Thredbo 2018, Days 5 & 6: Coffee and critters

Another beautiful day dawned for our last full day in Thredbo, so it was off on another walk for us – of course.

Doing more of the Thredbo Valley Track

But, which walk? We usually aim to do one longer walk – around 10kms or so – but decided this year to make this a less strenuous walk, that is, one involving less climbing. So, we eschewed walks like Dead Horse Gap and Bob’s Ridge to walk another section of the newish Thredbo Valley Track. The track currently runs 17km from Thredbo to Lake Crackenback and there are apparently plans to extend it to Jindabyne, 33kms away. It’s a shared hiking and mountain bike track and is undulating, with more ups-and-downs in the first part than at the Bullock’s Hut end. Three or four years ago, when it was still under construction, we did the 12km Thredbo to Ranger Station Loop, and then last year we did the 10km Loop between the Diggings and Ngarigo Campgrounds.

So, this year we decided to do the Loop between Diggings and Lake Crackenback, taking in Bullock’s Hut on the way. We’ve done the Bullock’s Hut loop before – it’s a comparatively short circuit from Diggings – but this particular track to the Hut is new. This means, in fact, that there are now three routes you can take between Diggings and Bullock’s Hut, which are, from shortest to longest, the Thredbo River Walk, the new Thredbo Valley Track, and the wonderfully named Muzzlewood Flat Track. Spoiled for choice!

Anyhow, it was a lovely walk – and a pretty easy one, though Len’s fitness tracker still said we climbed 9 floors. What makes it lovely, in addition to the occasional river views, is Bullock’s Hut. Located in a valley where the Thredbo River meets the Little Thredbo River, it was built in 1934 as a fishing lodge for someone called, you’ve guessed it, Dr Bullock. What also made the walk enjoyable on this occasion is that we saw a few critters (as our Californian friend Trudy would say), including a plump skink, some feral deer (cute regardless!), and a snake (which we’d love help identifying).

And then, to add to the pleasure, at the end of the Track, before you turn around to come back, there’s the Alpine Larder cafe at Lake Crackenback! A rare treat on national park bushwalks. So now, always looking to mix things up a bit on our Thredbo holiday, we wonder whether in another year we could time this walk to have more than a cuppa at this turnaround point – to have lunch in fact!

Meanwhile, all we need do to complete the Track, as it now stands, is to do the loop between Ngarigo Campground and the Ranger Station. Next year, perhaps?

We got back into Thredbo Village around 1pm and spent the afternoon quietly – reading, watching some tennis, and going for a little stroll along the Thredbo River in the village itself – before dining at Cascades Restaurant in the Thredbo Hotel complex. As with all our meals over the week, the service was relaxed and friendly, and the food tasty. We were surprised when it came to paying the bill at the end that, when Len pointed out that our coffee had been omitted, they said it was complimentary because the dessert had been slow. And we hadn’t even complained!

Home again, home again

Then, suddenly, it was Friday and home-going day. It dawned grey and rainy, which made departure just that little bit easier to take – particularly as the forecast for Sunday was -1°C to 9°C! Canberra’s 22°C sounds much more appealing.

Still, although our leg muscles are probably a little pleased, it’s always sad to say goodbye to Thredbo. Fortunately, there’s always next year …

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