Driving up to Canberra for a 2 week trip. We invited a mate with his kids out for an easy overnight camping trip. We had arrived early and picked out a site and set up the shelter. Just before a very short but intense storm was rolling across Melbourne. A thick rain band that was only 30 minutes wide but stretched all the way from the bay to the border. Lucky that the others were driving when it hit and I was relaxing under the shelter with a local Kinglake whisky in hand. Watching everything around me start to flood.
That night we cooked up burgers for us and the kids. And i had searching around the garage and found my old glow staff which they loved playing with.
Then it was bedtime for them and the little one needed a hot water bottle to keep him warm and happy. I think it was his first camping trip. So he still had no idea what was going on and why he couldn’t just go home.
The next morning we woke up early, cooked pancakes and went for a walk along the creek. He was having a great time with his brother jumping and splashing in all the puddles we found.
The Kookaburras at camp kept an eye on us. Hoping that some food would be dropped for them to scoop up. They were extremely social and not scared of us at all. I think with all the campers here around the year they know that they will get fed.
Later that afternoon we packed up and continued our trip north to Canberra. Visiting some mates that we shared a house with in Sydney and having a look around the town. It has been awhile since i had been here and i forgot how lined up and planned the city is. From certain spots you can see in a straight line from one place to another a long way away.
After playing around Canberra for 2 days we looked at the snow forecast and saw that snow would be arriving for the weekend. And knowing how busy the ski resorts would be we left Canberra and raced up there to go exploring during the week. Aiming to leave by the weekend when the crowds arrived.
We camped just before Thredbo and drove up there in the morning. Arriving only an hour after the lifts started, the car park was already packed. I don’t know how people can ski at the resorts. There is so much waiting around for buses to transport you from the car to the ski field, standing around to buy your tickets and then the huge queues to catch the lift up.
Visiting the info centre to find out about the snow conditions and where the best snowshoeing trails were. I looked at the lift ticket prices and they were nearly $200 per person, per day. Then you have ski hire, national parks entry, chain hire and fuel to get there. Even more if you decide to book accommodation. Skiing is too crowded and expensive for me.
Our plan was to put on our snowshoes and go exploring. So we drove up to Dead Horse Gap and my truck made a friend up there.
Today’s plan was just to go for a short walk and have a look around the area. We put our snowshoes on and headed out along the trail to Cascade hut. It was a perfect day out there. Blue sky, no clouds, no wind and cool enough to keep everything frozen and not melting.
No one else out there and no sight of the owners of the cars at the carpark. Just the two of us exploring and having a wonderful time.
The next morning we came up here again and our plan was to walk all the way up Mt Kosciuszko. Starting at the same car park as yesterday we crossed the road and found this interesting bridge made of scaffolding. NZ had a lot of simple back country bridges but none of them looked anything like this. So many sharp sections for you to fall onto in the slippery conditions.
The day was not looking nice compared to yesterday. A storm was rolling in. It was early in the day and the clouds were turning black, the wind was picking up and it was starting to snow. Makes for some great photos and amazing views. And we had the right equipment to keep ourselves safe and warm out here. So we kept on climbing higher.
Up top the sun did come out a few times. Showing us these great views and untouched snow ahead of us. We were nearly at the resort boundary and there were no tracks in the snow of other walkers or skiers in the area.
Crossing over here was our next task. We would be leaving the shelter of the trees and getting hit by the strong wind. Which was picking up and moving around the very icy snow. Our faces were fully covered until we reached the next rocky outcrop to shelter in.
Entering into the top of the ski resort I walked down to the sign to make sure that we were still on the right track but no luck. It was completely covered in ice and we couldn’t make anything out.
Eventually in the distance we spotted the top of the lift where a cafe and restaurant was. So we stopped in for a snack and hot chocolate. Also to wait and see what the weather for the day was doing.
When we were ready to go again the clouds were rolling over very fast. Snow would fall and then it would stop for a while and the wind would not give up. Trying to blow us over all the time. So we decided that we would head back down to the car instead of going higher where the conditions would be a lot worse.
Back in the trees again we were sheltered from the wind but that’s when it really started to snow and the clouds dropped. Taking away a lot of our visibility. We were walking down a ridge line so even if we lost our tracks we would eventually end up at the road and then the car.
We didn’t achieve our goal but we still had a great few days up here. And I had to limp my car back to Melbourne. It had overheated on the drive and was burning through a lot of coolant. I thought it was a blown head gasket and a few months later after dropping it off at the mechanics i found out that it was. Which was an expensive fix and as I am back at work I haven’t been able to play with it since it was fixed.
Welcome to my Adventures 