Kosciuszko Dreaming

Van Nat park Campsite at Island Bend, 1300m

Guthega Trig Base camp

Sunset from base camp Guthega Trig.

Click on the pic above to get a slideshow.
Big screen by clicking bottom right square. Spent the winter season of 2018 in kosciuszko NP,  3 hrs south of Canberra. 
with High plateaus and ridges at 2000m altitude,  It has a large area of easy backcountry skiing/ Nordic skiing.  

Worked for a month or so In Perisher ski resort, one of the biggest in Aus along with Thredbo,  driving the shuttle buses between 2 areas in the resort.  Plenty of blizzard driving and very busy road on weekends, with cars parked on both sides of the road. 

One icy weekend on snow camping in July (minus 10 at night) , with crusty icy snow which required skins at all times.  
Then For a few weeks in September, when the snow was softer and temps more reasonable.  Culminated in 5 days snow camping at 1900m,  just below Guthega trig point, opposite Guthega resort (part of Perisher).  Which gave me many options for day touring along the 15km ridge line or  to Mt Tate etc .

Also managed to get some solo Ice bouldering in ...  just went out at night with crampons and ice axes and bouldered up the snow cornices around camp. The snow starts to freeze late afternoon as temps drop. 

This was my longest snow camp, and I was well equipped , with small solar panel to recharge my phone daily, kindle reader on my phone to read books, 4 season tent with tough and simple design (RAB Latok Mountain 2) .  Snow shovel ,  good MSR windburner stove which has a valve that adjusts gas output for altitude , cold etc. Thus giving a full burn at any altitude. 

This was vital to melt snow every day,  usually evening, to make water supplies. And fill my MSR bladder with hot water to use as a hot water bottle in my sleeping bag, then as water supply in the morning. 

I also had a recent addition - a Garmin GPSmap64s ,  which is a waterproof GPS with a screen that shows your position on a map , complete with 40m contours, peaks, roads, even small tracks marked. I turned this on whenever I went on a day trip from the tent, and it tracked my course with a thick pink line.  At any time , I could select "Trackback"  and it would guide me with a thin line showing my actual position, next to the thick one, enabling me to follow back the track I took originally.  Back to base camp. 
I used this for 2 hours or so when I a thick fog rolled in one afternoon and it was hard to see any landmarks.  It can also be used ay night. 

I also carry a PLB (Personal Locator Beacon), for emergencies.  

Grampians NP, Victoria Australia

The Grampians are magical... with lots of wild flowers, a beat short walk to "venus baths" - a series of rock pools, minutes from the campground at Halls Gap.  There are also boulders to do bouldering on here, and I set up a top rope and self belayed up a short section.  Very good quality granite, nice slabs for long multi pitch climbs...  must come back and do "elephants hide" which is a huge slab at 20 to 30 degrees above Venus baths. Gets hot in Summer, but good shade under trees. 

Did 2 weeks here in December 2017 before catching the ferry to Tasmania. 

Testing out hiking gear and such.  Did a 2 day walk, Up to the top of Mt Rosea 1000m (carrying 5l of water up) , then Southward and a last camp above Halls Gap township, overlooking The Granite slab "elephant's hide".

Good views from mt Rosea. The new tent was tested out as there were some strong gusts and a little rain. No condensation issues, despite being single wall.

This is a Rab Latok mountain 2 tent, single layer "Event" fabric - a more breathable version of Gore-Tex.  Designed for alpine and antarctic conditions - high winds, snow...
weighs 1.83 kg,  enough room for 2 sleeping mats. Got it because I like sleeping on mountain tops and saddles, where the views are awesome. And later for winter backcountry skiing and such. 

Easy to pitch in wind as has no fly. Takes a bit of practice as you get into the tent, put the poles inside, arc them and slot them into the corners. I have now added velcro and a mossie net on the front door and rear vent.  

All in all, the Gramps is one of my favourite National Parks.  The knobbly rocks and pools are quite magical. An hour or so North West is mt Arapiles, an isolated mini monolith of rock, world-famous for rock climbing, mainly "trad", or unbolted. Lots of routes, some beginners multi-pitch routes. And a cheap NP campground.  I've climbed there before (see this blog using the search facility). 

The pictures are all low-res as I was testing a new light camera. (click on a photo for larger version). 

Mt Rosea camp. 

 Elephants Hide granite slab and gorge. 

Cradle mountain NP 2 day Hike.

Hike Goes left up to Hanson Peak then down from the saddle to a large lake. 

Snow in gulley on East face of Cradle Mnt. 

Magical Lake Just before the Hut. 

The custom mossie net worked well and was essential due to lots of march flies. 

Cooking in the tent with a wooden board for safety under the cooker. 

Looking back at the camp from the plateau

At the plateau, Barn Bluff in the distance South.

Neat Emergency shelter. 

A very nice hike, one of the few overnight options in this part of the park unless you pay up the 200$ for the Overland track.  It goes left of Dove lake, then down to the Scott Kilvert memorial hut.  I camped on the lake just before the hut. 

The lake just before the main lake was magical, with dragonflies gliding, Cradle mountain behind, with some snow in a small gully (see above). It had snowed 6 weeks before (mid december) about a foot of snow... 

The heat was intense on non-cloud days - a very burning tasmanian sun. And quite a few March flies around lakes...  a mossie net for the tent a must - fortunately I had just spent a few days customising the tent with velcro and a mossie net. 
I retreated into the tent under shade to get out of the sun for the middle of the day.  

Day 2, hiked up 300m to the Plateau where the overland track is, behind Cradle mtn. Then back North to Kitchen hut and down the steep track with waist high chains from Marion's lookout to the lake. Back to camp via the free shuttle.

Hitched out that afternoon and got a lift with an American-Australian, right back to Launceston. We also Bouldered together in Cataract Gorge, a few minutes from Launceston CBD. 

Hitck-Hiking is very easy in Tasmania. And the distances are small. 

Cradle Mountain NP, Tasmania

"Waldheim Chalets" first made 1918 approx means "house in the forest",
Inspired the american writer Thoreau to build a house in the forest.

View of Dove lake from the climb up to Hanson's  Peak

The Tough boulder climb up to Cradle Mountain summit. 

View of barn Bluff and the 80km (5-8 day) Overland track North, from Cradle mtn.

Wombat Pool

Paddymelon marsupials from the tent at Discovery Parks camping area

The Austrian pioneer who pushed for cradle mtn NP and constructed Waldheim chalets before there was a road.

(Click on a photo to get larger version and photo menu).

And a bit of improvisation on my plastic version of a Native American Flute.... I get inspired when I sit in front of mountain creeks and such. 

Spent 5 days here... did most of the day walks in 3 days, then did an overnight hike (on this blog).  Was lucky with the weather - virtually no rain at all. 

There is one campsite - Discovery parks. They do a good job with sites nestled in the bush, and big log-cabin type amenities. 23$ for a tent site, which they usually have a few free. If you are coming with a van or caravan, reserve in advance. A small shop at the reception with the basics: eggs, bread, salami, chocolate, milk, meat etc. 

They will also store gear for you. 

A very gob-smacking park, with that view over Dove lake. And a nice challenging hike up Cradle Mnt, with the last 40 minutes pure bouldering with tall sticks to mark the way. I drank the water in streams and lakes with no issues. There is some water before the boulder hike up Cradle, which you will need to refill, as the sunny days are Intense ! The Tassie sun is especially sharp, with a thin Ozone layer above.  One burns very easily... sun cream and hat, preferably legionnaire-type advised. 

I swam in the lakes - very refreshing.  Some very nice short walks along streams in the shade of mossy trees, reminiscent of New Zealand.