The last time I stayed any more than one night in Jindabyne was back in 1988. As a 17 year old just before his last semester in VCE I travelled by bus, with the Box Hill City Band, to perform in Australia’s highest Octoberfest. Over the course of a very long weekend we stayed in Jindabyne and everyday travelled via skitube up to Mount Blue Cow to perform a variety of German folk songs and some non-German pieces as well. Apart from all our travel, accommodation and food being paid for by the organisers, we were given free beer, wine and schnapps every time we completed playing a set.
Aaah, good times.
Fast forward 37 ½ years. As a fifty something year old accountant, the days of drinking and playing seemed like a distant memory when Nick and I decided to spend a good few hours exploring the area.
When we were last here (2023) I made a last second decision to turn right instead of left when we departed our accommodation. We spent the next hour or so driving through the Kosciuszko National Park until we reached Charlotte’s Pass and the base of Mt Stilwell (2,054m at its tip). On our way back from that drive we told ourselves we would be back for a longer explore.
The weather gods were smiling on us as we made the journey out there this morning. After heavy rain the previous day, and night, the forecast offered the promise of a relatively dry day. The sun even wanted to came out!
We followed Kosciuszko Road until it ended. Our idea of having a good look around and maybe even a walk was an idea shared by quite a lot of people, given the amount of cars parked on the side of the road. Unfortunately this mean we had to park about 250 metres from the base point of Mt Stilwell and then walk up to that point. Trekkers, complete with their gortex jackets, hiking poles and guides were at various stages of readiness as this was a popular stepping off point to walk to Mt Kosciusko. I enjoyed watching all those fit, crazy people set off. That’s an activity for other people to do, I thought.
We started our own exploration by taking the 400m boardwalk to a sightseeing vantage point on a rock. The views there were spectacular.
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| Kosciuszko in the background somewhere |
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| There's the path we took |
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| Snowy Gum - One of my favourite guns |
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| Nick admiring the view |
I think the walk itself was 860m from base to top, and I think I made it about a quarter of that distance before I’d had enough. Nick, continued and made it to the chairlift located near the top of Mt Stilwell. He only stopped there because his water bottle was back in the car, and he didn’t want to go any further in case he got thirsty (fair enough).
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| Nick's up there somewhere |
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| The view of Charlotte Pass from up above |
After completing this activity we got back into the car and did a bit more exploring by road. We took the turn off to a place called Guthega. At the end of that road was a building called Base Camp. The scenery, again, was stunning.
The afternoon was spent resting, and catching up on work emails and other work stuff.
Tea that night was a special affair. Nick was shouting and I had spotted a Japanese restaurant that I thought would be worth a go.
I forgot to take photos of the food that we were eating, which was a shame because it was really, really good. Here is the a shot of the aftermath.
Tomorrow we say goodbye to Jindabyne and head to the coast.
Food Review
The local bakery here is Sundance bakehouse. It had a fair selection of bakery stuff.
No album today
Kms Travelled Today - 155
Kms Travelled Total - 1,092
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