Today is notable for two events: our oldest grandchild, India, has turned eleven and we failed in our attempt to conquer Mount Kosciuszko. It seems only yesterday that I wrote in this blog about India turning ten; how the year has flown! And as for the second non-event; more of that later.
The morning dawned without rain and with the cacophonic chorus of birds heralding in the better weather. With such a positive start to the day, we were up, breakfasted, lunch made and off up into the National Park by 8 am. The road beyond Jinabyne goes on toward Thredbo through the National Park. However there is a side road which follows the lake edge for a while before turning westward where the Thredbo River flows into the lake. Most entries to the Natonal Park are carefully guarded by National Park employees, however $16 per vehicle will give you access for twenty four hours. Here it is obviously user pays despite any state or federal funding that may also fill the Park’s coffers.
We travelled on over Dainer’s Gap at 1,650 metres above sea level, through Perisher, an alpine village in waiting for the snow, past Spencer’s Creek at 1,730 metres finally arriving at Charlotte’s Pass at 1,835 metres, yet another alpine village but one that is cut off from vehicular traffic in the winter. There we donned our jackets, scarves, tramping boots, hats and stepped outside the vehicle to see the gale force winds whipping the rain clouds across the entrance to the track to the summit of Australia’s highest mountain. We also saw a park ranger there so approached him and asked if it was a good idea for us to be setting off this morning. He looked at us and at our clothing and suggested that since we were not wearing waterproof pants, we could run into strife. Jeans just don’t cut the mustard for mountain climbing! He also said that the winds would be twice as fierce further on up the mountain. Even in the few moments spent speaking with him, it was evident that the conditions were against us, and so we agreed not to attempt the eighteen kilometre hike today.
Later I checked the forecast online and found that the winds were gusting up to over 60 kph, that the conditions would be similar tomorrow and then there would be two days of snow. It seems that we may have to abandon the whole plan, which is most disappointing. However the jury is not totally out yet.
Not to be totally beaten, we decided on the three kilometre return Rainbow Lake Walk, a walk that both the ranger and Katrin-of-Cooma recommended. We drove back down the road to Dainer’s Gap and set off through the snow grass and snow gums toward the lake. No sooner had we left sight of the landcruiser, than it began to rain. We crossed a couple of small streams and worked our way through boggy sections of the track, and the rain became heavier. I am sure this is an absolutely lovely walk, however with caps on in an attempt to protect our glasses from the rain and hoods pulled up over our heads, our peripheral vision was limited, and the walk became all about getting there and back rather than stopping to smell the roses, or in this instance, admire the Billy Buttons. We did startle a large grey kangaroo at one stage but apart from him and evidence of wombat excavation, there was little other wildlife silly enough to be out in the weather.
This small lake was created by a dam which was built to supply water to the Hotel Kosciuszko built in 1909. The hotel burnt down in 1951 but the staff quarters, a grand affair in their own right, remain and now operate as ski accommodation under the auspices of Sponar’s Chalet. We would not dismiss the walk out of hand but simply recommend that it be done on a more pleasant day.
Having paid the exorbitant entry fee, we were not willing to waste the opportunity of exploring the park further despite the weather, so continued further down the road, turning off north onto the Guthega Road. At Island Bend we came close to the upper Snowy River, and turned south east, following the valley up to the Guthega Power Station, which, needless to say, is part of the Snowy Hydro Scheme. We passed probably a dozen wallabies, some playing chicken which may be fun for them but not for the motorist. However everyone survived and on the return, they had gone off to play somewhere else.
From there we exited the park but stopped beside the Thredbo River and walked over a kilometre upriver along part of the Pallaibo Track. Here at this lower altitude, the weather had cleared and we continued until the track started to climb steeply, then turned back, enjoying the scene of the Thredbo, tumbling noisily over rocks and noted that the March rains had caused the river to flood considerably and throw a lot of debris up on the banks.
The second walk had dried our jeans a little although our shoes were still soaked, and so we headed back to camp, heated up a can of soup and marvelled at the much better weather here at Jindabyne than that up in the mountains. It was as if we were on a different planet!
It did seem a shame to sit inside for the rest of the day feeling beaten, so we set off along the lakeside in the opposite direction to yesterday, along the well-constructed path, which in places lies under water from those same March floods mentioned earlier. From the extreme end of the walkway we were able to look across to East Jindabyne and the Tyrolean Village visited yesterday, and as we returned, see our own camp through the beautiful golden poplars.
Lake Jindabyne covers an area of 30.35 square kilometres and has an average depth of fifteen metres, the maximum depth just forty metres. There are several buoys out in the lake that could only be marking obstacles in the shallow water, and out from the camp there are a couple of islands, also covered in lovely exotic trees, which look large enough to be inhabited.
Before settling in for the afternoon and checking out the weather on line, we paid for a further couple of days here at Jindabyne. There is a lot to see, some of which may have to be checked out in summer if we are back this way.
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