Going home

We did it! Being the mountain lovers we are, we couldn't go past Australia's highest mountain without climbing it. Mt. Kosciuszko is part of the snowy mountains, one of Australia's few areas where you can actually ski in winter. During the other seasons it's still got plenty to offer though! Lake Jindabyne is close by, the road that leads through the national park is pretty stunning no matter the weather and Thredbo itself offers a vast net of hiking and mountain bike trails. Vivi and I opted for the chairlift and hike, Tom joined us but went down with his bike.
As it had been raining heavily the day before and we were about to go up to 2228m (compared to the highest peaks anywhere else it's quite low, I know), we hadn't been too sure if it was actually a good idea to do the hike, and the rainy start to the day wasn't too affirmative either. But we couldn't wait for the weather to improve, hence we wore appropriate clothes and packed extra and off we went.
We were rewarded as soon as we reached the chairlift's top station: sun rays were already shining through and turned our surroundings into a sea of glitter. And we staid dry and almost warm throughout the whole 13kms return track to the peak. Such beautiful views, such stunning landscape. Australia does have mountains after all! Aborigines say mountain peaks are "where the spirits dance" and I couldn't agree more. A very serene feeling and a reminder of how small our part in the world is. Climb a mountain to find out yourself!
As we didn't have enough time to turn our hike into a roundtrip (there are plenty of options though), we quickly went back the way we came and waved Tom farewell at the top of the chairlift station. In spite of the still wet and muddy conditions, he had been very keen on the trails. I was quite glad to have him back in one piece when we rejoined by the car and it turns out, so was he. Seems like the trails were quite tough after all. (Comment from the cyclist: Holy moly, one would think after a few years of casual mountain biking you would qualify as intermediate. Man, was I wrong... Drops, berms, rocks and all of them too high, too wide or too big for this “beginner” rider!)

By now, the sun had reached the valley as well and we took our chance to quickly refresh in the river, fully intending to drive out of the national park despite of the time (it was 3.30pm already).
However, the sun was too tempting as our wet gear really needed it (not a single pair of dry shoes lefy) and we certainly did, too. Hence we decided to stay at the Geehi Plains campsite still in the National Park and oh boy... it seems like we reached paradise. A spot right next to the river, plenty of kangaroos, parrots, bunnies and: just before we went to bed we saw a wombat! What a day. Thank you to the world for guiding us so well and providing these super special and inspiring moments. Moments I never want to forget.Okumaya devam et