Mt Kosciuszko, Canberra - 14th - 21th Feb 2011

Hello all,

Matt here, I hope everyone is doing well, since our last update we managed to walk to the summit of Australia's highest mountain, Mt Kosciuszko.  It was definitely one of the highlights of our trip, if not my life, having wanting to walk to the top since I was a child.

The weather gods were looking down upon us the day we decided to take the 13km return trip to the top, with hardly any clouds in sight and a cool 18C which made it perfect for hiking the countryside.

We took a chairlift from the car park of Thredbo Ski resort 1km to where the walk starts and at an average of 3km an hour walking speed gave ourselves 3-4hrs to complete it, we were surprised to find that the length of the walk was covered by a metal meshing, which made us trek much faster and easier, we even saw a man and his wife push their baby in a pram to the top! 

The views along the way were breathtaking and the photos do not really do it justice, the wild flowers were blooming and streams of water flowed everywhere, not to mention the crowds of people trying to do the same thing as us, I must have counted about 20 people already at the summit when we arrived and estimated around 200 people would do it per day (weather permitting).

Thredbo had some great walking tracks but had to be on the lookout for mountain bike riders who also use the same tracks and come hurtling down behind you...

We also had a look at where the landslip had occurred back in 30 July 1997 killing 18 people and one person survived (Stuart Diver), this was quite a sobering moment standing on the spot where all these people lost their lives.

We drove around the Kosciuszko National Park for a few more days visiting sites of the huge snowy hydro scheme before heading into Canberra where we are at the moment.  (We also went to Perisher/Smiggins ski resort to have  look, not as nice as Thredbo, but it was raining hard at the time.)

We had the privilege of sitting in on "question time" today at Parliament House to watch how all our politicians behave like school children in the playground ( it is very scary these people run our country from the way way carry on and behave) but I must admit they were very funny and we all know its not them who run the country, it is the bureaucrats.

We also visited the Australian Mint, the National Gallery of Australia, the Bald Archies and will also visiting the Australian National Museum, Questacon (The National Science and Technology Centre), Australian Institute of Sport and the Australian War Memorial and the best thing about visiting all these places are... THEY ARE FREE! (Louise's second favourite "F" word...)

After Canberra we will be heading to our friend's place - Carmen who lives in West Wylong for a few days, we will do a blog from there to fill you all in.

We hope you are all doing well and thanks for reading our blog.

Matt and Louise xoxoxox

Louise after the walk 14.2.11

and again;;;

matt on the mesh walk to the top... 14.2.11

near the top...

Louise having lunch on the way... 

Made it!  Here we are at the cairn at the top of Mt Kosciuszko.... 14.2.11

On the long walk down....

the top here was so crowded with walkers having lunch!

Looking down to Thredbo... 14.2.11

The village from chair lift;

At Murray 1 station on the snowy hydro dam scheme; 17.2.11

this huge boulder was being cut up b4 our eyes on road past Murray 1 above!

One of the main dam walls  17.2.11

Lou outside new parliament house, Canberra ACT  18.2.11

Inside the chamber; we got to see question time with a full sitting of MPs; it was amazing...

Lou on steps of old parliament house; now the Museum of Democracy....18.2.11

Matt in the PMs office 18.2.11

anyway groovers we are currently in West Wyalong NsW at our pal Carmen's house for a few days; shall get a blog out about here,  lots of farm animals, and we are having a lovely relaxing time...

all the best;  matt and louise

Falls Creek, Mt Buffalo, Mt Hotham - 6-11 Feb 2011

HELLO GROOVERS;;;  

Louise here at the helm of the blog, to bring everyone up to date with some more of our adventures travelling around Aussie;  all good so far,  the weather has been a bit up and down, the dreaded Cyclone Yasi hit Magnetic Island (Townsville) as reported in the last blog;  the damn thing has been dumping so much rain on Australia it is not funny, with the drought we have had for the past 10 years, well and truly over.  Even Lake Eyre which was flooded at the start of our trip in June, and only gets flooded 'once in a blue moon' is now flooded yet again.   Cyclones plus we are now in a 'la nina' event is not a good combo, but I am hoping we are over the worst of it now.  

We are currently back in New South Wales, having crossed the border about lunchtime today from Victoria.  Our plan is to divert north west into the Alpine country again and go to see Mt Kosciusko (highest in Australia) and also Thredbo and Perisher;  I did not think much of Mt Hotham to be honest, one main street with loads of accommodation dotted around;  due to the crap weather our planned bushwalks were a non event, so we charged on and here we are back in NSW.

I have to say the visit to the Chalwell Galleries walk/rock outcrop at Mt Buffalo was something else!  9.2.11 - We were luckily warned by a neighbour Annie at the camp site, that 'you will have to climb over some big boulders' - OK I can do that with a bit of a leg up from Matt - no problem.  But...when we got to the hard part well,  it was very challenging to say the least;  Matt had to go down on his bum over a big boulder to get into the chimney area, with me following;  Matt did his usual con job on me by saying, 'yeah lou, its pretty easy, just watch your head...'  Well, once in I was committed to going forward through the gap;  I looked up to see abut 3 large boulders the size of a fridge jammed above me in the chimney, and I immediately thought of Aron Ralston, the guy who had to chop off his own arm when trapped in a similar place;  I had my trusty Swiss army knife with me, but I figured Matt could go get help if anything happened;  then again, there was my life insurance policy...  (only joking).  It was tough to slide on my arse down the huge boulders but Matt was in front telling me where to place my feet and after 20 mins or so we were out.  I felt very invincible after that gruelling climb/crawl and did not moan about the rest of the walk, or shall I ever again...  (yeah right, - Matt)

OK I will finish now;  have a happy Valentines day on 14th Feb;  I may go nuts and wear the sexy lingerie to bed,  this consists of a pair of undies that have not been mangled by the launderettes we have used on the trip, and a bra that has not similarly been ruined!  Use your imagination - or not, as the case may be...

Louise xxx

A view from a bush walking track above Falls Creek Ski Resort  6.2.11

A view along a walk around Falls Creek  7.2.11

This pic was taken a day after the weather had cleared from the Cyclone Yasi when its weather pattern hit Victoria.  7.2.11

 Matt on a walking track at Falls Creek, it was one of the most perfect day of our trip so far, the air was so fresh and the sky was so clear.  Everywhere you looked it was worth a picture, especially with all the flowers blooming!

"A day to remember"

The dam at the top of Falls Creek  7.2.11

Louise at a lookout over the Valley that runs between Falls Creek and Mt Buffalo.

This pic was taken when traveling from Falls Creek to Mt Buffalo. 8.2.11

Matt beside the lake at the camp spot at Mt Buffalo. 8.2.11

The weather stayed perfect for almost a week after Cyclone Yasi, so we made the most of it and tried to fit in as many bush walks as possible.

The staircase to get to the summit of Mt Buffalo called "THE HORN".  9.2.11

It was a 1km return walk.

At the top of "THE HORN" the views were amazing, you could see as far the eye could see with 360 degree views.

We could even see Mt Kosciusko in the distance in NSW.

Just below us were some people abseiling.  

Matt felt like jumping on a rope and having a go!

On another walk at Mt Buffalo, this was called "THE CATHEDRAL" 9.2.11

Louise inside a cave, we had to go through on another walk at Mt Buffalo, this walk was called "THE CHALWELL GALLERY"  - a climbers 'chimney' about a shoulder width wide... 9.2.11

It was quite a tough and challenging walk this one, where our climbing skills had to come into play!

Matt climbing through the cave of the Chalwell Gallery.

Looking back up into the cave of the Chalwell Gallery, you can just see the light coming through the top of where it all started. It was narrow, but had 3 handholds installed to get down the steepest section.

Matt having a breather just after having climbed down through the cave of the Chalwell Gallery. 9.2.11

Arriving at Mt Hotham, Vic. for lunch (you can see how quick the weather rolls in with the clouds in the background) which is built along the Great Alpine Highway (the highest road in Australia)

We did plan on staying there for a day or two to do some walks, but the weather forecast was rain, rain and more rain, so we pushed on down the mountain for a few km's and onto a place called Dinner Plain (a township that is part of Mt Hotham).

ADIOS AMIGOS...

Willsons Prom, Yarra Valley, Mt Evelyn, Eildon NP, Mt Buller 21st Jan - 2nd Feb 2011

Hello to everyone,  Matt here today on the blog...

We hope anyone reading this blog is safe and well from the bad weather being experienced around the globe at the moment!  Many thanks for those of you who asked about my folks on Magnetic Island (off Townsville, Qld) regarding Cyclone Yari;  they have lost some power but the house is ok and so are they, but the streets are littered with trees and debris;  all good...  As one wag spray painted on a boarded up shopfront in Townsville; Kiss my Yaris...

We also hope our blog may cheer people up from some of the photos we have taken, given we are currently in Wangarratta Library (North eastern Victoria) stuck in a huge downpour, I have tried to post some up-lifting photos for you to look at.

It has been a while since our last blog and given we have great Internet access in the local library here, we thought to spend a good half a day sitting here out of the extremes and put in a decent blog to update you all of our movements over the past 2 weeks.

Wilsons Prometery would have to be one of the best places we have visited so far on this trip, it definitely goes in the top 5 list.   22 Jan 2011

The place has over 450 camping spots and is jammed packed form regulars who visit every year (who stay for 1 week - 1 month) to "fly by nighters" like us who stay for a couple of nights.

There are loads of beautiful beaches which are accessible by scenic walking tracks or you can just drive to them.

This is a photo of the Normans Beach where our campsite was, as you can see there is something to do for everyone.

Matt on one of the many picturesque walking tracks heading over to a beach called 'Squeaky Beach', about a 4km return walk.  So named as the sand squeaks as you walk on it... 23.1.11

I tried my hand at being a little artistic with this pic just as we walked onto Squeaky Beach.

Louise on Squeaky Beach

This would have to go down as one of the best lookouts (Mt Oberon) we have done on our trip around Australia so far...   We caught a bus 3/4 of the way up (you had to) and then proceeded to walk another 3.5km return (7km in total) up this very steep service road.

The walk really did tire us out but gee wiz it was worth it!!! Lou nearly died but made it to the top - just.

You can see the layout of the campsites at Norman Beach and the wonderful coastline. 

Looks like we were up in a plane. 

"JUST BREATHTAKING"

Louise and I at the top of Mt Oberon.  23.1.11

I was just returning from the shower when I heard something munching on the grass just outside of our campervan, I quickly turned on my lamp to discover this surprise, 'A BLOODY WOMBAT'

I quickly rushed inside and got Louise out of bed to come outside to have a look, we have never seen a Wombat in the wild.

Wonderful countryside driving through to the Yarra Valley.  Like the cows in the foreground... 25.1.11

Louise posing on top of a lookout built on top of a winery we visited in the Yarra Valley, we had to taste some of the produce of course.  Classic Car Show in background at Rochford Vineyard.

I had the opportunity to catch up with some old primary school chums (I had not seen these guys for over 22 years, so thanks to Facebook) when visiting the Yarra Valley area.

We attended the Magnetic Island Primary school from 1979 - 1985

Far left - Erron Alsop is the step brother of Ben on the far right.

Erron was a little younger than us so he was in a grade or two below us, but we still hung out as kids.

Ben on the far right was in my class from 1983-85 and we were also good mates through high school, we use to get up to a fair bit of mischief, for those of you who knew us back then...

And Garry Constable, second from the left, he was in my class from around 1983-85, he lived in the same street as me down the road and we kicked around after school getting up to mischief as well, we had some good rock fights back then and the rest --- LOL.

Louise with Matilda and Hayley at the BBQ

Next day - Louise with some of the freindly locals at a campsite in the Eildson Lake NP - They were actually a bit of a pest, where they tried to bite your toes if you did not pay any attention to them. 

Had to put a pic of the campsite just down from Mt Buller ski resort, we had just come back from washing our clothes and thought it made a great pic.  1.2.11

We found this gnome house on the side of the road driving up to Mt Buller.

Matt is reading one of the many letters left for them. 3.2.11

We found this huge day car park on top of Mt Buller and stayed there the night before doing a few bush walks around the place the next day.  The place is like a ghost town in the summer, a really strange feeling to the joint.  3.2.11

Matt at the start of one of our walks at Mt Buller, the weather can close in very fast so we made the most of it.

I was here nearly 15 years ago snow boarding with my pals from the RAAF, it was very strange coming back here in the summer time, it bought back some great memories, I felt like going snowboarding again!

A pic taken along a walk of Mt Buller,  the flowers really come out to play in the summer time. 2.2.11

Louse on on of the walks around Buller Village 3.2.11

Looking across from Mt Buller

We are hopefully off to Albury/Wodonga on the NSW /Vic border tomorrow;BUT there is a flood warning out for that region, leftover from the damn cyclone!  Arrrrr!  So we shall have to see where we can go and not get flooded out.  We shall keep you all informed....

Love matt and Louise