The Australian Alps Walking Track. Walhalla, Victoria – Tharwa, A.C.T. 25th February – 30th March 2004. Stage 5

Stage 5. Thredbo – Kiandra

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Sunday, 21st March 2004. Thredbo – Whites River. 37 kms.

10.30 am. We’ve had a nice stroll along the raised walkway this morning. We got the Kosciuszko Express up to Eagles Nest at 9 am and wandered off. The last couple of days at Thredbo were real rest and recuperation. We got to Thredbo at 1.30 pm on Friday to find the YHA hostel shut. So we dropped our packs there and went for a wander around the village. Niv had a chicken shwarma and I had a pepper pie for lunch. We got back to the hostel at 3.30 pm just as it opened. We checked in, had a shower, washed everything then organised our food from our cache we had left there. We had our packs ready to go by the time it was time to go out for dinner. Pizza and beer. The next day our families came down and had lunch with us. It was fantastic seeing everyone. We had ham and salad rolls. After lunch we had a wander around the village and I showed my Lisa, Bec and Jess through the youth hostel and then they went home. Last night we cooked up a big dinner in the kitchen. Lots of vegies and fish fingers. From here we’re going to go up and drop our packs at the Lakes Walk turnoff and then up to the summit of Kosciuszko for morning tea and then along the Lakes Walk to Carruthers and across to Twynam for the night. The weather is a lot diferent than what we’ve been used to. It’s cold and the clouds keep moving in and away again. Typical main range weather. There’s a lovely view down the valley to Lake Cootaptamba.

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Monday, 22nd March 2004. Whites River – Grey Mare. 19 kms.

9 am. It was a very long day yesterday. After we left Rawsons Pass we did the obligatory pilgrimage to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko (The highest mountain in Australia not Australia’s highest mountain.) and then strolled along to Carruthers Peak for lunch. From there it was Twynam, Anton, Main Bluff, up Mt Tate, Consett Stevens Pass, up and across the Rolling Grounds and by that time it starting to get dark. We’d run out of daytight. There was a very cold wind up the top so we decided to press on to Whites River and we veered off at the Granite Tors and came down in to the Whites River Corridor. The sun had set by that time. Niv led by torchlight and we came out of the scrub on to the West Aqueduct track. We followed it up to the main road and got to Whites River Hut at about 9:30 pm. So after setting up and having tea we got to bed at about 11 pm. We had a bit of a sleep in this morning. We’re heading straight across to Grey Mare’s today morning. I’m looking forward to a relaxing afternoon there doing some washing and getting it dry before it gets dark. From here it’s up to Schlink Pass, on to the Schlink Hilton, down the Valentines fire trail to Valentine’s Hut and then the Valentine’s Falls track to Grey Mare. I’d just like to scope out the track for when Jess does this route next holidays. It’s very burnt out around here. The fire came within metres of the hut. All the mountains towards
Gungarten are burnt. It was all burnt across the main range, the feld marks and across the Rolling Grounds.
Noon. A very quick stroll in to Valentines this morning. The road was clear all the way then the Valentines fire trail has been bulldozed obviously in response to the fires. It’s still burnt out all the way through here. There’s a brochure here outlining what is closed within the park. A few things of significance. The Rolling Grounds from Dicky Cooper Bogong to the Main Range has been closed. There was nothing from where we came from indicating this. The Valentines Falls Track is also closed as is Jugungal. So we’ll be taking the normal route via the Geehi River. It’s a gorgeous day. I’m just waiting here for Niv and then we’ll have lunch and get to Grey Mare in time to do the washing.

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Tuesday, 23rd March 2004. Grey Mare – Mackeys Hut. 25 kms.

8 pm. I got to Grey Mare at 2.45 pm yesterday after an hour and three-quarters stroll from Valentines. The track has been bulldozed all the way and it looks like it continues. Today we’re heading for Mackey’s. It’s about 25 Ks from here. Past Mount Jagungal and the site of O’Keefe’s Hut, which was a shame to lose but we hope to have lunch there. Grey Mare hut is definitely one of my favourites. After I got here yesterday I went up to the mine and had a wash and washed my shirt, pants and socks and hung them out to dry. We had an early dinner and an early night in the hut.
11.45 am. There’s not a lot left of O’Keefe’s. The fire must have taken it out very swiftly. From the track you can see all the way to Tabletop and it’s all burnt along the way. They certainly built the hut in a lovely place. It’s a lovely site and is still a great campsite. The toilet’s still standing which is a bonus at any campsite. There’s a lot of thick grass to plough through to get to the creek. I’m just going to hang around here until Niv gets here and then we’ll have lunch and push on to Mackey’s. One thing about the site is that the hut’s footprint makes it seem a lot smaller than I remember the hut being. After walking around for a while you can make out where the bedroom, the main room and the bathroom come woodshed was. The hearth of the fireplace is actually quite big. The bulldozer tracks keep going which makes life easy if a little dusty.

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Wednesday, 24th March 2004. Mackeys Hut – Nine Mile Diggings. 31 kms.

10 am. I left Mackey’s Hut this morning right on eight. I think it’s the first time I’ve actually been on schedule. It only took me 2 hours to get here. Another lovely day on the track. I got to Mackey’s yesterday at 1.15 pm and had lunch. We went down to the river afterwards, had a bit of a wash then relaxed for the rest of the afternoon. During the evening we thought we heard cows mooing and it turns out we did. Just crossing the plains here I’ve seen two herds of black cattle. They’ve obviously either been dropped or driven into the national park. We had a big discussion last night about our plans. We thought that, since we’re ahead of schedule, we’ll stay ahead of schedule. We’re going to push through to Nine Mile Diggings today and that should get us home by next Thursday.
1 pm. I’ve had a very nice stroll through to here, Tabletop Mountain. I got to the Tollbar Road at 11 am, the Tabletop fire trail at 11.15 am and passed the Happy Jacks turnoff 10 minutes after that. I’m just having lunch. Unfortunately, it is burnt out all the way through here. The damage is unbelievable. It’s going to be interesting to see what the campsite at Nine Mile is like.

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Thursday 25th March 2004. Nine Mile Diggings – Kiandra 13 kms.

9 am. We’re on our way to Selwyn and and the ghost town of Kiandra. We left Nine Mile this morning at 8.20 am. It’s a beautiful morning. There was a slight red tinge to the dawn which was a bit of a worry. I got to Nine Mile Diggings yesterday at 2.30 pm. The track all the way from the Four Mile Trail has been mown so they must be preparing for the ski season. There wasn’t a lot of water at Nine Mile so we just had to decant water from our bottles into our bucket before filtering it.