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Published: February 14th 2009
The cool southerly change had well and truly arrived when we left Merimbula, with a light drizzle falling. We re-fuelled and were pleased to see that the cost of diesel is now similar to petrol (actually cheaper in Orbost), whereas we have often paid up to 30 cents per litre more for diesel on our trip. We stopped to have a look and taste at the Bega Cheese Factory, then continued on the Snowy Mountains Hwy (with more cheese in hand) towards Cooma. On the way, we stopped for lunch at Nimmitabel. However, it was 7°C, misty and drizzling, so we ended up eating in the car (cheese sandwiches), although we had a lovely view of the mist over the nearby lake.
We passed through Cooma and headed for Jindabyne, where we stopped at the Visitor Information Centre. We entered
Kosciuszko National Park , purchasing a 'Short Breaks Pass', giving us 5 days entry for the price of 4. We drove into Thredbo Diggings campground but were accompanied by a large school group, so decided to drive a bit further up the road to Ngarigo campground, which was empty and where we decided to stay for 3 nights. Unlike Thredbo Diggings, the
Mt Kosciuszko summit
Annelies talking to Grannycampground at Ngarigo had each campsite separate from its car bay, but we managed to pitch the camper trailer in one of these bays right next to a campsite with fire place and picnic table. The campground was situated alongside Thredbo River and the occasional fisherman came along and tried their luck. It was a lovely river, but it was much too cold for us to swim in. It was still heavily overcast with a bitterly cold wind, so we set up the full annexe to give us some protection from the elements.
The next day (Tuesday) we awoke to a heavy mist and dew, but decided to walk to Mt Kosciuszko in any case, as the conditions weren't expected to get any better until later in the week. We drove into Thredbo and took the Kosciuszko Express Chairlift up to Eagles Nest (elevation 1930m) to then do the 13km return walk to the summit (2228m). There was still a heavy mist as we travelled on the chairlift and at times we couldn't see the chair in front of us. Nevertheless it was exciting on the chairlift with squeals of excitement from three of us (no prizes for guessing
who remained calm and sensible)! We set off on the walk thinking that there might not be much of a view at the top, but only minutes later, as we climbed higher, we were pleased to come into sunny conditions with cloudless skies. The walk to the summit wasn't difficult and we even got to use Australia's highest toilet along the way. In retrospect, we could have easily done the Summit Walk and Main Range Track circuit (23km) from Charlotte Pass, although we weren't to know that the conditions would be so good on top of the mountain and it was also fun taking the chairlift. We headed back to the campsite and stoked up a fire to cook 'Jam Roly Poly' in the camp oven for dessert, not to mention providing us with some warmth - it was still less than 10°C.
On Wednesday we drove along Kosciuszko Rd to Sawpit Creek where we walked the Waterfall Track. Then we drove to Charlotte Pass and did the short Snow Gums Boardwalk, getting a close-up view of the gnarly and twisted Snow Gums that do well to survive the Sub-Alpine heights. Back at the campsite the sun finally began
Jam Roly Poly
Yum! Thinking of you Obbie. breaking through and the wind had abated, making for a pleasant evening with scones and cream for dessert.
On Thursday we packed up and headed to the northern part of the park. We drove through Thredbo on the Alpine Way, stopping briefly at Leatherbarrel Creek and Scammell's Ridge lookout, and then made a longer stop at the Murray 1 Power Station and Visitor Centre. It wasn't picnicking weather, so we treated ourselves to a hot lunch in Khancoban. From there we passed through Cabramurra (Australia's highest town) where we found the Bureau's automatic weather station and were pleased to note that it gave the same temperature (5°C) as our car (we got the current temperature using the mobile), thus confirming our thoughts that the car outside temperature reading is quite accurate. We took a left at Kiandra to camp at Log Bridge Creek near Blowering Reservoir, as we planned to walk to Blowering Cliffs and Falls the next day (Friday the 13th). This we did, and the sunny and windy conditions meant that all our towels and camper trailer annexe could finally dry out (they had been damp since Merimbula! Dessert this night was Apple Crumble! It's lucky we're
doing lots of walking to burn off all these desserts!
On Saturday (Valentine's Day) we packed up and headed into the Nation's capital.
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