Saturday 16/09/2023 Perisher Valley – Porcupine Road – Porcupine Walking Track – Rock Creek – Porcupine Rocks – Wheatley Link – Betts Creek – Perisher Gap – Kosciuszko Road
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
This morning we only completed three very short runs on Sturt T Bar before calling an end to our resort skiing season. With all bar the Village Eight chair lift on wind hold there were limited options and lift lines way longer than our liking so we swapped out our ski boots for hiking boots and were on our way.
Thursday 21/09/2023 Charlotte Pass Village – Kosciuszko Road – Charlotte Pass – Mount Kosciuszko Summit Walk – Merrits Creek – Snowy River – Seamans Hut – Rawson Pass – Mount Kosciuszko – Snowy River – Mount Clarke – Foremans Crossing
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Marg Baz, Stephen Davies (Leader, Photos, Report), John Oakley (Photos)
This was day four of the 2023 edition of New South Wales Nordic Ski Club’s annual Charlotte Pass gathering, a week where the club takes over the Southern Alps Ski Lodge and tries to get out for as much backcountry skiing as possible. With the winter of 2023 being particularly poor for snow cover this would prove much more challenging than usual, as there were far fewer options than past years for touring. With the very high winds of the last five days now starting to ease off I was keen to get out for a longer trip so offered a return trip to Mount Kosciuszko.
Sunday 24/09/2023 Guthega Power Station – Munyang River – Disappointment Spur Trail – Disappointment Spur Hut – Schlink Pass Road – Whites River Hut – Horse Camp Aquaduct Trail – Horse Camp Hut – Horse Camp Hut Access – Schlink Pass Road
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
Quickly deciding it was too much effort to get to too little snow today we opted to stretch our legs with a walk from Guthega Power Station. As Beth and Pablo had not been to Disappointment Spur Hut before we rock-hopped across Munyang River just behind the power station before the gradual ascent up Disappointment Spur Trail to start the walk. We had great walking weather today with cool and calm conditions.
Friday 22/09/2023 Charlotte Pass Village – Wrights Creek – Trapyard Creek – 1903m – (Porcupine Rocks)
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
This was our last day for the 2023 edition of New South Wales Nordic Ski Club’s annual Charlotte Pass gathering, a week where the club takes over the Southern Alps Ski Lodge and tries to get out for as much backcountry skiing as possible. Due to the rapidly decreasing snow cover and the fact our daughter and son-in-law had arrived home to Jindabyne from a European holiday yesterday, we thought we would catch up with them for the weekend before heading home. With that in mind, a morning walk towards Porcupine Rocks was in order before our 2:00pm departure.
Tuesday 21/03/2023 Marlo Western Boundary Track – Marlo Wetland Track – Marlo Centre Track – Marlo South Boundary Track– Marlo-Conran Road – French’s Narrows Carpark – French’s Narrows – West Cape Road – Salmon Rocks Boat Ramp – Salmon Rocks Track – Salmon Rocks – Cape Conran Road – Sailors Grave – Cape Conran Nature Trail – Cowrie Bay – Yeerung River Road – Yeerung River Walking Track – Estuary View Trail – Pearl Point Track
Marlo Coastal Reserve & Cape Conran Coastal Park, VICTORIA
Brabuwooloong Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
Today we completed five short walks between Marlo and Conran Coastal Park. Early in the day, we checked out a small section of Marlo State Forest next to our campsite. Then after a very short drive, we walked across French’s Narrows at the mouth of the Snowy River. Soon after another short drive to West Cape in Cape Conran Coastal Park, we walked across the Cape to Salmon Rocks with great views along the coast and half a dozen surfers enjoying some waves.
After lunch and another short drive, we walked through burnt-out country along the Cape Conran Nature Trail and finally after yet another short drive we circumnavigated the Yeerung River estuary through healthy, unburnt bushland.
Sunday 19/02/2023 Charlotte Pass – Snowy River – Carruthers Creek – Mount Sentinel – “The Sentinel” – Strzelecki Creek
Kosciuszko National Park, NSW
Ngarigo Country
Participants: Beth Davies, Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies, Pablo Ureña Vega
With heatwave conditions currently across Australia, we were pleased to note the local forecast for today was for a 24-degree maximum. Just in case, we got away from Jindabyne early enough to arrive at Charlotte Pass and be underway by 8:50am. There, we were greeted by clear blue skies, 12 degrees with a light breeze making for perfect walking conditions.
This was a short excursion to Wollongong Botanic Gardens to try out my new camera on birds. The Canon EOS R5 is a very sophisticated camera, after many hours of reading the user guide and trying to figure out the various options I needed to do some field testing. What better than picking a pretty local with a reliable presence of birdlife.
Tuesday 29/11/2022 Beachcomber Caravan Park – Blackfellows Point Road – Ness Track South – Tuross River – South Tuross Beach
Eurobodalla National Park, NSW
Yuin Country
Participant: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report)
I headed out alone for a short walk before we were to pack up and leave to drive further north today. Just out of the caravan park, there is a vehicular track called Blackfellows Point Road, which heads up to the top of a ridge and follows it towards the west. I wasn’t far along here when I encountered a couple of Red-necked Wallabies, one with numerous ticks on its face! Perhaps I should try to avoid brushing against vegetation today.
Murramarang Beachfront Nature Resort was our final stop over on our way home so we made the most of our afternoon with one last walk. Via a short stint along the beach, we made our way around the northern edge of the headland where we found what looked to be an old boiler from a shipwreck marooned on the grassy foreshore. All the way around to Mill Point we got great views up to Murramarang Range and Grasshopper Island.
Monday 28/11/2022 Beachcomber Caravan Park – South Tuross Beach – Blackfellows Point – Jabarrah point – Potato Point Beach – Potato Point – Jemisons Point – Lake Tarourga – Brou Beach – Lake Brou
Eurobodalla National Park, NSW
Yuin Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos), Sue Davies (Report)
Overcast skies greeted us in the morning but the threat of afternoon rain made us head off soon after breakfast. We had hoped to make it to Dalmeny and the possibility of coffee and treats if we made it that far.
As it turned out this goal was more than a little optimistic! From our campground, we attempted to walk around Blackfellows Point (shocking antiquated racist names in this area) but we didn’t get too far before our progress was stopped by a deep impassable gully. We headed back to Blackfellows Road, past Piccaninny Beach, Blackfellows Beach and Blackfellows Bridge. It was all a bit too much.
Saturday 26/11/03/2022 Dolphin Cove Drive – Tura Beach – Tura Head Coastal Reserve – Reggie’s Lookout – Tura Head – Short Point Beach
Beowa National Park, NSW
Yuin Country
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies Stephen
To round out our day we drove to the carpark on Dolphin Cove Drive at the southern end of Tura Beach. From here we walked tracks we suspected to be mostly frequented by local residents getting out for some exercise and fresh air. From the carpark, you descend onto the beach and walk around a tannin-stained lagoon before climbing a relatively new staircase to gain access to the walking track just above.
Participants: Stephen Davies (Photos, Report), Sue Davies
After another very comfortable night in our campervan at Pambula Beach Caravan Park, we headed off to explore the area to our south. After a short drive along the Princes Highway just past Pambula Lake we turned off onto Haycock Road into Beowa National Park. Beowa National Park has recently been renamed and the new name means Orca in the local Thaua language. Here we had eyed off some very short walks that would require a short drive between each.
