Saturday October 24, 2009
Explore Australia’s high country
Every road trip should have a destination as a sort of reward, and the perfect destination for this easy self-drive is the Australian Alps — the roof of Australia. It’s perfect in that it is the exact opposite of the sub-tropical beaches you have been exploring these last few days.
Now it’s time to park the car and explore this exotic alpine high country by foot, bike, horse, canoe or skis!
When most people think of Australia, they imagine a flat, red, dry continent, beaches and cities hugging the coast. But Australia has a significant and untamed high country which nixes all of those cliches.
The Australian Alps, also known as the Snowy Mountain Ranges, stretch for nearly 400km from the nation’s capital, Canberra, through southern New South Wales and along the Great Divide in eastern Victoria. Here lie more than 1.5 million hectares of rocky landscape where a chain of national parks, protected areas and alpine environments provide a habitat for hundreds of species of plant and animal life found nowhere else on earth.
Of these, the huge Kosciuszko National Park is by far the most diverse and popular. The park is named after Australia’s highest mountain, the 2,228m Mt Kosciuszko, or just “Kozzy”, as the locals call it. Australians in the know will tell you that the hiking trails around the park and to its summit are among the state’s finest summer bushwalks.
Like Australia’s wildlife, its Alps are unique. This is a powerful and dramatic landscape. But rather than craggy pointed peaks created by continental collisions like most of the world’s mountains, these mountains are the remnant of a huge rift that formed when New Zealand peeled away from Australia nearly 100 million years ago.
During the warmer months, this is fantastic, uncrowded hiking country. The granite flanks of these mountains are covered by wildflower meadows, sometimes interspersed with patches of summer snow. Add hills rippling with tussock grass, alpine lakes, twisted snow gums and gurgling streams and it’s a version of the great outdoors that’s hard to resist.
The most popular of all the national park’s walking trails is the hike to the 2,228m summit of Mt Kosciuszko.
The easiest way is via the Crackenback Chairlift from Thredbo Village, from where it’s a moderate two-hour walk over a well-formed track to the summit.
At the foot of the Snowy Mountains lies picturesque Lake Jyndabine. Besides hiking in summer, the area is a playground for rafting, canoeing, horse riding and mountain biking adventures.
But to most Australians (and an increasing number of Asians) the lure of the Snowy Mountains remains the snow. Every winter (June-October), up to 4m of the fluffy white stuff turns these attractive mountains into a winter wonderland.
Of the several resorts that dot the Australian Alps, arguably the most diverse, accessible and attractive is Perisher (www.perisher.com.au). Perisher covers several mountain tops with dozens of runs catering to skiiers of every level. In fact, it is the biggest ski resort in the southern hemisphere. If you are a beginner, there are daily courses to get you on your feet and start having fun. Gear can be rented right in the resort. (Actually there are four connected resorts, the main one is the luxurious Perisher Valley Hotel).
Apart from being family-friendly with all-inclusive packages available for every budget, their coolest feature is that their resort sits right at the foot of the ski slopes. So when you want to go skiing, you literally step out of the hotel and can be on a chairlift heading for fun within two minutes!
I have travelled far and wide in Australia over many years now, and while each attraction is unique, I’m surprised that more visitors to Australia haven’t discovered the jaw-dropping beauty of the Snowy Mountains. A fluffy white heaven just three hours from Canberra, six hours from Sydney and two hours from the beaches, this place has quickly become my favourite place Down Under.
For more information visit www.environment.nsw.gov.au/NationalParks
Related Story:
Road trippin’ Down Under
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