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.