Wayne G Car Tim ZX7R Bruce FJ1100 Rhys ZX7R

Ben W ZXR750 Geoff BMW 1100 Derek FZR1000

Breakfast first thing and petrol at 9.00 am, those riding would be fairly used to the routine after a couple of days. This morning I was to be pillion with Ben and although I had not been on his bike before was assured he was a very capable rider and I would be quite safe. Easy to say. Despite being a little nervous Ben lead the ride, the plan being to meet Wayne with the car at Adaminaby as all morning on the bike would be quite enough for me particularly as we intended to climb Mount Kosiuszko. I later found out we passed through Tintaldra, Cabramatta and Kiandra prior to Adaminaby although most of these places are fairly small and one could be forgiven for missing them completely! What was strange were the boomgates outside of Cabramurra. Apparently if the road becomes too icy, the gates are lowered and all those living in the town are there until the roads are safer. What do you do in an emergency? A medical crisis for example. Maybe they will wait until it happens and then worry about it.

By 11.30 am we had safely arrived at Adaminaby where we were also meeting Rhys who went into Albury that morning to purchase another rear tyre. His current tyre was looking pretty tired. Adaminaby is a lovely spot with a distinct absence of tourists that adds to the appeal. Not always a lot to eat though and given it was lunchtime you have to wonder how such coffee shops survive. At Adaminaby I was indeed tired and looking forward to being in the car for the remainder of the day. I was pleased to see Wayne roll up with the car about fifteen minutes after the bikes.

Back in the car now and time to relax all the way to Thredbo via Jindabyne. Jindabyne has the oddest named café I have seen, called the ‘Chit Thai Café’. This is not an accurate reflection of the food they serve, mind you, but perhaps a language problem of the owners.

The National Parks Authority at Thredbo charge $14 per car to enter the National Park! That seems like a bit of good old fashion ‘rip the tourist off’ to me, and once we arrived, you had to park carefully or you could get fined.

Thredbo is still a place in transition with many things being rebuilt and a very thick retaining wall being put in. Now what a good idea! The aim of this mission was to climb Kosiuszko and climb Kosiuszko we would, or some of us would. Ben, Tim, Wayne and myself were going to do it while the others thought a beer in the pub was a good alternative.

The chair lift that takes you to the highest point is $18. From here you’re on foot for 12 km! The 6 km walk to the top was reasonably easy if you took your time, as the path was not all that steep, just very long. Tim thought this was a walk in the park, given that he had previously walked some of the Himalayas. When making the climb we saw the old, the young, and the just plain fat, coming back down, so figured it couldn’t be all that hard. Eventually the peak was reached where the air was surprisingly still although very cold. Back at the café, where they suggest warm clothing, they warned that the peak was 1 degree. It turned out to be a great spot for photos and Ben did the right thing by taking a few snaps of Wayne and myself.

Thankfully the walk back was much easier, although I don’t think Rhys and Geoff realised we were going to be away for so long. Both had put their helmets in the car and were stranded until we arrived back nearly three hours later. Now the car was an even more welcome sight, though Tim and Ben still had a good ride to go with their newly acquired rubbery legs. All in all, a great day to climb Kosiuszko.