We arrived in Canberra and were so blessed to be able to stay with our lovely cousins Debbie and Brett. We stashed the caravan in a side parking and for the first time in weeks did not sleep on wheels and had a bathroom near us..bliss. Thank you!!Canberra is a wonderful city, our Capital ..but first to Christmas.
We decided to do something completely different this year as I knew we would miss the family and togetherness which we have always had on Christmas day. So we decided to drive to the Snowy Mountains and climb Australia’s highest peak to have a toast to us all from there. The Australian Alps have many ski resorts and more snow than Switzerland in winter ( bigger area). The biggest rivers also have their source in these mountains, including the Murray, the Murrumbidgee and of course the Snowy River. The latter has been made into the biggest Hydro scheme in Australia hailed as one of the engineering wonders of the modern world. It is a complex infrastructure with 16 major dams, seven power stations (two underground), pumping stations, 145 kms of interconnected tunnels and 80 kms of aqueducts. To build this scheme in these wilderness mountains with unforgiving weather is a true marvel, and when you see the size of the tunnels and pipes (30ft inside) it is breathtaking.
We stayed in a caravan park overnight and on Christmas morning drove into the heart of the mountains to Thredbo which is a ski resort with multiple chair lifts etc in winter. We took the chair lift 500 odd meters to the top of the ridge, then hiked the 6 and half kms to the top of Mt Kosciuszko at 2229 meters. While that does not sound all that high, most of Australia is very flat and low, so these mountains rise abruptly from the plains and we could see 360 deg views of the mountains. The lower parts of the slopes had amazing wildflowers growing among the granite tors, looking truly like God’s Garden. However as we climbed higher there was only spongy alpine moss and grasses with patches of snow. Being at the top was an exhilarating experience, and we felt a real sense of achievement. Christmas lunch was smoked salmon sandwiches, fresh cherries, nuts, and a swig or two of Port! We got a real buzz from being able to phone Joe and Geoff from the peak to wish them Happy Christmas, because believe it or not there was a signal (intermittent but usable).We thought we would be one of the few people daft enough to do something like this on Christmas day, but there were quite a few other brave souls and the atmosphere was festive! The weather was a brisk 10 deg (less with wind-chill) but bright blue skies..magic! We felt for our Perth family who were sweating it out in a heat wave of 40 deg. The trip down was great with views all around us, and we also got a buzz from standing at the source of the Snowy River! I used Australia’s highest loo with views of Kosciusko. From the chairlift we could see for miles (and even saw a little echidna scuttling around below us). We drove back and had a spa at the caravan park which eased our muscles!
The next day we drove back to Canberra through the centre of the Great Dividing Range with wonderful views, hairpin bends, and saw the highest reservoir, the highest town in Australia ( Cabramurra), and some historic mountain huts straight out of “The Man from Snowy River”.
It was a wonderful and very different Christmas!
We decided to do something completely different this year as I knew we would miss the family and togetherness which we have always had on Christmas day. So we decided to drive to the Snowy Mountains and climb Australia’s highest peak to have a toast to us all from there. The Australian Alps have many ski resorts and more snow than Switzerland in winter ( bigger area). The biggest rivers also have their source in these mountains, including the Murray, the Murrumbidgee and of course the Snowy River. The latter has been made into the biggest Hydro scheme in Australia hailed as one of the engineering wonders of the modern world. It is a complex infrastructure with 16 major dams, seven power stations (two underground), pumping stations, 145 kms of interconnected tunnels and 80 kms of aqueducts. To build this scheme in these wilderness mountains with unforgiving weather is a true marvel, and when you see the size of the tunnels and pipes (30ft inside) it is breathtaking.
We stayed in a caravan park overnight and on Christmas morning drove into the heart of the mountains to Thredbo which is a ski resort with multiple chair lifts etc in winter. We took the chair lift 500 odd meters to the top of the ridge, then hiked the 6 and half kms to the top of Mt Kosciuszko at 2229 meters. While that does not sound all that high, most of Australia is very flat and low, so these mountains rise abruptly from the plains and we could see 360 deg views of the mountains. The lower parts of the slopes had amazing wildflowers growing among the granite tors, looking truly like God’s Garden. However as we climbed higher there was only spongy alpine moss and grasses with patches of snow. Being at the top was an exhilarating experience, and we felt a real sense of achievement. Christmas lunch was smoked salmon sandwiches, fresh cherries, nuts, and a swig or two of Port! We got a real buzz from being able to phone Joe and Geoff from the peak to wish them Happy Christmas, because believe it or not there was a signal (intermittent but usable).We thought we would be one of the few people daft enough to do something like this on Christmas day, but there were quite a few other brave souls and the atmosphere was festive! The weather was a brisk 10 deg (less with wind-chill) but bright blue skies..magic! We felt for our Perth family who were sweating it out in a heat wave of 40 deg. The trip down was great with views all around us, and we also got a buzz from standing at the source of the Snowy River! I used Australia’s highest loo with views of Kosciusko. From the chairlift we could see for miles (and even saw a little echidna scuttling around below us). We drove back and had a spa at the caravan park which eased our muscles!
The next day we drove back to Canberra through the centre of the Great Dividing Range with wonderful views, hairpin bends, and saw the highest reservoir, the highest town in Australia ( Cabramurra), and some historic mountain huts straight out of “The Man from Snowy River”.
It was a wonderful and very different Christmas!
4 comments:
Sounds awesome. What a great idea - especially the port!
Happy travelling.
Heat here been awful but cooling down now but back up to 40 for new year. Can't do much with the 3 little ones. Home just easier!
Stay well.
Pris
I have loved reading about your adventures. The thing that really appeals to me is the unpopulated beautiful terrains you are traversing. Man, I wish we were there with you guys!
ANyway, it is probably New year for you. SO HAPPY NEW YEAR!! love jackie and tony
Great pics generally. Also enjoyed the map and the route. Hope you are keeping another diary which answers some of Chris' questions for future travellers.
Love to all
Tony and Jackie
we enjoyed your very different Christmas news. We've had 3 80+yr olds, boys' cousins plus 2 dogs - all with big appetites. Look forward to your New Year news.
Love Frank, Jan and Joe
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