The largest national park in New South Wales, Kosciuszko National Park extends 200km north to south, from Tumut to the Victorian border, encompassing an area of some 6500 square kilometres. The scenery includes almost all of the high country, with ten peaks above 2100m, forested valleys and a treeless plateau with glacial lakes, as well as the headwaters of Australia’s biggest river system, the Murray–Murrumbidgee.
The broad shaped valleys around the main range are a result of glacial action during the ice ages and make for easy access to the Main Range which offers fantastic cross country skiing. and for the adventurous , challenging downhill runs on the steep western faces.
The displays of wildflowers in the summer months on the alpine areas are truly spectacular and bushwalking to the top of Australia during this time is an incredible experience.
Named after the Polish military leader Thaddeus Kosciusko (1746–1817), the area was important for summer cattle grazing until the park was founded in 1944. The construction of the Snowy Mountains Scheme, a hydroelectric project completed in 1972, left an extensive road network that is now heavily used by tourists. Several large dams associated with the hydroelectric project are located in the park.
The main centres are the lakeside resort of Jindanyne, just outside the eastern boundary of the park, and the ski resort of Thredbo, 30km further west along the scenic Alpine Way, actually in the national park. Perisher Blue and Mount Blue Cow can be reached via the Skitube from Bullocks Flat, roughly midway between Jindabyne and Thredbo.
If you’re driving through, there’s a fee of $12 per car per day or $3.50 per motorbike – so if you plan to stay more than a day or two and especially if other national parks are on your itinerary, the annual national park pass ($60) may be a good investment. Arriving by bus, you’ll still have to fork out a one-off payment of $4. Note that parking is heavily restricted throughout the park, and can reach crisis point in Thredbo – if you’ve come by car it might be worth paying extra for accommodation with space to park.
The National Parks and Wildlife Service has its headquarters in Jindabyne (daily 8.30am–4.30pm; tel 02/6456 2444), a $5.4 million complex featuring red-gum interiors and including a tourist information office, theatre, café and bus station. It offers a comprehensive service, with leaflets about walking trails in the national park, activities such as ranger-guided tours, details of campsites, as well as maps for sale and a display on the natural features of the park. There are also NPWS ranger stations at Perisher Valley (tel 02/6457 5214; winter only), Khancoban (tel 02/6076 9373) and Tumut (tel 02/6947 4200).
Bushwalking in the Park
For more regional information on the Mount Kosciusko National Park, go to: