On a beautiful sunny 26 degree, we set out from Jindabyne to climb to the top of the continent. First stop was the Pay Station to get into the Mount Kosciuszko National Park, then it was Thredbo to buy our chairlift tickets, and then the hard work began!
After a 600m ride to the top of the chairlift we disembarked at "Eagles Nest", with an altitude of 1970m. And where had the nice warm, calm day gone?? Thankfully we all had jumpers/jackets, as the windchill factor was 'b....' cold! There were reported to be gusts of up to 60 kph from this altitude to the top. (And I don't know about the gusts, because it just kept blowing!?) Jon had already had a 'miraculous recovery' of his hat while on the chairlift - just getting the hand to it in time. In his own words, "that would have been a disaster"! The UV levels are fairly high on the climb - something to do with altitude, and the air being thinner! |
| The Summit, only 4.5km away, along that wiggly brown line on the LHS, the walking track |
Anyway, the 'intrepid adventurers' put our hats on tight, did up the zips as high as they would go, and headed for the summit of Mt Kosciuszko, 6.5km away. The walkway itself is well made, boardwalk style with only a few stepped sections. Thank goodness, because the wind and the cold were awful. After the first 500m, we thought it was going to be a very LONG walk! (This was as we watched a jogger run off into the distance in front of us!)
However, we paced ourselves, stopped a couple of times for a rest/water/food (chocolate!! - isn't that what all hikers carry in their packs for energy??). And along the track, the distances were marked every 500m, so we could assess our progress.
Before long we found ourselves at the Lookout, gazing at the summit, only 4.5kms away!!
At this altitude the landscape is treeless, but still interesting and interpretive signs informed us about plants/animals/Aboriginal connections etc.And it was interesting to see water 'oozing' out of rocks and lots of little creeks and rockpools, as this is the headwater of the Snowy River.
We'd been walking about an hour, when the jogger, passed us again, on her way back down - still jogging!
After 1hour 35mins, we reached the very top of Australia - with magnificent views all around. Ranges seem to roll in every direction, as far as the eye can see.
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| View North towards Charlotte's Pass and cottage. How would that be for a bit of isolated living! |
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| Walking track, in centre and looking from summit back towards Thredbo |
Jed had to climb on to the cairn at the top, just to make sure he was on the absolute top thing in the country!
As Daniel said to Lily, "you've done the highest peak in one continent, only 6 more to go!" (I think I'll skip the rest!)
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| Heading back down |
After the "photoshoot", a bit more rest and food, we began the descent, which I must say was a whole lot easier - the wind had seemed to moderate a bit as we got up out of the "lower" valley too.
After another 6.5km back again we were glad to see the chairlift. We completed the downhill segment of our climb in 1 hour and 20mins - so just less than 3 hours all up, not counting the stop at the top. We didn't think this was too bad seen as they say to allow 4-6 hours!!
The chairlift itself was great fun, with great views down the valley, Thredbo, the ski runs, and at this time of year mountain bike racing is a big thing at Thredbo so it was interesting to see bikes being bought up on the chairlift and then being ridden down some very 'scary' tracks beneath us as we rode down the mountain.
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| Thredbo below chairlift |
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| Mountain bikers going through their paces |
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