Kosciuszko National Park New Years Eve overnight trip

Dates: 31/12/2020 - 01/01/2021

Participants: My neighbour and I

I decided to stay in the snowys mountain for New Year Eve after the main range overnight trip. The night before, I stayed in Jindabyne and had a great time talking with the owner there who thought I was Thai!

Starting early, I headed to Guthega dam after a quick weather check, it didn't seem to be a very clear day, with clouds coming towards Guthega.

 The Snowy river looking from Guthega dam

I started at Guthega dam, a large dam that provides electricity for the region. From there, I went along the Guthega river, up a ridge to my first stop, the Guthega Trig. 

 

 Going up a ridge from Guthega river

The trig used to be a station but the station sign fell down. However, the trig can still be easily located. I climbed to the top of it and enjoyed the view over the Guthega River. 

 

Something that had surprised me a little bit is the sheer amount of snow gums, it was obvious that the track I walked on had higher vegetation than the main range walk. As it was New Year Eve, I brought along with me fireworks so I could have a bit of celebration in the mountains. 

 

From Guthega Trig the track became much less obvious, then it was completely gone. As I reached the top, it got easier because there wasn't much climbing anymore as we just follow the ridgeline. Navigating this section was interesting for me, I found it much easier than navigating an off-track section in scrubs (especially back in the blue mountains/Wollemi region).

The weather got worse while I was walking at the top. Seeing that it there might be some strong winds and an unpredictable amount of rainfalls, combined with the fact that there was a beginner with me, I decided to set up camp at Consett-Stephens pass instead of Mt. Tate to ensure my group's safety. 

After setting up the camp, there was another bushwalker walking towards where my tent was! We had a short discussion and wished each other a happy new year. It was very relaxing sitting inside my tent and listening to the rain falling outside. 

And then, a rainbow appeared! The whole sky was dyed with an orange mixed with pink. It was one of the most magical moments that I have ever been in! I went outside and found myself lost in this otherworldly moment.

It also was sunset at the time, creating a beautiful orange tinge

I waited until my phone hit 11:59 pm and started counting down. The moment it turned 12am, I light up the fireworks. It was so fun! Knowing that I don't have to care about crowds of people who were probably in the city, I could fully enjoy the moment.

The next day we walked back to the dam, it was raining but I had fun. The next day I visit the Guthega swing bridge and relaxed by the Snowy River.

 

The track to the swing bridge was very scenic after the rain

Getting closer to the swing bridge

Found a lone house along the track

 

Guthega swing bridge

Chilling by the river and had small talks was so relaxing

Can't wait to return to Kosciuszko NP again!

Coorongooba campground

 Weekend camping after the Kosciuszko trip! A relaxing car camp in Coorongooba campground, the creek was fantastic and the hot pot was so delicious. We visited the glow worm tunnel in Newnes the next day. It is very accessible via a short track. Watching the glow worms was like looking at the night sky. However, you have to be very quiet and turn off all the lights to be able to see them. No wonder why noisy groups of people wrote that they could not see anything on the sign located at the end of the tunnel.

 

Kosciuszko main range overnight walk

       My neighbour on Carruthers Peak

 

Day 1:

 

I miscalculated the time to get to Kosciuszko national park and started later than I should have. Arriving at Kosciuszko national park past midday, I was worried that we would not make it to our campsite before daylight ended. However, I was still very excited since this was my first time in Kosciuszko national park.

We chose the more difficult way to complete the main range walk, started at Charlotte Pass going towards Seamans hut first, and camping at Wilkinsons creek. 

The scenery was vastly different from all of the other national parks that I have been to in Australia. Being Australia's true alpine region, the vegetation mostly consists of snow gums and smaller plants. It was very open and lucky for us, the sky was very clear when we started walking so I was able to enjoy the majestic alpine scenery. 

 

Taking a little break

The snowy river, its name was actually "snowy river"

There were also mountain bikers who shared the path with us, as the track was wide and had a lot of gravel. 

Epic!

We arrived at Seamans hut, a historical attraction after a short walk from Charlotte Pass. It was a cute little hut but only emergency stays were allowed. Though, as soon as we sat down, we were attacked by the infamous horsefly, giant insects from the Kosciuszko national park, and they sting! We quickly recharged ourselves and headed towards the summit. 

More and more clouds were coming at us as we walked towards the summit. To my surprise, there were even toilets along the way, how convenient! From here, mountain bikes were no longer allowed on tracks so we had to say goodbye to the mountain bikers. We dropped our bags at the turn to Wilkinson creek and walked the other way up towards the summit! As I was climbing up, I could feel the clouds actually touched me! 

Standing at 2228m, Mount Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia, and I finally summited it! Standing on top of the mountain was the best feeling that I have ever had! Even better, since it was quite cloudy, there was no one up there! I got to enjoy all the scenery for myself without the selfie people! Standing up there had brought to me a sensation that is hard to describe but I would definitely want to feel that again.

 The summit!

By the time we arrived at Wilkinsons creek the sun had started to set, with the clouds around us, it felt magical. 

Wilkinson Creek

However, this was also when we realized that we made some huge mistakes. I forgot to bring my camping stove as well as enough food for 3 people. Luckily, some friendly bushwalkers near us lend us their stove as well as gave us some food. That was so kind of them. We enjoyed the night with some good chatting in our tent as there was no star due to the clouds.

 

Day 2: 

 

The day started a little bit later than usual since we felt a bit cold in the morning. Joining us walking in the morning was another group of overnight walkers! 

We walked along a ridge with a nice view overlooking Albina Cirque and Lake Albina. 

 Albina Cirque and Lake Albina

The water looked so blue, as blue as the clear sky. We then arrived at a board path, a reason for doing this is for the protection of the vegetation that is trying to regrowth after the bushfire. At this time, we also see more day walk people. A person from my group envied their empty or lightweight bags on their back! We enjoyed the scenery of the various mountain ranges before reaching Club Lake. An interesting lake that had the shape of a club. 

By this time, my group was getting quite exhausted, but we still need to climb up Carruthers Peak. After advising that they should have a rest, I decide to climb up first to take a look at the view. Since most of the people were going the other way, I got a lot of curious eyes. However, after a quick climb, I got to the top of Carruthers Peak, and it felt awesome! 

My neighbour joined me soon after it

The others soon joined me and we walked along the path to the Snowy River. 

The path was lovely

I had some water on one of the creeks leading to it and the taste was so delicious. 

Crossing the river was very fun, we hopped on some rocks. 

After that came a long walk to a very steep climb up to Charlotte Pass car park. Along the way, we had a small break and realised we had been sitting very near an ant nest! The climb was the steepest on the trip, although it was a very nice path that was very easy to walk on. The climb was very steep, luckily, it was very short as well. We reached Charlotte Pass car park shortly. Another fun trip has to come to an end, but I'm not leaving Kosciuszko National Park yet!