Mount Kosciusko (The Snowy Mountains)

It was about an 8 hour drive from the Jenolan Caves to where we had reservations at a campsite at Kosciusko Mountain Retreat. The kids did great on the ride. The campervan setup was such that they sat about 12 feet away from us at the back of the van with a half wall in between us. It was difficult to talk with them, so at some points Danielle would crawl back and read to them or work on math.

When we arrived at the campsite, we were greeted by a group of kangaroos! When we opened the doors to the van, they quickly hopped up to see if we had anything to eat. Needless to say, this kind of caught us by surprise.. Gabbi and Jacqui really enjoyed the chance to pet the kangaroos, along with a brush tailed possum that was hanging out near the kitchen one evening.

We saw this older joey nursing as we pulled into the site.


Our first kangaroo visitor to the campervan. We had expected them to be quite a bit bigger and apparently as you get into the outback they can get larger (especially the red kangaroos). All of the kangaroos that we saw in the wild were Eastern grey kangaroos.


Looking out the campervan door at our new friend.

We did a couple of nice hikes. The Rainbow Lake Trail was near Snowy River (the site of the book and movie) and was a nice afternoon hike to a beautiful lake.

Getting ready to start the Rainbow Lake hike.


The girls spotted these larva on a leaf along the trail. After this we spotted a lot more as we went along.

Gum trees along the hike to Rainbow Lake.

We were able to explore the shoreline a bit before a rain shower moved in.


There was the remains of an old dock along one part of the shore.

We hiked Mount Kosciusko, which is the highest mountain in Australia at 2228 metres (7310 ft) above sea level. The route we chose went from Charlotte's Pass to the summit and was 18 km (about 11 miles!) round trip. It was really cold and windy!! We all bundled up in the warmest clothes that we brought. Luckily, we had anticipated lower temperatures in this area. The night before the hike was also the coldest night of the trip. We talked to some folks near the summit that had come up the other side (there was a chair lift option to get you most of the way up). They told us that the thermometers read zero Celsius at the top of the lift! Luckily there was a hut part way along the trail, so we ducked in for a little shelter and lunch!
The view as we started our hike.

Bundled up and ready to hike!

At the headwaters of the Snowy River, the girls still had plenty of energy!


The sun was shining for the morning and most of our ascent.

By the time we reached the top, the clouds had really rolled in.

The hike down was pretty cold.


We shared hats and sunglasses all around.


We made it. Pooped out. I was so impressed with the girls! Congratulations on accomplishing a heck of a hike!

This brush-tailed possum was quite friendly (obviously hoping for scraps...)

Next stop, the coast...