Saturday, August 5, 2023

Getting about in the days of pandemic

Pandemic or not, for a couple of years we made the most of our regional road tours – threatened species that they had become. In 2020, as we drove home from South Australia, through a shuttered and deserted Beechworth, we joked that we hoped we would be able to get across the border. We decided that Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT were so intertwined that the borders would never close – until they did less than four months later, kicking off a long series of closures and lockdowns. However, the border between NSW and the ACT always remained open, even with a few roadblocks checking credentials. Destinations closer to home, like the Southern Highlands, were an easier alternative.

My fellow traveller and I recently came back from a glorious three day break in the Southern Highlands, staying at impressive new Moss Vale venue, Moss Manor. I was so struck with the place that I started to write about the trip, then realised that I had already written an article about the previous trip, over a year before in early 2022, and never published it. I’m posting that here and then in a week or so I will post my latest article, with more about the most recent trip and our stay at Moss Manor. 

Ducks crossing sign, Berrima

Regional road tours – the travel you do when you are not travelling
Pandemic or not, for a couple of years we still tried to make the most of our regional road tours – threatened species that they may have become. We were on one road tour – to Adelaide and Kangaroo Island – when the pandemic first began to bite, in early 2020. We were in glorious Daylesford the night before Victoria went into its first lockdown. As we drove home, through a shuttered and deserted Beechworth, we joked that we hoped we would be able to get across the border. We decided that Victoria, New South Wales and the ACT were so intertwined that the borders would never close – ha, ha, that’s exactly what happened less than four months later, kicking off a long series of closures and lockdowns.

‘Pandemic or not, for a couple of years we still tried to make the most of our regional road tours – threatened species that they may have become.’