From the Bullock Hill Campground I headed for Jindabyne, in
the southern part of the Snowy Mountains, the ones with snow on them. The excellent Information Centre at Jindabyne
was my first stop, then off to the Kosciuszko Mountain Retreat - which claims
to be Australia's highest holiday park - for two nights. This is on Kosciuszko Road, which goes thru
Perisher Ski Village and terminates at Charlotte Pass Village. Guthega Road turns north off this and goes to
Guthega Dam & Power Station (completed in 1955) on the Snowy River. I traveled
to the ends of these roads, with short walks at the Charlotte Pass end and off
Kosciuszko Road to Rainbow Lake, created in 1902 to provide water for a nearby
resort, since burned down. The walks were easy as the van had done most
of the work trundling up the hills, often in third gear, and the views were
terrific! And there was snow! Much of it had melted but large patches still
remain, however, the ski season was well and truly ended.
Touching back to the Snowy Hydro Scheme, some photos of
other Stations were also taken as I passed and will post the photos of them in
a contiguous segment of the web album. I
never could quite take in the magnitude of the scheme. Between 1949 and 1974 some 100,000 men and
women worked on the development, living year round in villages near
construction sites. It certainly must
rank among one of the most ambitious schemes undertaken at the time, if not in
modern history.
Then off to walk up Mt. Kosciuszko, however, that particular
day was foul weather, so I sat out the winds and rains at Ngarigo campsite. The next morning was a stunner - clear blue
skies with very light winds, so after a breakfast of pancakes, shared with a
German tourist also on his way to Mt. Kosciuszko, off we went! The chairlift was about to open so timing was
excellent and off to the top, a difference in 460m vertical. The walkway to Mt. Kosciuszko is excellent, a
gradual climb up another 291m vertical over a distance of 6.5Km. It is an interesting meander over the top of
the Range, with creeks, lakes, valleys and snow drifts providing a unique vista
of Australian scenery. Then at the top -
at 2,228M the highest point in Australia!
The compulsory photos, a good look at the panorama, and then back along
the same track. Australia's highest
restaurant is located at the top of the chairlift, so lunch and a coffee at
1937M was in order! And from here on it
is all downhill (metaphorically speaking - in reality it is up and down through
the mountains): The Alpine Way is a
narrow windy road and is a favourite of motorcyclists which were plentiful. That nite was spent at Geehi Campground,
situated along a mountain stream and I slept well!
Geehi is a lush valley in the National Park and thus the
happy home to quite a few 'roo. Up until
the 1960's it was used as a base for cattle, which were driven up from lower
down to graze in the valley itself and also in the surrounding mountains. There is a lovely stone cottage used as the
summer camp in the lovely setting of the valley and stream. Being such a lovely setting you would think
that as I had one more day on my Parks Pass I'd have spent it there, but having
to see what's around the next hill/bend I traveled up to Bradney's Gap
Campsite, just north of Khancoban, which was very ordinary. During the night, I heard a small critter
scrabbling along my roof and the fabric sides of the poptop: This has happened on other infrequent
occasions also. Now, since my unwelcome
rodent companion, I awaken instantly to sounds such as this, and happily, they
were outside but I've wondered what they could be - gliding possums, bats,
birds? Well at Bradney's Gap I happened
to see the shadow of a small bird alighting on the roof, though in the
moonlight I couldn't tell anything more than it was about starling sized. Curiouser and curiouser.
The following day - 3,485Km since leaving Brisbane - I
crossed the NSW/VIC border; as I passed through Corryong, I stopped into the
Information Centre and the kind gentleman talked me into altering my plans from
going through the Victorian Alps to along the Murray River. It actually looks as if I may have time to do
both - we shall see.
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