To Charlotte Pass
Click on an image to see a larger version
Pulling out of the motel, I took the main road out of Jindabyne,
but continued along Summit Road, rather than taking the Alpine Way,
which was tomorrow's route. Summit Road passes through three ski
resort villages,
Smiggin Holes, Perisher
and
Charlotte Pass.
Being snow free during the visit, none of these looked especially
interesting or attractive, and so no stopping was involved.
Guthega
Rather than following Summit Road all the way, then back tracking,
I decided to take a parallel course and visit some places with
distant memories, specifically Island Bend and Guthega. I
remember these (possibly incorrectly!) from my first visit here,
which would have been in the 1960s, or possibly even the late 1950s.
I remember having lunch at Island Bend. Perhaps not surprisingly,
the town no longer exists. It was purely a construction town
built while there was activity here while the Snowy Mountains Scheme
was active. A 1986
document
from the Australian Bureau of Statistics provided an overview and
some perspective of the scheme.
Not long after Island Bend, or rather, where it used to be, the road
turns to gravel, although the GPS receiver did not notice this!
However, that was no reason to not continue, albeit a little more
slowly than might have been preferred.
This photo shows the consequences of the 2003 fires in the Kosciuszko
National Park - the white tree trunks are snow gums which were burnt
in the fire. Later on, I stopped at a Ranger Station and asked about
these. It turns out that the trees are killed above ground,
but the roots are still alive, and will sprout to begin again. But in
an alpine environment, and especially one that has had little rain
since the fires, this will be slow. There will be a little more
about this on tomorrow's journey.
Guthega Power Station, the first one built in the Snowy Mountains
Scheme. This also shows a dead tree in the foreground, and also
some of the autumn colours around this area at this time of year.
By modern standards, this is a small power station, being only
60MW. However, being a small project, it was able to be completed
within the first 5 years, and provided additional electricity
by February 1955, at a time when it was sorely needed.
The Snowy River leaving Guthega Power Station, headed towards
Island Bend, and ultimately Jindabyne Reservoir.
Guthega Dam was built by a Norwegian company for a number
of reasons. Norway has much experience building tunnels and hydro
electric stations, so this was a good fit. And so the experience
gained would be useful for later. This was also a test bed, I
suspect, as a type of reality check on the rest of the scheme's design.
There is a 5km (about 3 miles) long tunnel then a pipeline connecting
this dam to the power station above. The Snowy River flows in from the left;
the dam wall's top is just visible about mid image, to the left
of the trees.
Looking upstream along the Snowy River at Guthega. My journey
was to take me closer to the river's source, but not without
some backtracking, as this is the end of the road.
Another view of trees killed in the 2003 fires. The
detailed view
shows the trees, although it is hard to see any regrowth.
These photographs were taken in Guthega; it's not so much
a town as a ski resort and a few ski lodges. I don't recall
seeing anything which might resemble a shop, although I
did hear somebody chopping wood, which would very soon be
required.
But then it was time to hit the road again.
Getting There
Charlotte Pass
This photo shows the consequences of the 2003 fires in the Kosciuszko
National Park - the white tree trunks are snow gums which were burnt
in the fire. Later on, I stopped at a Ranger Station and asked about
these. It turns out that the trees are killed above ground,
but the roots are still alive, and will sprout to begin again. But in
an alpine environment, and especially one that has had little rain
since the fires, this will be slow. There will be a little more
about this on tomorrow's journey.
