Mt Kosciuszko

Australia’s tallest mountain was our target as we ventured south to the Snowy Mountains. Stopping in Canberra to make half a day out of the Australian War Memorial (which was superb), we continued on until we arrived in Berridale, NSW.

The Saturday was spent at the annual Australia Day Cricket Carnival in Cooma; a great chance for Linda and Annemarie to watch some cricket on their trip.

The Sunday we made our way to Thredbo to spend the day hiking to Mt Kosciusko.

As previously mentioned, Australia’s highest peak pales in comparison to where we lived in the States but it is our icon so here are a few stats:

7,310 feet (2,228 metres)
Located 240 miles (390 km) southwest of Sydney
Aboriginal Name: Tar-Gan-Gil
Named by Polish explorer Count Paul de Strzelecki in 1840

It’s a beautiful hike and starts with a scenic chair lift ride from Thredbo Village, one of Australia’s premier ski resorts. The Kosciuszko Walk features a $800,000 elevated walkway made of steel mesh that lets sunlight reach the vegetation below, and also makes walking a whole lot easier. We found ourselves stopping to pick the many alpine wildflowers or drinking and splashing in the various streams.

Once at the top the boys explored by rock climbing, some excellent photos were snapped.

Returning to Thredbo later in the day we spent the rest of the afternoon at the Rec Center swimming. Just a lovely day in the Snowy Mountains, and my fortunate cousins Ben & Michelle get to breathe it every day…