Unshackled Adventures are having the most amazing time exploring what Mt Kosciuszko National Park has to offer during the summer months. From spectacular mountain views to vast breathtaking plains, incredible flora and wildlife to boot this place has won a new place in our hearts.
Travelling this area has certainly embedded just how ferocious and destructive the 2019/2020 fires have been on this land. Unable to rejuvenate the hills are blanketed with grey dead Mountain Ash trees. A sorry sight indeed and our thoughts turned to our emergency services who battled against what we can now see, a losing battle.
Our first stop on the edge of Mt Kosciuszko National Park was Talbingo. We set up camp at Jounama campground. Sitting alongside the Jounama Creek we enjoyed being able to park our van on the creeks edge and sitting in the river to cool off from the warm days. We also enjoyed a leisurely stroll into Talbingo via a sealed walking trail from the Snowy Hwy.
Talbingo is a small, scenic town in the NSW Snowy Valleys, known as a premier destination for fishing, water sports, and exploring the Kosciuszko National Park. Originally built to house workers for the Snowy Mountains Scheme, it rests beside the Jounama Pondage, surrounded by mountains. We took a drive out to the large Talbingo Dam and Tumut 3 Power Station. Great views accompanied the history of the Snowy Hydro Scheme, being quite the feat of engineering.
Our stay at Long Plain Hut campground was a true adventure. Arriving into camp we were greeted by a stunning mob of wild Snowy Mountain Brumbies. We then experienced fist hand just how changeable the high country weather can be. One minute we were bathed in sunshine and the next we are bunkering down under a tree to protect the car from a hail storm. There is something quite spectacular about storms in the high country with the echo of thunder rolling dramatically through the hills. From this camp we visited the Yarrangobilly caves. The cave system consists of 6 large limestone caves. We opted for the self guided tour of both the North and South Glory Caves. They were well worth the visit. The day was completed with a swim in the Thermal pools. Be warned the pools are a 700 meter grade 4 hike down and it is quite the climb back to the
Car park. At 27 degrees it was a welcome dip.
From Long Plain we headed to Denison Campground. We visited Kiandra
a historic, now-abandoned mining town famous as the site of Australia’s highest and shortest gold rush in 1859–1861. Founded on the Eucumbene River, it quickly grew to 10,000 residents before declining rapidly. Sadly the court house and other historic buildings were destroyed in the fires, but have been rebuilt to continue their historical stories.
We took a day trip to explore the surrounding area. From the Snowy Mountains Hwy we took Links Road, following the gold seekers trail. Our first stop was Three Mile Dam a popular campground accessible to caravans, however quite restricted for areas catering for larger vans.
We continued on to Australia’s highest permanently inhabited towns Cabramurra was another highlight. Standing at 1,488 metres (4,882 ft) on the western side of the Snowy Mountains and along the Great Dividing Range.
Cabramurra was developed in 1954 by Snowy Hydro for their workers.
Again the bushfires caused substantial damage to Cabramurra destroying approximately two thirds of the township accommodation.
Snowy Hydro are reconstructing the township. It has been re-established as an alpine village with a central town square, multi-functional spaces that enhance the sense of community, and attractive living precincts for transit and drive-in-drive-out (DIDO) workers.
From Cabramurra we completed our scenic loop on Kings Criss road, a very corrugated track but provided incredible views of the surrounding mountains. We traversed through Selwyn Snow resort. This Resort in central Kosciusko National Park is geared toward families and beginners looking for a more affordable snow holiday.
Denison Campground is situated on the edge of the Eucambene River that opens up int a larger dam at Providence Providor a short drive from the campground. The river winds through a large plan, that when water is plentiful would fill. We traversed the plain on our MTB’s, including crossing the Eucambene River. This trail took us up into the surrounding ranges along fire/forest management trails.
We bunkered down at Denison Campground for the Australia Day weekend. Surprisingly it was incredibly quiet for such a large campground. As we discovered this is a popular site for Trout Fisherman.
We took day trips to Adaminaby and the site of Old Adaminaby, where the original township was relocated to make way for the Snowy Hydro Scheme. Standing there really brings home the scale and impact of this iconic project on the region and its communities.
Another highlight was a stunningly scenic drive out to Tantangara Dam. While this dam has long been part of the original Snowy Hydro Scheme, it is now also the home of Snowy 2.0 — the next chapter in the Scheme’s remarkable history.
This massive project involves linking the existing Tantangara and Talbingo dams via 27 kilometres of tunnels and constructing a new underground power station. The sheer scale of the undertaking is truly mind-blowing and well worth the visit.
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