Snowy River Country

Following a scenic drive along the Murray Valley Highway and a most delicious stop at a bakery in Tallangatta, we arrived at our destination.  For the next couple of days and nights we would base ourselves in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains in north-east Victoria / southern New South Wales.  At this time of autumn, many of the trees are carrying red, gold and orange leaves making for beautiful sightseeing, while the cool, crisp mountain air makes a cosy campfire a necessity more than a luxury.

We based ourselves just on the NSW side of the border on the bank of the Murray River

Riverside with crisp, clear days & cold nights made a great campsite

Heather enjoying a glass of wine and a warm fire at camp

The town of Corryong, about 13km from our campsite, is the largest township (pop ~1,200) within the Upper Murray district and is the unofficial ‘capital’ of the Snowy River Country.  Corryong was the home of a man named Jack Riley, who’s exploits on horseback gave Banjo Paterson the inspiration to write the poem “The Man From Snowy River” (first published in 1890).

Heather alongside a bronze statue of 'The Man From snowy River'

'The Man From Snowy River', Jack Riley, died at the age of 73 in 1914 and was buried in Corryong.

Jack Riley - Legendary horseman of the High Country is buried in Corryong

His headstone simply states:

In Memory Of

The Man From Snowy River

Jack Riley

Buried Here

16th July 1914

As well as the legendary stockmen and brumbies, the Snowy Mountains region is home to both Australia’s highest Mountain, Mt. Koscuisko (which we did not climb but could have and will do during the warmer days of summer), and the headwaters of Australia’s largest river - The Murray River.

A common trait shared by large rivers the world over is the obvious (but often not consciously realised) fact, that they all start out small at their headwaters.  Many years ago (mid-1990s), I happened to find myself in northern Minnesota, USA, and unintentionally, at the headwaters of the mighty Mississippi River.  It was merely a trickle and just a few feet wide at this point.  I don’t know why, but I took the time to take my shoes and socks off and walk across it to the other side.  I then turned around and walked back.  I could now say that I had walked across the Mississippi River!  With this back-story in place, and now finding myself at the headwaters of Australia’s largest river, I could not resist the temptation to also ‘ford’ the Murray on foot - just to be able to say I had done so!  So, shoes and socks off, and into the frigid stream I went.  Upon reaching the other side I had also walked from the state of NSW into Victoria as the river forms the border between these two states.

Fording the headwaters of the Murray River - it was cold & slippery!

With the feat of fording the largest rivers in both North America and Australia on foot (pun intended), now under my belt, perhaps I have laid the foundation for a worldwide quest to ‘conquer' the headwaters of the mightiest rivers on each continent?  If that is the case, I have only the Nile (Africa), Amazon (South America), Yangtze (Asia) and Volga (Europe) to go!

After strolling across the fast flowing and clear waters of the ‘baby’ Murray near Tom Groggin station, we resumed our 370km driving loop around Koscuisko National Park.  We visited the ski resort town of Thredbo where just a dusting of early season snow capped the top of the slopes, and the towns of Jindabyne and Adaminaby located on the shores of Lake Jindabyne and Lake Eucumbene respectively.  These lakes were both formed by the damming of mountain rivers during the 1950’s as part of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Scheme which is a vast hydroelectricity and irrigation project constructed between 1949 and 1974.

Once back at camp and with a warm fire lit, a check of the weather forecast revealed some cold, windy, wet and snowy weather was on its way.  With 60cm of snow forecast it was easy to decide to break camp the following morning and move on before getting blanketed in.

We had enjoyed our time in this beautiful mountain setting with crisp clear days and cold nights but with so much to see and do we had just scratched the surface of what the region had to offer.  With our departure feeling a bit rushed we vowed to return and spend some more time here during a different season of the year.

Next episode, WTF? - Where are The Farrows?, move on the avoid the snow… but do they avoid the cold?  As it turned out, ‘Out of the refrigerator and into the freezer’, was fair description of the next couple of days.