woman on that occasion.

There were quite a few people playing in the snow in the camping area. 

Ned was keeping an eye on proceedings.

After Black Springs we headed through the Dog Rocks Forest.  The pines looked lovely in the snow.

It wasn't long before the snow cover started to lessen.

Before we knew it we were back below the snow line.

All the time we drove along I was hoping that we would actually see some snow falling.  Just after Black Springs there was a tiny bit in the sleet, but that was all.  It was drizzly rain pretty much all of the rest of the time.  I wouldn't be surprised if they get more snow tonight.  So, what was the temperature?  Right in Oberon it was 2 degrees C. Most of time we were in the snow area it was 1 degrees C.  Back home in Bathurst it was a balmy 5 degrees C.

It is fun to go and see the snow, but saying that we were mostly in the nice warm car, just ducking out occasionally.  I'd probably have the same opinion as Mick if we lived on a property and had to be working out in it.