Main Range Bushwalk

In week 10 I was fortunate enough to take a group of some of the keenest students enrolled at the High School on a bushwalk to ‘Australia’s Roof’. We travelled the long, winding roads through Corryong and over the Alpine Way to a campsite on the Snowy River, where we set up for the night and ensured our supplies were stocked for 4 days out in the wilderness. A well-received kebab shop visit in Jindabyne was our last taste of civilisation for the week on Monday night before nestling in for a good night’s sleep at Island Bend. 

Across Tuesday and Wednesday, we hiked through a pleasant 21 degrees Celsius, camping at Shlink Hut and Consett Stephen Pass, respectively. Some gusty Thursday weather caused us to seek lower ground as we made our way thought the thick alpine scrub down the Guthega River to the nearest track. In truly character-building, adventurous conditions, the group tramped over boulders, through semi-impassable bushes, and crossed a river about 23 times as we covered 1.5km in 4 hours. It was amazing to see smiles on faces still as we emerged out of the quagmire and onto a formed path around lunchtime on Thursday. 

We ventured upstream on the Snowy River to Charlotte Pass, where we made our final camp. A southerly buster forced everyone to bed quite early! A 5am wake-up saw some of the group pack up early and make for the summit of Mt Kosciuszko and onto the final destination in Dead Horse Gap, covering some 20km before 11am. Monster effort! 

An enormous thank-you to Ms Andrea Lucas for stepping in at the last minute to cover for an injured staff member and giving up so much of her time to come along. These trips don’t happen without staff! Thanks also to former WHS Outdoor Education teacher Kev McGennan for coming along and assisting with logistics; truly appreciated. 

These trips are the absolute highlight for Outdoor Ed teachers like me. A great way to cap off 2023.  

• Morgan Clark