On top of the world

For a few minutes today, Kim and Mike were the highest people in Australia.  We had climbed to the top of Mount Kosciuszsko.  True, we’d driven up the first 1200 metres and taken the chairlift to 1930 metres but to get to the highest point at 2228 metres, the highest point in Australia, we walked the 13 kilometre trail.  

 

And, joy of joys, the sun appeared, the sky was an unbroken azure blue and the visibility appeared endless.  Range after range of mountains, dotted with granite rocks of extraordinary shapes and sizes.  No wonder the aboriginal people of long ago considered the place full of spirits.

 Kim, ever interested in the local flora, found plenty of alpine plants to admire and photograph.  Mike was amazed to see dozens of small fish in the streams, some of which form the source of the Snowy River, all of which freeze solid in the winter months.

The lower slopes of the mountains are a popular ski resort in the winter.  Although we are now at the end of summer, the temperature was a pleasant 16 degrees, but it was still necessary to be coated in sunscreen to avoid burning as the UV is particularly high at these elevations.

Living in sub-tropical Queensland, daily dress tends to be light and casual, so it was for the first time in about a year that Mike had donned his walking boots, with the inevitable result that after a longish walk, he now has a nice selection of blisters on his tropic-softened feet! 

The chair lift back down the mountainside was glorious.  The sun shone as we dropped below the tree line and the perfume of gum trees filled the air.

It’s now the end of the day.  A few small fluffy clouds dot the pale blue of the sky.  We’re camped in a valley, the river is chuckling past, running fast and clear from the recent rains.  The sun has just dipped below the mountain and the shadows have lengthened almost across the valley floor.  We’re visited by a duck (this one has two legs) and she seems quite at home wandering around our feet.  Mike is two glasses of Guinness down (for re-hydration purposes you understand) and Kim is only one behind but preparing our evening meal.  Oh yes, it’s Monday 25 February and we are at peace with the world.