The Illawong Walk begins in Guthega, a small ski village in southern Kosciuszko National park accessed by gravel road which is the only way in or out. I drive into Guthega on the last day of the year, the end of a week spent camping in and around the NSW high country and seeing the power stations and Snowy-Hydro infrastructure dotted across the landscape.

Coming in from Jindabyne, the road runs along the Snowy River and past Guthega Power Station which generates electricity from water diverted at Guthega Pondage. Even in summer, snow lingers in patches on nearby peaks.

I find the beginning of the trail by accident trying to get closer to the Guthega Dam spillway - a solid concrete structure sitting within an almost otherworldly alpine landscape. (Spoilers: spillway is accessible to management vehicles only.)

From Guthega, the trail makes its way through alpine heath and over Blue Cow Creek by way of a small bridge. Or flying fox, if you prefer.

Once over the ridge and through a patch of snowgums the trail flattens out, following the Snowy River upstream all the way to Illawong Lodge - which can be booked in advance - and a small suspension bridge which leads to nowhere.

The walk is 5km return and can be completed in around 2-3 hours. Setting out in late afternoon, I encounter only one other group of walkers coming back from the Lodge - a perfect way to round out the year.

For those wishing to camp, Island Bend is the closest campground and that is where I find myself for New Year's Eve, surrounded by eucalypts and the woodsmoke smell of a few dozen campfires, in the company of a bunch of humans who'd had the same idea to see in the New Year under the stars, away from the big city.

By Rita Liao

Dec 2017

Map Here

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