Tuesday 3 January 2012

SNOWY MOUNTAINS SOLO A'VAN TRAVELLERS

Five of us met up in Dalgety. FivE solo travelling women from various parts of Eastern Australia.

Three of us had dogs. It was Cody's first trip. He was three and a half months old.


Ismay from Queensland, Veronica (Ronnie) from NSW, Ruth from the A.C.T., Sally from NSW and myself, Veronica, from Victoria.

I had met Ismay on my travels to Queensland earlier in the year, but none of the rest of us had met one another before. Four of us arrived on Monday 5 December and Sally arrived on Friday 9 December.  It was a great combo and we had a lot of fun.



Ruth, Veronica (with Cody), Ismay and Ronnie on our first night.

We had the Snowy River Holiday Park to ourselves most  of the time. Owner/Manager Barbara, was wonderful.  She made us very welcome and even minded the dogs while we went on a day trip into the National Park.  She also took us to see the platypus in the river at dusk, We invited her for dinner one evening when we put on a BBQ and salads and champagne.


A Vans Rule, OK!

Three of us arrived with furry four-footed friends. Ruth brought Rosie and Judy, I brought Cody and Sally brought Diva.  We chose our camp spot because it was one of the few dog-friendly parks in the area.

Cody settles in

     
   Diva watching Cody racing round and round and round.

Happy Hour is virtually compulsory in the caravanning life and, of course, we kept up the tradition. We also shared a couple of meals under Ismay’s  innovative awning.


Sally, Ronnie and Ruth

Ismay and Veronica
  
We had a couple of excellent meals at the local pub. Although Dalgety has a population of only 78, the hotel is packed and busy several nights in the week as people from the surrounding area gather there. The food is excellent and  the hotel had just been included in the “Good Food” Guide.
 
Ismay, Veronica and Sally at the pub on our last night

The publican, Darren Powell is also the World Snowboarding Champion.

    Darren's snow board

We did several day trips to Jindabyne, Thredbo, and Charlotte Pass.


Mt Kosziusko from Charlotte Pass
  
Snow Gum

Ruth, Ronnie and I took the chairlift from Thredbo up to the start of the walk to the summit of Kosciuszko. We walked some of the way then headed back to the Eagle’s Nest, the restaurant at the top of the chairlift, where we enjoyed coffee and some very scrumptious scones and cake. Not the healthiest option but we enjoyed it.

 Meanwhile, Ms Indomitable (Ismay) hiked to the top and back (13 km). We thought she was wonderful! See Picture below.
Ismay makes it to the top



Ruth, Ronnie and Veronica on Mt Kosziusko

 

NOW FOR SOME HISTORY AND GEOGRAPHY! Not too boring - promise.
Mount Kosciuszko is in the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park. It's 2,228 metres (7,310 ft) above sea level, and is the highest mountain in Australia (not including its external territories).
It was named by the Polish explorer Count Paul Edmund Strzelecki in 1840, in honour of the Polish national hero and hero of the American Revolutionary War, General Tadeusz Kościuszko, because it resembled the Kościuszko Mound in Krakow.
The name of the mountain was previously spelt "Mount Kosciusko", an Anglicisation, but the spelling "Mount Kosciuszko" was officially adopted in 1997 by the Geographical Names Board of New South Wales.
Various measurements of the peak originally called Kosciuszko showed it to be slightly lower than its neighbour, Mount Townsend. The names of the mountains were swapped by the New South Wales Lands Department, so that Mount Kosciuszko remains the name of the highest peak of Australia, and Mount Townsend ranks as second.
 
DALGETY (originally called Buckley’s Crossing)
Dalgety Bridge over the Snowy River
The town of Dalgety (population 78, yes 78) where we stayed, is on the Snowy River near Jindabyne, Thredbo and Cooma. It’s the only town left on the Snowy River in NSW as the other two, Jindabyne and Adaminaby, were flooded as part of the Snowy Hydro Electric Scheme.
Before the bridge was built in 1888, a punt was used to carry travellers and stock the river.  At that time it was known as Buckley’s Crossing. The original coach house, built around 1840, is still standing.
At one stage, it was gazetted as the site for the national capital but it was thought to be too close to Victoria, so Canberra was chosen.
There are plenty of historic buildings in the town, many of them still being used. The pub and the school date from 1889. 
And that's it!
I would recommend Dalgety to anyone. Great place to stay and within easy distance of all the attractions of the Snowy Mountains. And it's particularly beautiful in summer.