Blake and Deb Down Under: Jindabyne

David is still fighting the shingles and even had to postpone a planned-for knee operation until he is totally over it. He would like to complete his recovery at their beach house but needed to get some work done before he and Merrilyn could leave Jindabyne. He works as the manager at Charlotte Pass, the highest of the ski resorts in this area (and all of Australia for that matter). He went to work yesterday for the first time in a long time and today was kind enough to take us along with him so we could do a bit of hiking in Kosciuszko National Park, wherein lies Charlotte Pass.

We could have walked the 9km one way to the summit of Mount Kosciuszko, which at 2228 meters (7310 ft) is the highest peak in Australia. It’s not even a steep trail. But I’ve heard the view is nothing to write home about and we had limited time and the weather was a bit dicey so we instead headed across a valley toward Blue Lake, which we never quite reached. Deborah’s knees, lungs, and brain were not handling the steep trail well and the flies were both unmerciful and surprisingly undeterred by the strong winds. We stopped for a picnic but had to eat standing up, the better to shake off the swarm of flies attaching themselves to our legs. As the thunderclouds rolled in and started to spit on us we headed back to the car.

Despite some difficult conditions it was actually a nice hike. Alpine areas like this have a stark beauty like no other. Even Deborah, when not cursing under her breath at her sadistic husband for dragging her up and down this torture course, was glad she got the chance to see this striking landscape. Back at the resort Dave treated us to some refreshments and we enjoyed trading travels in Oz stories with a fellow North American (Canadian) who was tending bar. As an added bonus, on the drive back Dave pointed out a kangaroo and a couple of bush wallabies along the side of the road. And they weren’t even dead.