Summer is bloom time at Mount Kosciuszko

Fill your grid with alpine colour on a foot-powered adventure to the highest place in Australia.

Even though our skis have been neglected for the second year in a row, our minds are still set on a road trip to the mountains – there’ll just be a whole lot more flowers and a whole lot less snow. And if names like spoon daisy, eyebright, billy button and buttercup don’t get you excited for a summer getaway to Kosciuszko National Park, we’re sure hiking Australia’s highest summit will.

So break in your boots and get familiar with your plant ID apps. Kilimanjaro might be on ice for now, but we’re heading to 2228m for a peak-bagging mission of the homegrown kind.

Take wildflower pics like a pro with the latest camera phones.

More house cat than mountain lion?

Fear not my comfort-loving friend. Kosciuszko isn’t just one of the most iconic places to hike in the country, it’s also one of the easiest. Sure, weather happens, so you’ll still need to be prepared; comfy shoes, rain/sun protection and food and water to go the distance. But pick a good day and Kosci is quite literally a walk in the park.

Road trip, woohoo!

After multiple lockdowns, who cares where we’re going, if it’s longer than 5km our car battery is happy. From Sydney it takes five to six hours to either Jindabyne or Thredbo, so have your mountain themed playlist or a juicy podcast ready. Make sure your accommodation or campsite’s booked in advance, we’re not the only ones who love it up there.

Choose your own adventure

With bodies well rested and smartwatches charged, it’s time to press go on Strava and hit the trail.

Easiest: From Thredbo village, ascend in style as the Kosciuszko Express chair lift tackles the steepest part for you. Then, take a gentle stroll along a raised metal pathway with boulder fields, tarns and of course, delicate snow daisies dotted all around you. 

Puff your way up the spiralling track to the top (just to make you feel like you’ve earned it) and that’s it, you’re officially the tallest person in Australia! Heck, you’ll probably have network coverage so you can share your summit selfie in real time. Return the same way and congratulate yourself with a Kosciuszko pale ale at Eagles Nest, Australia’s highest restaurant.

This is by far the most popular option in the park and is 13km all up.

Extender: Instead of taking the chairlift back down to the village, continue your walk along Merritts Nature track. It’ll add 4km and strain the knees a bit, but it’s worth it to see the landscape change as the elevation drops. You’ll go from open heath and herb fields, to forests of twisty snow gums and tall alpine ash. Snap, snap, snap.

Harder: If you’ve been prepping your lungs and legs for something more strenuous, start early and drive out to Charlotte Pass to tackle the 24km Main Range circuit. This starts off with some fun rock-hopping across Merritts Creek (bomb-proof phone cases are made for moments like this), and at around the half-way point you’ll come to the summit turn-off.

Along the way wildflowers pop against a backdrop of distant ridgelines and dazzling blue alpine lakes – all of it begging to be photographed with a really good camera phone.

You can do the circuit from Thredbo too, which at 32km is long but achievable thanks to our aforementioned friend, the Kosciuszko Express.

Pro: Along the Main Range track there’s a footpath leading out to Mount Townsend, which is like Kosci’s wilder, less popular, slightly shorter, but infinitely cooler cousin. The side trip will add another 4km to the circuit and involves a somewhat dicey scramble up a rock pile to reach the true summit. That bit’s optional though. The views are just as good from the saddle.

Confident navigating off-track? There’s really no limit to where you can go. Just be sure to only walk on the snow grass, steer clear of swamp areas and be careful not to trample any flowers and mosses.

A safe hiker is a happy hiker

Before going on or off the trails, it’s always wise to let someone know your intentions. Check BOM for changeable weather, download a decent topographical map to supplement your GPS, and set up an alert for three trusted contacts using Sidekick in My Optus app.

With beauty big and small to wrap your lens around, we’re certain it won’t just be your legs that get a workout. Pick a phone that’s capable of capturing the magic, and a plan with data to go the distance. Local tourism’s taken a hit for a second year in a row, so now’s the time to get back out there and show our regions how much we’ve missed them.