KOSCIOUSKO NATIONAL PARK AND JINDABYNE - 8 to 14 MARCH 2021

 

KOSCIOUSKO NATIONAL PARK AND JINDABYNE

8 March

The journey from Canberra to Kosciusko National Park took awhile as we had to stop for food supplies, petrol and rest stops along the way. At Jindabyne, we stopped at the National Park office for mountain bike and hiking info plus a five day access pass.

We drove to Thredbo and checked the start of the Thredbo valley track and then to our camping at Nga… We had booked four nights on line at this camp site. It was very windy when we arrived but just as the sun disappeared behind the mountains so did the wind. The evening was warm and pleasant.

9 March

We woke to a cloudy morning. After breakfast, we decided on a bike ride from our camp to Thredbo. It was 9 km basically uphill and took 3 hours. It was great though as Jacinta persevered and we did it. At Thredbo, we had lunch then I backtracked to the camping area to get the van to pick up Jacinta. The return was amazing being a fast and flowy track. I got back to the camp in 40 minutes and drove the van up to Thredbo.

After picking up Jacinta, we rested at our camp site and had a delicious salmon dinner.

10 March

In the morning, I rode my camp from our camp to Bullock’s Flat. The ride was downhill and a little harder than yesterday’s section of the Thredbo Valley Track. There were steeper sections and berms and some rock and tree root obstacles. A great ride though! Jacinta was waiting for me with the van.

Back at camp we rested then headed to Jindabyne for coffee and lunch. From there we drove to the start of the Rainbow Lake hike on the Perisher side of the park.

It was a 3 kilometre walk that included a few hills, some wildflowers and rough track around the lake. That track was very soggy at times and felt very snaky.

After the hike we drove back to camp where I had a swim in the Thredbo River, which was very cold.

11 March

Jacinta dropped me off at Thredbo and I had another ride of the Valley track as far as our camp area. Once again it was fast and furious.

Later, we drove to Charlottes Pass to consider a hike or bike ride. The weather didn’t look very inviting with heavy clouds that were filling in the valley below us.

Back at camp, we had an easy afternoon and eventually the rain began. By the late afternoon it eased a bit and we met two border patrol officers from Sydney.

12 March

There was a light rain in the early hours of the morning but we awoke to cloud and sunshine.

We packed and drove to Jindabyne Discovery Park where we made a booking for the next two nights. Next stop was Charlottes Pass.

We parked and got out our bike gear. Our aim was to ride to Rawson’s Pass along the bike trail. It was a gradual my hill climb that became very steep from the Snowy River to Seaman’s Hut. The scenery was stark alpine with small trees on one side of the trail but treeless on the other side. Closer to the Snowy River the trees disappeared totally. We rode about half to Rawson’s Pass from seaman’s Hut before we had a clear view of the pass. The road continued upwards but we turned around and continued back to the van. The return ride was downhill most of the way with one small hill. An awesome, fast and fun ride!

We stopped at Jindabyne for a few supplies and settled into our new camp – hot showers and rest.

13 March

A restful day around the camp - washing, charging electrics, moving to unpowered site.

Today was Jacinta’s birthday. We booked a restaurant in town and had a great dinner. When we went to pay, our daughters had already contacted the restaurant and paid.. Nice present for Jacinta.

14 March

In the middle of the night it started to rain and become cold.

When we woke, the rain had stopped but it was windy and bitterly cold.

We packed camp and set off for Eden.