November 22nd- The Seven Summits Pt. 1
Whew, sorry for the radio (blog?) silence the past while, we've been hopping about the country and haven't had time to catch a breathe!
We last checked in from Wollongong after spending a couple days with Glenys, after which we headed off back to Jamberoo to spend the night. From here, we wanted to head down to Jervis Bay as we head the beaches and snorkeling were supposed to be spectacular, however the Canadian Winter, determined to follow us everywhere, meant we were rained out of that idea. Since there was no free camping around we had to abandon that idea and headed further down the coast. We found a campground near enough that was supposed to have a private beach, which sounded nice enough so we decided to tuck into there. Unfortunately for us, we didn't read the details of the campground properly and it was four-wheel-drive access only which lead to a very hair-raising journey in and out with some impressive driving on Matt's behalf. Worried about being stuck there in the mud and rain, we hightailed it out of there in the morning and went to another campground that was supposed to have a private beach as well, with 2-wheel-drive access of course. Once the rain cleared, it was paradise on earth. The beach was beautiful and quiet and the campground was clean and cozy. We spent a couple days here getting thoroughly sun burnt before heading off towards Canberra.
Luckily for us we had accidentally timed it perfectly and arrived just in time for Remembrance Day. We headed towards the Australian War Memorial and Museum where there was a beautiful ceremony taking place, Prime Minister in attendance and all. After the ceremony finished we headed into the museum where we got to learn all about Australia's military history.
The museum was so large we returned the next day to finish looking around (or rather, Matt did, Holly got through it a lot faster and spent the remainder of her time with a coffee and a book). The next day we took a tour of the old and new Parliament buildings and then headed off towards Kosciuszko National Park.
We drove in and had intended to spend the night at Denison Campground, but overshot it so pulled into Rocky Plains Campground which was advertised as "horse friendly". We pulled in and had unknowingly interrupted an equestrian association getting together for their annual bush ride. Surrounded by horses and Australian cowboys (of which several former Olympians were apparently in attendance), we were lulled to sleep by horses braying and cowboys laughing round the campfire. The next day we continued our drive through the national park and pulled into another lovely campground, overrun by wallabies this time instead of horses. We spent the night and then continued towards Kusciuszko.
Being the first of our 7 summits, we made sure we were prepared. Lunch packed? Check! Water bladders filled? Check! Hiking boots and trekking clothes? Check! We pulled into Thredbo, the skiing town at the base of the mountain and went into the tourist information center to inquire about climbing the mountain, to which the girl replied "Would you like to take the chairlift up?". Contrary to Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kosciuszko was accessible to most with a chairlift going halfway up and a gentle incline up to the peak. There was an option to climb up the first half, which, being true mountaineers, we chose to do, telling ourselves "Pshh, we've done Everest Base Camp, this is nothing!"...
Little did we consider, it's been way over 2 months since we trekked and we've been doing a lot of sitting in the car, we were 5 minutes into the climb and sweating and panting. Eventually, we got into the swing of things and persevered up the never-ending steps to the mantra of "Still not as bad as Namche Bazar". From the chairlift onwards, it was a nice walk along a boardwalk and we can officially say we summited Mt Kosciuszko (2228m).
The next day we left hastily (to avoid having to pay for another day in the park we decided to sneak out before the rangers came to inspect permits!) and checked out the towns of Bermagui (Burma-Gooey), Tathra, and Bega. Bega is a popular brand of cheese here so we decided to visit the Cheese Heritage Center and enjoyed free samples and a lovely ice cream (guess who had which!).
And that brings us up to date! We are currently in Eden on the New South Whales- Victoria border and will be heading off towards Melbourne. Hopefully we'll be able to update the blog sooner rather than later and will have more pictures to show.
We last checked in from Wollongong after spending a couple days with Glenys, after which we headed off back to Jamberoo to spend the night. From here, we wanted to head down to Jervis Bay as we head the beaches and snorkeling were supposed to be spectacular, however the Canadian Winter, determined to follow us everywhere, meant we were rained out of that idea. Since there was no free camping around we had to abandon that idea and headed further down the coast. We found a campground near enough that was supposed to have a private beach, which sounded nice enough so we decided to tuck into there. Unfortunately for us, we didn't read the details of the campground properly and it was four-wheel-drive access only which lead to a very hair-raising journey in and out with some impressive driving on Matt's behalf. Worried about being stuck there in the mud and rain, we hightailed it out of there in the morning and went to another campground that was supposed to have a private beach as well, with 2-wheel-drive access of course. Once the rain cleared, it was paradise on earth. The beach was beautiful and quiet and the campground was clean and cozy. We spent a couple days here getting thoroughly sun burnt before heading off towards Canberra.
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| This beach bum was freezing even in the beaming sun. |
Luckily for us we had accidentally timed it perfectly and arrived just in time for Remembrance Day. We headed towards the Australian War Memorial and Museum where there was a beautiful ceremony taking place, Prime Minister in attendance and all. After the ceremony finished we headed into the museum where we got to learn all about Australia's military history.
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| Looking down Anzac Parade towards the War Memorial and Mt. Ainsley. |
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| Hand-knitted poppies were displayed outside the Memorial for Remembrance Day. |
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| Messerschmitt Me-262, the first jet aircraft to see combat, and a worthy piece in the AWM's collection. |
The museum was so large we returned the next day to finish looking around (or rather, Matt did, Holly got through it a lot faster and spent the remainder of her time with a coffee and a book). The next day we took a tour of the old and new Parliament buildings and then headed off towards Kosciuszko National Park.
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| Australian Parliament Building. |
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| From the lookout on Mt. Ainsley down Anzac Parade towards Parliament. |
We drove in and had intended to spend the night at Denison Campground, but overshot it so pulled into Rocky Plains Campground which was advertised as "horse friendly". We pulled in and had unknowingly interrupted an equestrian association getting together for their annual bush ride. Surrounded by horses and Australian cowboys (of which several former Olympians were apparently in attendance), we were lulled to sleep by horses braying and cowboys laughing round the campfire. The next day we continued our drive through the national park and pulled into another lovely campground, overrun by wallabies this time instead of horses. We spent the night and then continued towards Kusciuszko.
 |
| A little wallababy in his pouch! |
Being the first of our 7 summits, we made sure we were prepared. Lunch packed? Check! Water bladders filled? Check! Hiking boots and trekking clothes? Check! We pulled into Thredbo, the skiing town at the base of the mountain and went into the tourist information center to inquire about climbing the mountain, to which the girl replied "Would you like to take the chairlift up?". Contrary to Everest Base Camp, Mt. Kosciuszko was accessible to most with a chairlift going halfway up and a gentle incline up to the peak. There was an option to climb up the first half, which, being true mountaineers, we chose to do, telling ourselves "Pshh, we've done Everest Base Camp, this is nothing!"...
Little did we consider, it's been way over 2 months since we trekked and we've been doing a lot of sitting in the car, we were 5 minutes into the climb and sweating and panting. Eventually, we got into the swing of things and persevered up the never-ending steps to the mantra of "Still not as bad as Namche Bazar". From the chairlift onwards, it was a nice walk along a boardwalk and we can officially say we summited Mt Kosciuszko (2228m).
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| Snow?!?! In Australia?!?! |
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| #summitselfie |
The next day we left hastily (to avoid having to pay for another day in the park we decided to sneak out before the rangers came to inspect permits!) and checked out the towns of Bermagui (Burma-Gooey), Tathra, and Bega. Bega is a popular brand of cheese here so we decided to visit the Cheese Heritage Center and enjoyed free samples and a lovely ice cream (guess who had which!).
And that brings us up to date! We are currently in Eden on the New South Whales- Victoria border and will be heading off towards Melbourne. Hopefully we'll be able to update the blog sooner rather than later and will have more pictures to show.
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| Covered a bit of distance this month! |
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