Mansfield turned out to be a lot more adventurous than we expected. On the way up into the High Country we passed one of the best road signs we’ve ever seen: a yellow warning sign with a little gnome and child on it, cheerfully announcing “Gnomes Crossing Ahead.” The kids thought this was brilliant and spent the rest of the drive scanning the verge for tiny pointy hats.
Our main goal for the day was Craig’s Hut, which we only discovered on the drive up is one of the filming locations from The Man from Snowy River. Ali was very excited about this, so we followed the gravel roads as far as the car could sensibly go, then laced up and walked the last couple of kilometres to the top.
The track wound through tall gums and ferns, with Georgia happily marching behind Ali in her pink hat, collecting sticks and chatting away. The final stretch opened out onto the ridge and suddenly there it was: the weathered timber hut sitting on the hilltop, mountains rolling away in blue layers behind it. It felt like stepping straight into a film scene. We took our time wandering around, soaking up the views and grabbing family photos with the hut and those huge skies in the background.
After all that walking we headed back down the mountain and stopped at a park near the bottom to let the girls play. Georgia made herself at home on the playground, and then we picked up an extra visitor: a brightly coloured king parrot who decided we were his people. He hopped around the play equipment, sat on the railings and even perched on Ali’s arm while the girls fed him seeds. He stuck with us for a good half an hour, like a tiny feathery supervisor making sure we were enjoying his park properly.
It was one of those days that had everything: a silly Gnomes Crossing sign, a proper High Country hike, a classic Australian film location and a park play with our own personal parrot. Not bad for “just a day out from Mansfield.”
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