7th – 11th March 2021
I think a vast majority of travellers can sometimes forget just what is on our doorstep. Thousands of tourists and backpackers come here to experience our country, whilst many Aussies travel overseas to enjoy the often overcrowded cities of Europe and Asia. With the CoVid 19 pandemic of the past 12 months, many Australians are finding places to visit within our own country, which is a good thing.
Well within reach of a day’s drive from Sydney, Kosciuszko National Park is not only the place to visit during winter, but also offers great sightseeing, hiking, fishing and other sporting adventures during the summer season.
Beryl and I decided that we would go and do a few hikes to celebrate my 70th birthday, so we booked in to Touchdown Cottages at Jindabyne for a delightful 4 night stay and our trekking base.
Runway View Cottage
Bush Rock Cottage
Touchdown Cottages viewed from Mavic Pro
Lake Jindabyne is less than 2klm as the crow flies
Jindabyne is only a 30 minute drive to Thredbo and/or Charlotte Pass, where you can start your short or long hikes. A good site to get an idea of terrain and lengths of various walks, is the Wildwalks web page.
Lake Jindabyne from Kosciuszko Rd
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We left home on Sunday morning and drove down to Jindabyne, some 450klms away. We had booked in for lunch at Larks Hill winery, at Bungendore and it was very classy and the meals were a good size and delicious. Hopped back in the car and drove on through the outskirts of Canberra and finally reached our destination at Jindabyne around 4pm.
We settled in to Bush Rock Cottage and made plans for the following day. It was decided to drive up to Charlottes Pass and have a look at the walk to the summit, then back down the mountain and across to Thredbo to check out parking and to buy lift passes to the chairlift which takes you to start of the Mt Kosciuszko Summit and Main Range walks.
On the way to Charlottes Pass, we stopped at the Rainbow Lake walk, which is an easy 3klm and has a terrific lake at the end. There were water lilies in abundance, lots of lizards and birdlife as well as fish – trout – rising in the lake.
Rainbow Lake is an easy walk to start the day. 
Placid waters
Lizards abound on the walk
Daisys add bright colour
Got back in the car and kept going. Drove past Smiggin Holes and Perisher Valley, which would be teeming with skiers in the winter season, but were almost deserted in summer. The road near the pass was packed with parked cars, as people took to the many trails and walks on offer up there. Also loads of mountain bikes use the trails, so it is a busy location. Saw some lovely Snow Gums, which would have been spectacular with snow and wet trunks, showing off the colours. Even in summer though, the patterns and colours were amazing.
Wonderful patterns and shapes of Alpine Snow Gums
Some of the walks available. At 70, some of them would be a task for us 
We drove back out of the National Park and headed off back to Jindabyne, before making a right hand turn back into the park and along the Alpine Way to Thredbo, where we purchased lift tickets and had some lunch. Loads of cars in the carparks and mountain bike riders racing the downhill tracks from the top of the chairlifts.