Trip to Dinner Plain, Aug 2008 by Becky

This wasn't an official Winter Group trip, but the four of us, Jenny, Fay, Lynne and myself, all met through the Winter Group. We drove up in two cars on Sunday, with the weather forecast for the day being for "hazardous conditions" with strong winds, rain, hail and blizzards in the snow country. We were prepared to spend the night in Bairnsdale or Omeo if necessary and continue on the next day, but as it turned out, the weather was fine once we got away from Melbourne with only the odd shower of rain or snow.

Our apartment in the Dinner Plain Village was modern but compact. It was advertised as "sleeping four" but it would have been more appropriate for two couples as one bedroom had only a double bed. Fortunately, there was a very comfortable fold-out sofa in the living area. The microwave in the kitchen was on a shelf above the refrigerator, so high that only Fay was tall enough to easily pull out hot dishes without climbing on a chair. There was just enough crockery and cutlery for four people and only a couple of not very large saucepans and the bare minimum of bed linen, towels, etc. and only four clothes hangers in the whole place! There was a lovely heated floor in the bathroom and entrance area, though, and a new television and DVD so we could watch the Olympics and play back our photos each day on the telly.

On Monday morning we caught the shuttle bus to Wire Plain and spent the day skiing around the Wire Plain trails. The weather was beautiful - a bit of cloud about but with a lot of sunny spells and just brief flurries of snow. The trails were freshly groomed and as there were very few other skiers around, we had them mostly to ourselves. Jenny had a bit of trouble with her skis balling up and had to stop to apply glider wax frequently. We decided not to tax ourselves too much on the first day and caught the bus back to Dinner Plain in the afternoon.

Tuesday was the worst day weather-wise, being cold, windy and very grey with occasional snow showers. We skied from Dinner Plain to JB Plain via the Hotham to Dinner Plain trail and had a late morning tea at the hut on JB Plain. A note on the door told us that a party of 60 was expected there that night and advised intended campers to make other arrangements. We assumed that most of them would be putting up tents as the hut certainly wouldn't hold 60! We skied on a bit towards Paw Paw Plain but the weather started closing in and the headwind was most unpleasant so we turned around and went back to Dinner Plain for lunch and a session of Olympic watching.

Wednesday was a beautiful day - blue sky and sunshine. It had snowed a bit overnight so there was fresh snow everywhere. We decided it would be the perfect day for the big ski - Hotham to Dinner Plain. We caught the bus up to Big D, where the cross-country trail starts, and after a refreshing cup of coffee in the cafe there, we skied off down the freshly groomed trail to Wire Plain. It was fabulous!

We had lots of stops for photos on the way and felt so exhilarated when we got to Wire Plain that we caught the bus back up and skied down again! After lunch at the Wire Plain shelter, we set off on the trail to Dinner Plain. Unfortunately, it hadn't been groomed overnight and it was very chewed up in places (probably by the group of 60 going in to JB Plain and also by a skidoo). The snow was still soft, though, so it wasn't too bad. We felt as if we'd done a days' work by the time we got back, though. That evening saw the start of our card playing sessions. Jenny, Fay and I started playing Hearts. Lynne opted to read instead and I would have been wise to do the same as I lost badly. It was all in good fun, though, and we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

Thursday was another beautiful day. We decided to explore the Dinner Plain trails and found them well-groomed, for the most part; although a few had been left ungroomed, and the snow cover was the best I'd ever seen it. All the trails were well covered, even at the lowest edges of the Dinner Plain area. We met two women with dogs and dog sleds, out giving the dogs a bit of a run. They were beautiful and we took lots of photos. We went back to the village for morning tea at one of the resorts which had a very swish bar/cafe and a lovely fire. After lunch, the others went out to try and find a walking trail which lead to a lookout, but found a lot of water pools under the snow and decided it was a bit too dangerous to continue. We treated ourselves to a meal out that night at a pizza restaurant in the village which was very nice and then continued our card playing marathon with Jenny being the big winner on both nights.

On Friday we had to pack up and go. Fay came back with Jenny and me this time as Lynne was stopping to visit friends on the way back. We stopped for lunch in Stratford at a little winery cafe which was quite crowded and the service was a bit slow, but the food was beautiful and they had lots of goodies in the way of food and wine for sale, including hand-made chocolates, made by a woman in Metung. Well worth visiting if you're passing through that way.

And so ended a very pleasant week of skiing, relaxing, and indulging in good food and wine, and good company.