Have you ever thought of doing something and have waited a very long time to actually do it? Well, Mount Kosciuszko was that "something" for me. I waited for a really long time to actually hike this spectacular mountain. I asked all my friends, acquaintances and everyone I knew in Sydney – everyone (well most of them) said "Yes, let's do it!" But nothing materialized and this bucket list item was always on the back-seat.
Before I dive further down into my story, let me give some information about Mount Kosciuszko.
One fine day, I received a text message from my friend Sree, who asked me if I was interested in joining him and his friends for a trip to Mount Kosciuszko. Without thinking much, I said "Yes" (this time). It was on the first weekend of March this year. I was supposed to go to Brisbane (my flight tickets were already booked and they were non refundable) but I voted for Mount Kosciuszko.
At the end of the discussions and getting more people into the trip, 10 of us decided to bank on this beautiful journey together.
My friend Rameet and I hired a self driven car from Hertz Australia. Three other friends – Som, Priya and Swapnil, were joining us in this car (which we adorably referred to as Car 2). The rest of them (including Sree) was in Car 1 which was driven by the other friend Amit.
We all knew it was a challenging weekend. The plan was that after work on a Friday evening, we (Rameet and I) had to drive ~450 kilometres to a town called Jindabyne. The next day (Saturday) start out early and hike the summit and return. Drive back to Sydney on Sunday. A total of ~900 kilometres of drive and 22 kilometres of hike in a weekend. We all were up for the challenge.
Tip: If you are planning for a long hike, make sure you take a day off either on a Monday or on a Friday or do it over a long weekend. Three days is a must to be comfortable.
The Weather God had other plans for us. Sydney weather turned all gloomy and cloudy and was against us. It started to rain and pour. There was a storm. I think that could have qualified to be a cyclone. It was constantly pouring without stopping even for a minute the entire day. After the delays, driving through the gushing wind and rain and the stopovers for dinner and coffee, we reached Jindabyne at 1:30 AM (Saturday).
Tip: If you have such challenging plans, make sure you start from Sydney on time, at least by 4 PM.
We had hired a property through Airbnb for 10 people. The property had 3 bedrooms and 2 bathrooms. Due to some miscommunication and for arriving late, Rameet, Swapnil and I had to sleep in the attic. I was not comfortable. It was cold and I did not sleep the entire night.
Tip: If you are booking a property through Airbnb, ensure the whole group has proper sleeping arrangements.
Of course I was grumpy and irritated in the morning. The weather was gloomy and bad. It was still pouring heavily. One by one, at a slow pace we got ready to leave for the Summit walk.
We decided to head to the visitor centre and inquire if we could do still the walk because of the weather conditions. The verdict was that we do some other easy walks in the Kosciuszko National Park. I will write about the walk we did in another post.
Tip: If it is raining heavily, it is advisable not to do the walk to the Summit.
In the evening, we all decided to chill out and socialize with other group members. Another group member Deepak prepared delicious roasted chicken. After a lot of drinks, food and dance, we called it a night.
We started early at around 7 AM to the Kosciuszko National Park, as we had to finish the hike and drive back to Sydney on the same very day. The starting point for the hike to the Summit walk is the Charlotte Pass.
Note: There are many paths that leads us to the Summit, and it depends on how many kilometres one want to hike.
We took the 18 kilometres Summit walk.
The path is well defined and has a long stretch of road. And honestly apart from the distance, I did not find the walk hard.
The path to the Summit offers eye-catching and picturesque views of the valleys. I had never seen the Snowy mountains (Mount Kosciuszko and other mountains around get snow during winters and we call them the Snowy mountains) without snow.
The first milestone is the Snowy River.
The second milestone is the Seaman's hut. The hut is built to provide emergency shelter to the users of the national park.
The third milestone is the Rawson Pass. This is the pass that connects the mountain from the Charlotte Pass to Mount Kosciuszko.
The fourth and the last milestone is the Summit itself. I was overwhelmed with emotions. I wanted to do this walk for such a long time and I finally had done it. What I felt can hardly be described with words. It was an achievement for me – at least a stepping stone to conquer all the summits (at least 6 of them which are achievable and a base camp). It has been about a month since I have been back from this wonderful memorable trip, but I can still feel it fresh in my memory.
I even got a certificate for my achievement.
After our hike, we drove back to Sydney.
And I have to admit that I have fallen in love with Mount Kosciuszko. It is so very pretty and breathtakingly beautiful.
12 replies to Mount Kosciuszko – A dream come true!
You sure make it sound like a dream. This place looks so lovely! I would love to visit this place one day.
Thanks very much! You should definitely if you can.
Thank you so much! Yup it was an experience to remember.
That is good that you finally climbed Mount Kosciuszko. You took lots of Instagram worthy images on the trek!
Yes, thank you! I did take a lot of pictures during my trip.
Woooww!! Didnt know about this highest mountain in Oz! The photos ate amazing and am sure the view are so mucc better to see in person. This post helps a lot to plan the hike next time! Thanks for sharing!
It was truly a beautiful experience. Thanks a lot.
That's amazing that you managed to live your dream! Your photos of Mount Kosciuszko are gorgeous. I also liked the helpful tips and quotes scattered throughout the post.
Thank you so much! Yes this was one of the dreams come true!