Tuesday 26/04/2022 Kings Cross Road near Mount Selwyn – Bullocks Head Creek – Selwyn Trail – Tabletop Mountain Trail North – Tabletop Mountain
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
With Selwyn Ski Resort having been destroyed by bushfires on 6th Januaruy 2020 work was now underway on its replacement. As such, Kings Cross Road was closed about 1km past the Link Road turnoff. Undeterred, we parked outside this no go zone and made our way with a little bush bashing, cross country towards the Telstra tower past the closure.
Max elevation: 1693 m
Total climbing: 958 m
Total descent: -958 m
Average speed: 4.17 km/h
Total time: 07:49:46
From the road, we descended towards the headwaters of Bullocks Head Creek. There was plenty of vigorous regrowth to the extent that much of the time we couldn’t see our own feet and were uncertain at times as to whether or not we had any solid ground below us. On the climb up towards the Telstra tower we passed through some stands of snow gums that had metre high regrowth surrounding their bases, a promising sign for their survival.
After reaching the Telstra tower, the walking becomes very straightforward along a fire trail. Twin tracks with tyre impressions left in damp spots, all the way out to Tabletop Mountain.
The scenery is rather depressing in regards to the fire ravaged trees, with very very few remaining alive and intact. There were endless kilometres of burnt-out stumps. On a more positive note, there has been ample regrowth, especially in grasses and other small plants. The last of the wildflowers were past their best and in some places quite dense. This would have been an amazing sight when they were at their best.
We were fortunate today, as the weather remained cool and slightly overcast all day with a gentle breeze, creating ideal walking conditions. We had great views all around, most notably out to Jagungal and Tabletop Mountain itself.
Jagungal viewed from Tabletop Trail
Our objective had been to summit Tabletop but as the time and distance walked were both stretching out, we were unsure if we could guarantee completing our return before it got dark. With this in mind, we decided on a conservative approach to be satisfied with reaching the far end of Tabletop Mountain. Here we turned around in time to ensure an unhurried return in daylight.
Our return saw our split lunch strategy (two stops about an hour apart) pay off. We were not walking on full stomachs and still felt energetic towards the end.
We did not see another person all day and only observed a few birds, making the environment seem even more desolute. As we walked away back from Tabletop Mountain, Sue was sure she heard some howling. Was it possibly dingo? Some scats along the track may have indicated their presence in the area.
We finished the day with our second bush bash across the headwaters of Bullocks Head Creek and emerged exactly where we had left our car, around an hour before sunset. If we had attempted to squeeze in the summit climb of Tabletop Mountain, it is likely it would have become quite an route-finding adventure in failing light.
I’ll also mention that despite having three headlamps with us on this trip, two of them have died in the last couple of days, so any after dark bushbashing would have had an extra level of difficulty. After some later investigation I found the rechargeable batteries in one headlamp had died and required replacement. The second was rejuvenated by cleaning the rechargeable battery contacts and recharging it.
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