Friday the 17th ended as a sad day.  Our friend for close to 35 years was no longer with us.

Our friendship began somewhere around 1980. We had been skiing in Falls Creek and were discussing with some people at our lodge how difficult it was to find accommodation in Thredbo at the spur of the moment during the ski season.  One of the guests commented that they stayed at a place close to Thredbo quite regularly that was advertised by word of mouth and that you could ring during the week and quite often get accommodation for the weekend. It was called Ivo’s Farm.

So when we returned home we gave it a go and never looked back!

Ivo’s Farm on the Alpine Way became the place to stay.  We would race home from work on Friday night, pack the car and arrive at Hanna and Ivo’s around 1am and there would always be a warm welcome and a schnapps or two…

One winter we came down almost every weekend. Just remember, in those days there was no multi-lane highway. The road twisted and turned through the Razorback hills and snaked around Lake George. If you got caught behind a truck or slow vehicle, well, there you stayed for many kilometres. Everyone had a radar detector in those days… just in case!

The food was fabulous grace of Hanna, the fireplace roared, the schnapps and red wine flowed freely and good times were had.

I have been going through piles of old photographs and so many memories have come flooding back.

Skiing with Ivo was always an adventure. Skiing to Dead Horse Gap before it was the thing to do and arriving at our destination with Ivo’s taxi waiting for us. If only we had registered with the Guinness Book of records – there were so many people to squeeze in – we were squashed into the car and the rest were somehow accommodated in the boot of the car, we had ski boots on and arms holding skis (very long in those days, don’t forget!) were protruding in every direction and somehow we all arrived safely back in Thredbo.

The Skitube was a bus ride up to Blue Cow through the tunnel before the train had been commissioned and long long lunches were had at the restaurant. Finally we would arrive at the link chairlift to ski back to Perisher only to find that they had closed it for the day. Well, that didn’t stop Ivo! He knew everyone that was important – and yes, sure enough, a phone call was all it took for the lifty to begrudgingly open the lift for us.  I must say that the skiing back down to Perisher was extremely relaxed! We held our bodies straight and our legs did all the zig zagging of their own accord!

The after dinner trips to Thredbo for an evening out – usually to Black Bear to sample the prune schnapps…. Oh boy! Were those prunes dangerous! The lederhosen boys would do their slap dancing to the music from the accordion.

Or skiing from Perisher to Guthega with our little son between Ivo’s legs – what a legend!

Then there were the chalet girls – Maudie, Jacqui, Chrissy, Marita and I – taking turns to take time off work ostensibly to help Hanna at the farm with the cooking and cleaning but we had so much fun skiing and laughing with new friends and old over dinner. So many friendships were forged over the years.

 

That brings to mind Ashley the most gorgeous dog. He used to wander into the guest bedrooms and sniff out chocolate. I know, it’s really bad for dogs, but it never worried Ashley! He ate the entire block – paper and all! One time he came back with a pair of undies. Hanna thought it might be a bit embarrassing to wave them around and ask whose they were…. So they were left on the bannister for someone to quickly take them away! Oh Ashley!

There was that weekend of the biggest snow dump ever!  We were stuck in the house. One guest named Gus was determined to ski – he somehow made it to Thredbo and got 1 run – and he was forever called one-run Gus.  We had the only 4-wheel drive, a Subaru Liberty (well Hanna had one too – but hers was parked in front of the house and not so easy to extricate), so we were assigned the task of getting to Jindabyne to buy pizzas.


The driveway had so much snow that the car became a snow plough and eventually couldn’t move. Ivo of course had a solution. Everyone piled into the boot of his car to give it some traction and lift the front up and pushed a trail through, we followed in our car and had the most magical drive into Jindabyne with everywhere covered in a blanket of snow – including Jindabyne. The vista was accompanied by Vivaldi’s Four Seasons…

Then there were innumerable summer activities too.  The boys’ fishing escapades down to the Pinch and beyond. Locked fire trail gates posed no problems at all! Sometimes trout were caught sometimes not – but always there were lots of stories – about ‘the one that got away’ and ‘it was this long’ and the weekend that the salt didn’t get packed with the beer and sausages! Now that event was always remembered as the weekend that Ivo just wasn’t hungry at all. It also had the consequence that all following fishing trips saw that at least one  large Saxa Salt container was packed, just to ‘rub it in’!

      

I say “boys’ fishing” but on occasion there would be the token girl allowed to join in – Trevor’s Maija, unfortunately she is no longer with us, who took a chair and newspaper and wore lovely white pants… and Maudie of course doing the dance of the seven veils…                                                                                                                                                                    

   

Camping on the banks of the Snowy River – any number of people trying to work out how to put up a very large tent – eventually it did get up and the evening was spent catching eels – they were huge – and as long as a person. I can still hear the screams and squeals of the girls as they caught these large, black, squirming and twisting monsters…still gives me shivers!  They were duly cleaned and smoked and eaten the following day – and I have to say that they tasted far better than the smoked fresh trout! Yes, it’s true! 

Oh and then there was Ivo’s 50th birthday bash! The Box Hill band marched down the driveway, through the house and out onto the backyard – what a sight! And so many people. Little Holly all dressed up in her dirndl. 

The evening party was the most hilarious event and the cake….the creation of Jacqui, Chrissy and Maudie – omg! Children please avert your eyes when you get to the birthday cake. All I can say is that jelly was used to make things wobble and chocolate sprinkles too…hmmm.. MA18+ rating… goodness knows what little Holly made of it all!     

And for entertainment there were the lederhosen boys from Black Bear. 

Then there was the ‘Perfect Match’ evening hosted by Ivo. Only those who took part in that game will understand how hilarious it was and the ‘perfect matches’ were not necessarily the usual partners…what a hoot!  I couldn’t be 100% sure  but there may have been some cheating going on!

 !  

 

A photo of some people on lilos (air mattresses)…maybe Chrissie and Maudie?... liloing  down the Snowy River (when it had lots of water in it).  Someone would drive a car down to a meeting point way down stream and pick you up when you arrived (hopefully) – which reminds me of a summer rafting/canoeing expedition with Lord Charles and his story of the gauchos putting a beast on the bbq – or something like that. The rafting didn’t go so well for Lord Charles as I was his paddling partner – put it this way – if there was one rock in the river then we would find it!  We took Lord Charles to the milkbar and shouted him a hamburger and milkshake to help him understand Aussie culinary culture a little better. Further along the way, around Bredbo we stopped for a meatpie and a pint..

The people that passed through Ivo and Hanna’s doors were so varied and entertaining.

The very first time we stayed at Ivo’s farm we were the only guests and we were duly invited to join Ivo and Hanna for a bbq in Thredbo. The host was very entertaining and he was a funeral director – his name escapes me – I think it was a Ian Spies. Anyway, he told us that there were only 2 truths in life – we are born and we die. And so it is!

These are just some of my memories. Others will have many many more and I’m sure that on Saturday, during the Celebration of Ivo’s life at the Banjo Patterson Pub in Jindabyne there will be many stories told and retold.

One of our last outings was to Geehi Horse Camp in the Kosciuszko National Park. It was a very hot day but and not a lot of shade to be had but we had a great bbq

 

Tempus Fugit – memento mori et Carpe Diem!