We left the Lakes Entrance early as we had a very long drive
ahead of us before we’d arrive at the location of Australia’s highest mountain,
Mount Kosciuszko. This journey was slowed down a lot due to our bus, Sheila,
repeatedly having to stop for breathers (some electrical fault but we had to
stick with the bus until Sydney!) There was another hold up caused by the very
wet and windy conditions here; as we sped along the road and around a bend we
were greeted with a fallen tree, the bulk of which was blocking our side of the
road. Disco, our driver, slammed on the brakes but we could all see this wasn’t
enough as we slid closer and closer until the inevitable crunch of bus into
tree! This stopped us and, after checking we were all ok, Disco hopped out to
assess the damage – a pushed back wing mirror and a few scratches, lucky us!
After going around the tree we continued on with our journey.
We stopped for lunch at a shopping outlet place called
Jindabyne and found some food (apparently in peak season this place turns into
Australia’s 5th largest City!) Lunch today was a hot, generously
carved, roasted lamb sandwich each; Danny’s with gravy and Corrie’s with mint
sauce and gravy. These were delicious and great fuel for what we’d planned for
the afternoon.
We then got to Thredbo resort, now out of season and so very
empty and lacking in the snow department. We checked in to our accommodation
and then had to decide what we’d do this afternoon: Walk up the mountain or
spend the time in a leisure centre. After all our walks in Oz it was a
no-brainer really, climb the Mountain… We were 2 of 3 people that wanted to do
this! The 3rd person was from Switzerland so naturally she opted for
the walk, the guide was pretty much obliged to with us as he’s a first aider
and responsible for us really. He did his best to advise against it and we could
all tell he didn’t really fancy the trek, but he’s a decent guy and was soon
getting the chair lift tickets for the 4 of us!
All the staff seemed very shocked that anyone would want to
do this, and were keen to point out the need for very warm clothing,
waterproofs, and gloves etc. We got the tickets and all shared the ski lift up
to the start of the mountain walk, where the realisation of what we were about
to do sunk in. Mount Kosciuszko is 2,228m above sea level, the highest mountain
in Oz, the temperature, including wind-chill was -7.5 degrees Celsius and it
was pouring it down along with the 50kph wind! Our guide asked us what we
wanted to do, our options being: Go back down the chair lift, Carry on and try
to make it to the top of the mountain though we’d miss the last chair lift back
and would have to walk the 5km down to the base, or just walk down this 5km to
the base of the mountain. The Swiss lass was intent on heading up the mountain
and so, not wanting to be outdone, me and Corrie agreed with her whilst the
Disco was given no choice but to come with us. We set off with the wind at our
backs which was good, and slowly made our way to the first lookout point about
2.2km up the 6.5km route to the summit. By this point both of us were very wet and
our legs were freezing; even though we’d packed for wet and windy conditions as
a precaution, neither of us were prepared for this. If we’d have packed
thermals we think we’d have seriously pushed to go on to the top. As it was, we
were very pushed for time and the weather was getting worse. Disco explained
the situation to us, though it was really the Swiss girl who had to be swayed
as she really wanted to make it to the top. After 5 mins or so it was decided
that it was just too late for just us to continue up there, especially if the
weather got much worse, plus it would be dark on the way down and none of us
had brought torches. After a few photos we made our way back down to the chair
lifts and Danny decided this would be a good time to have a toilet stop… a
decision he almost lived to regret with the -7.5 or cooler climate, we very
nearly lost a member of our group!
When back at the chair lifts, which were about to close, we decided to continue
down the hill on foot through the woods. This was a nice, albeit very wet walk
and it gave us quite a sense of achievement once we finally made it to the
bottom. It had been a very good thigh workout completing this nature trail and
should’ve been classed as a river walk due to the sheer amount of water running
down the path.
We all showered and got changed into some dry clothes;
unfortunately the 3 of us who’d attempted the mountain were all in the same
room and so all our wet clothes including shoes and socks were stinking away as
they attempted to dry out. This can’t have been a pleasant surprise to the
other 2 guys who were sharing the dorm with us!
We then went to the bar for well-deserved drinks and
all-you-can-eat pizza before we all participated in a tradition here – Shotski.
This is a game where there is a ski resting between two barrels and it has 4
shot glasses resting in 4 holes cut into the ski. 4 people get up and the ones
at each end of the ski are in control of the lifting; they lift the ski after
the count of 3 and attempt to get the drinks into everyone’s mouths. This was
fun but after a few rounds we both headed to bed whilst most of the others
stayed up late, dancing on barrels etc into the early hours!
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