A Walk Along The Thredbo River, Australia

Wednesday 22nd Febuary 2012 saw us camping at the Thredbo Diggins campsite next to the Thredbo River in the Kosciuszko National Park.

This was a really truly fantastic two nights, warm and sunny during the day and cool and clear by night. Sat around the camp fire having a beer and  looking up at the milky way takes some beating and it's something that won't be forgotten any time soon.

Lazing about on the hammock with a couple of kangaroos for company whle the kookaburras laugh in the background will stay with me forever and a day

We aso had a duck or two for company while cooking on the open fire pit. Wonder what it's waiting for!!

A popular area for fly fishing, although this particular time was very quiet with only half a dozen other campers well spread out. The river was quite low as the rain hadn't yet reached this area and so it was very clear. It was also very quiet and peaceful and the only sounds was the kookaburras

 and the ripple of the river.

We set off along the Bullocks Track that followed the river towards the Skitube & Lake Crackenback Resort and then followed the river walk for another 3km's

A real relaxing 5 hour walk through the valley along easy to follow tracks with the forest covered mountains on both sides. We only saw two other people all day and they were busy fishing.

With the sun shining and very little breeze it was proving to be a great day and there was some good reflections on the river

 At this point we did find time to refresh our feet in the cold and refreshing river. Very nice

We carried on back along the tracks and you can see where there had been bush fires in the past as a lot of the trees still bare the scorch marks

The rocks make good lookout points

Along the tracks we did come across a bit of wild life including quite a few lizards

an Echidna

a Bush Wallaby

not quite sure what this is but it was about 3-4 inches in length

a snake that made a hasty retreat into the bush. Infact we saw 3 snakes but they were all to quick for me to get a decent photo!!

  a Funnel Web spider

A rather large beetle

and a large stick insect

While on the walk, we got talking to the two fishermen we saw and they very kindly gave us a freshly caught brown river trout to put on the BBQ. Well it would of been rude not to, so thats what we had for tea :-)

Done on the fire pit with corn on the cob, tomatoes, potatoes and rice with a few beers, Heaven :-))

The following morning was again a beautiful blue sky day and very warm. There was no hint of what was on the way and five days later the rains had come and flooded most of the area in and around Kosciuszko National Park. In fact the rains affected 75% of New South Wales but we managed to miss the worst of it. We were lucky to of had five days and nights of really good weather around this great wilderness area.

Mount Kosciuszko, Australia

On a recent trip to Australia, Tuesday 21st Febuary 2012 saw us on the roof of Australia at 2228metres. A fantastic day in warm and sunny weather with clouds rolling in over the Great Dividing Range. It's in the Kosciuszko National Park, New South Wales in the heart of the Alpine region. A fantastic place that is alive with skiers, snow boarders and all manner of winter sports people when in the depths of winter. This time though was coming to the end of summer, a wet one but thankfully on this day, a warm and dry one. We had decided beforehand that we would take the ski lift up to the cafe and then walk the 6.5km to the summit. This walk was on a laid out boardwalk all the way apart from the last km or so as this would protect all the rare alpine flora and animals that live in the area. It is also quite boggy underfoot so keeping everyone on the  designated walkway won't make a muddy, boggy path get wider and wider as seen on many a mountain path in the UK. A sensible way of protecting the enviroment and everything that lives there.

Aftermaking our way up the ski lift it was time for the 6.5km walk to the summit

Along the way there are information boards telling you all about the area and why it's so special

The boardwalk was like a metal grid and was easy to follow, laid out over small streams and also takes you to a couple of lookout points

And also to the start of the Snowy River that makes it's way down to the Wilderness Coast just south of a town called Orbost, Victoria

All along the walk there are boulders and rocks strewn all over and these provide much needed shelter for all sorts of small creatures such as the endangered Pyg-my Possum

As you get higher and closer to the summit the glacial lakes come into view

There are other paths that take you to the summit and are all joined at a marker stone junction where there are also toilets discretly built into rocks and are very clean and tidy. No refreshment stalls though :-)

The toilets and paths junction from just below the summit

On reaching the summit there are some great 360degree views. Today was warm with a slight breeze and patchy cloud blowing over some mountain tops from the valley.

On the roof of Australia

More summit views

We made our way down and as we passed the rocks I did get the urge to do a bit of scrambling but it's a definate no no, and only the Ravens are allowed to play. Reminds me of the rocky summits around Snowdonia

As we got to the end of the walk we had a coffee in the Eagles Nest before we caught the ski lift to the car park and watched the clouds start to roll in that ended with a storm later in the evening

The storm rolling across the mountains from our base at Jindabyne Lake

A fantastic day in a fantastic place. We were lucky with the weather and had some great views all day and it felt great to be on the Roof Of Australia, Mount Kosciuszko.