And now, the last two days of our 2016 stay in Thredbo …
Day 4
Today saw us make our second assault on the Dead Horse Gap walking track in the upward direction. Described by National Parks as “the ultimate Snowy Mountains walking track”, this walk has long been one of our favourites in the region, mainly because it offers such a variety of scenery from alpine/above the tree-line, through snow gum forests, lower forests and down to Bogong Creek and the Thredbo River. At least, that’s the order if you do the traditional start at the top of the Crackenback Chairlift, but with our aging knees, we now like to do it in the opposite direction …
So, we left Thredbo Village around 8.30am and did the 5km walk along the river and then cross-country to Dead Horse Gap. It’s a pretty and mostly level walk, along the river and then through some more open grassland. At the Gap, we turned our noses to the right and began our ascent. It’s pretty steep, particularly the initial section, but we’ve done a few steep walks in the last few months so we were up for it. Still, at around 635 metres climb over 5 plus kilometres, it offered us a challenge. We deserved our French (sorry, Mum) ciders at Eagle’s Nest, when we got there some 4 hours after we’d left the Village.
We spent a quiet afternoon, reading, watching the tennis (how wonderful to see Sam Stosur win a match), checking emails etc, before heading to the Black Bear Inn for dinner. This place serves hearty food, and has a friendly, welcoming vibe. We’ve been to trivia nights there before but they are not running them this January. Oh well, change is allowed we suppose.
Day 5
Having completed three good walks in three days, we opted for something different on our last day – a Segway ride at Lake Crackenback Resort. We enjoyed the one we did in Canberra in 2015, and decided to have another go. These segways were slightly different, having bigger-wheels for cross-country travelling, and so the “tour” included some fun little “obstacles” for us to practise on and traverse. It was good fun – and we followed it with a healthy salad lunch in the resort’s cafe, the Alpine Larder.
By then, having spent the morning in a resort environment, we were in a tourist frame of mind, so did something else we’ve never done during our visits here – tour the NSW Department of Primary Industry’s Gaden Trout Hatchery. It’s located a few kilometres out of Jindabyne, off the road to Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass. Fascinating. We were surprised to learn that its aim is “to support a world class trout fishery, through a partnership between recreational fishers and the government”. Really? I suppose government supports all sorts of recreational activity but we didn’t know they did this. Anyhow, we learnt many new things about Rainbow Trout, Brown Trout, Atlantic Salmon and Brook Trout, as well as about this facility and service. You learn something new …
For our final meal, partly because the options were limited and partly because it tends to be reliable, we went to the Thredbo Alpine Hotel’s Cascades Restaurant. I particularly loved my “Pavlova Smash” comprising little meringues, raspberry jelly, passionfruit curd and some berries. Len said his white chocolate semifredo was good too.
And that, pretty much, wraps up Thredbo 2106. Enjoyable as always, helped this year by perfect weather. Hard to imagine better. We’re sure to be back!
Forgiven! In times of dire need help must be graciously accepted (even if you pay for it).
Sounds like a big day so rewarding yourself with a quiet touristy day was a good idea. We saw trout farming at the Salmon Ponds in Tassy once. It was interesting to see the process from Go to Whoa – well, almost, we didn’t see them being ‘harvested’ – for want of a better word.
Glad you have had such wonderful weather and though you are returning on a hot day there is milder weather ahed for a couple of days at least.
Haha, thanks Mum – not that we felt too sorry for our decision.
I’d like to see a commercial trout farm now. I think we did see one once – the Tumut one – but that would have been around 1977/8. Things have probably changed.
The Segways look like great fun and you two look like experts! Those deserts were delightful and tasty looking. The walks and area look lovely and serene. Great picture of you two at the Black Bear Inn. Sounds like it was an excellent get away and a well enjoyed adventure.
Ya’ll make me smile.
Trudy
Thanks Trudy. Segways are great fun. I’m sorry we didn’t have any animals for you this time. It wasn’t without trying! I saw one little native mammal, I think it was, disappear under a walkway along the river. They are usually nocturnal so I was surprised to see it – albeit just its rump running for dear life.