the great dividing range- part 2

view from the top

we woke to sunny skies and decided to make our way to thredbo- the heart of the australian ski fields. the great dividing range is often referred to as the australian alps (only in australia, of course). someone said to me "oh, are you going to the alps" and i looked at them like "uhm, no. i'm staying in australia thanks". they were a bit annoyed that i didn't know of the "australian alps" but you know, whatever. has anyone ever heard of the australian alps? i find it a bit hard to accept- that there are alps here- not that i've ever seen the alps in person. but, the great dividing range is well, more like the laurentians. hardly what i would qualify as the alps. but apparently some millions of years ago, the great dividing range was in fact, as big at the himalayas. it's just such a weird concept. australia seems to be such a young country politically, but the oldest geologically.

anyhow, thredbo is your classic ski village. alpine looking complexes for people to rent, exorbitantly priced restaurants, ski gear for sale in the middle of summer and not much to do but enjoy nature. which we did.

we took the chairlift up to the top of thredbo, mostly because we had to. they generally don't recommend people hike to the top because it's quite steep (i wonder how steep a skihill can be, but whatever). so, up we rod. it cost quite a bit of cash to take said chairlift, but lucky for them it was worth the trip. there's something eerily comforting about chairlifts. brings me back to my youth.

at the top of thredbo, you can start the 13km return trip walk to the peak of kosiuszko- which is australia's highest peak. it sits some 2200 meters above sea level, but the walk only takes you up maybe 1000m. the walk was pleasant, mostly along a graded steel walkway. it's definitely a highly touristy walk, but again, the views were quite lovely so it was worth it.  we took the chairlift back down after our walk and decided to explore the village a bit more.

getting ready to luge down the track

we made our way to the bobled track next. i have a very vague recollection of doing something similar in lake placid as a child. essentially, you "luge" down the "bobsled" track, in what i can only describe as a GT snowracer with wheels. there's a "gear stick" that you either lean on to go faster or pull back to slow down. no helmets. no instruction. you hop on this little sled and get whizzed up the hill on a track, then are released at the top where you begin the descent. it was good times. john nearly ran me over a few times, mostly due to the fact that his bodyweight allowed him to go faster and therefore catch up to me. i tried leaning forward with all my might, but sometimes i just couldn't go any faster.

after our glorious day in thredbo, we packed up and went back to our campsite and settle in. the next morning, we drove off along the tourist road- which should really be called the "i hope you have nothing better to do because this is painfully slow driving" road. lucky for us, we had nothing better to do. the drive was slow, but nice. through an area that had been heavily affected by the bushfires in 2003- many a dead tree gracing the mountain side.

we drove on to the yarrangobilly caves, on the other side of the national park. we chose the "self explore" cave, mostly because it was cheaper but also because the tours had already finished for the day. the cave was cool (both literally and figuratively). we then made our way down the track to the thermal pool on site. if it had been in canada, i'm sure a resort would've popped up next door and charged an arm and a leg. as it was, we paid nothing because we already had our national park pass.

yarrangobilly cave

the spring that feeds the pool gushes about 100 000 liters per hour. per hour! not that you could feel it at all. it's a comfortable 27 degrees all year long. and whilst it looks like a pool from the outside, it's just rock and algae on the bottom (about 2.5 meters below). we had a pleasant swim before we scampered back up the trail to betty.

we spent the night just outside of cooma, a small town not far from canberra.

xo