Bula! Buller

From Lindenwarrah and the wineries, we headed to Mt Buller, and Andre's Chalet - which is exactly the kind of snuggely luxury you want at the snow.

The room. Perfect.

The view from the room.

The lounge. So cozy.

We arrived in the afternoon.

The trip up the mountain is a big pain in the ass, having to park in a carpark (and being charged exorbitantly) further down the hill, then be picked up in a shuttle van to be taken to the snow line and your respective accommodation. You are, of course, charged the same price regardless of whether your luggage gets to travel within the vehicle, or on top - in the rain, as was the case with ours. It's a cruddy start to what feels like should be a glamorous, indulgent holiday.

Snow trips have an air of exclusivity, due mainly to the cost of them, so you expect a certain level of comfort, and that doesn't include parking your car down a mountain and being herded into an overcrowded minivan as if you were on an airport run as a backpacker in some 3rd world country.

Did you know it would be cheaper for me to take my three children on a plane to Austria, and pay for luxury accommodation, ski hire, lift tickets and lessons there for a week, than it is for me to drive to the Snowy Mountains and pay for them here. That's including the plane fares! Just like it's cheaper to fly to Fiji and stay there, than to visit the Great Barrier Reef - every time I have been to Fiji, I have first looked at the Whitsundays, but found Fiji to be cheaper.

"Hello Tourism Australia, I've just discovered a way you can get more Aussies to holiday in their own backyard..."

But I have digressed

a fair bit

We arrived at Mt Buller just early enough, and late enough for me to don my ski clothes, grab the snowboard, and have a few practise falls before dark.

Readers, you may be aware by now that I have certain physical limitations, in so much as I am pretty unco, especially where balance is concerned.

I can lose my balance on a large flat platform if conditions are right.

But still, I try. I attempt surfing from time to time, skiing is no good with my dodgy knees, but I have given snowboarding a go twice before (all as a mature age student, mind you), though I can't do it. Ok. I try, and I enjoy trying, but I can't do it, so please don't bother commenting to state the obvious. I enjoy the attempts.

Oh, and in my land, it doesn't matter so much that I am crap at the sport, because I have the best ski outfit on the mountain! It's vintage, one of the few outfits my mother kept (she's not very good at hoarding, and my god she let some amazing clothes go, much to my despair) and it looks hot.

So I donned my hot ski outfit

and set off to find a slope covered in snow

This video is funny, because Sonny was on skis while filming, and it was the only run I did without any falls. I know it doesn't look like a slope, but it was!

Buller is a lovely village, and Andre's is a beautiful chalet. Andre and Anne look after you well, with evening meet-ups over drinks and nibbles, and hearty breakfasts to bolster you before a day on the snow. The lodge has all the comforts you could want (the bath is fantastic) and the hosts go out of their way to make you feel at home.

How gorgeous are these birds, in the morning, against the white!

The lounge is warm and very inviting, I could have/wish to one day spent a lot longer there, and it looked out towards the base of one of the runs.

'Ring Ring'. "Hi, Honey. Can you go on that run that goes alongside the chalet? I'll get a photo of you skiing"