Today we are exploring the Tumut region and some of the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme. First stop was the Blowering dam wall and the power station. Blowering dam is the largest dam in the Snowy Mountains Hydro scheme and was completed in 1968. The real highlight there was an excellent example of the Ford motor car, the 1971 XY GT Falcon.

1971 Ford Falcon GT

After the dam we headed into Tumut information centre and they suggested a drive out to the old gold mining town of Adelong and the apple capital of Batlow. We had lunch at the old gold crushing plant on the Adelong creek. The falls here were used to divert water into a water wheel to crush the ore.

Adelong Gold crushing plant ruins

After lunch we headed to Batlow to see where 10% of Australia’s apples are grown, despite the large orchards there was very little other activity in the town, only the pub was open. The GPS indicated that there was a road through the forest back to the other side of the Blowering reservoir where we were camped. Once again ignoring Jacky’s reservations about the reliability of the GPS maps I headed into the forest. The gate to the track was open, a good sign. Parts of the road were quite narrow and high, Jacky had excellent views to the bottom of the valley which she did not appreciate that much. There was plenty of fire wood around so we stopped and stocked up for tonight’s fire. I was a little concerned about the crossing over the Jounama weir, but I was able to stop another traveller coming from that direction and he assured me that the weir crossing was open. Chalk one up for the GPS, it saved about 50 kms and was a much more interesting drive.

Blowering Reservoir, Tumut