Kosciuszko National Park’s 56km Snowies Alpine Walk multi-day walk is like meandering through a Banjo Paterson poem.
Immortalised by Banjo Paterson in verse, the NSW Snowy Mountains echoes with the stories of stoic stockmen. This is a land where the crisp air cuts sharp and eucalypts cling to the slopes, and it’s the home to the new 56km Snowies Alpine Walk (SAW), in Kosciuszko National Park - five years in the making.
SAW opened in sections and the first one, Guthega to Charlotte Pass, opened three years ago. At the time Great Walks was invited to get a behind the scenes look at how the track work was going and to walk that new section. We were accompanied by Greg Thomson, Principal Project Officer, Southern Ranges Branch, NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) and three years later we were back to walk the final sections of the trail, once again with Greg’s great company,
The two sections we were doing over two days were Charlotte Pass Village to Perisher Valley and the most recently opened stage Perisher Valley to Bullocks Flat. NPWS kindly put us up in Numbananga Lodge, at Smiggins Holes, a popular stay for skiers but just as lovely in the warmer months. I was accompanied by two mates, one of whom had come with me on that first trip three years ago so it was good to get his view on how the walk had evolved.
Pure poetry
Banjo Paterson’s words brought to life the Snowy’s ancient granite outcrops and alpine meadows, the shifting light, and the ridgelines and valleys that seem to go on forever, and this was all on show on the Perisher Valley to Bullocks Flat walk. If you were doing the normal full 4-day walk, this would be the final stage, Day 4. But in our case we were walking this most recently opened stage first.
This section offered the chance to experience the diverse alpine and sub-alpine landscapes of the Snowy Mountains. The easy-to-find trailhead was tucked away behind Perisher’s ski lodges and the clear signage made sure we were on the right track. I immediately saw the work that had gone into the walk with well-made paths, steps and small steel bridges.
The first few kays were a lovely meander in and out of the bush and we took plenty of time to take in all the new walk had to offer. After about 3.5km we reached a lookout with views over Thredbo Valley and the Monaro Plains offering a striking portrait of Australia's High Country — wild, serene and profoundly captivating.
Soon enough the trail began to wind down the valley, around tea tree gullies and mossy alpine bogs which are home to several unique alpine frogs. It would be hard on the knees if it weren’t for the well-made switchbacks and steps that lead us towards Bullocks Flat. As this section of the walk was one of the last done, I asked Greg if the SAW’s aesthetichad changed over the five years of its construction.
“There are sections of the track where nature is trying its best to take the track back, but other sections that haven’t changed since the day they were completed,” Greg told me. “Building a track to deal with the alpine conditions sometimes requires treatments that are hard and unnatural but when you see what they are protecting, you get a quick appreciation of the thought and care that has gone into this walk. Conversely, when you get to the lower altitudes where a natural track surface could be used, it feels like the track has been there for decades and to an extent, created by nature with natural flows, twists and turns.”
Each corner you turn was like walking into another verse of a Paterson classic. In the poem Australian Scenery he describes a “land of sombre, silent hills, where mountain cattle go. By twisted tracks, on sidelings deep, where giant gum trees grow. And the wind replies, in the river oaks, to the song of the stream below.”
Speaking of streams, a lovely, wooden seat had been placed near a brook halfway down the trail, and as we ate lunch we could see and hear the bubbling waters making their way down from the top of the valley to the Thredbo River below.
After lunch we had another pleasant hour meandering down the track surrounded by towering alpine ash that reached to the sky and protected us from the wind we encountered at the start of the walk. Soon enough the Thredbo River came into view and we crossed a steel bridge that led to Bullocks Flat and our waiting cars.
Big day out
When we were last here, we enjoyed just a portion of the Charlotte Pass Village to Perisher Valley walk so I was keen to do the whole thing. After leaving the first car at Perisher we drove to Charlotte Pass Village and dropped the second car off before buying a coffee and heading for the track. This section of the walk was so new it felt like we were the first on it.
The track started off flat and open. The wind was up and so were our collars. After a couple of exposed but pretty kays the track led us up into thick woodland and we were surrounded by all that iconic Snowy Mountains bush - and a deep, deep silence.
In Australian Scenery, Paterson describes this as: “a land where the hills keep watch and ward, silent and wide awake. As those who sit by a dead campfire and wait for the dawn to break. A land where silence lies so deep that sound itself is dead. And a gaunt grey bird, like a homeless soul, drifts, noiseless, overhead.”
Shortly we popped out of the thick bush and once again we were in the great open, following a clear trail. Looking back we could see other bushwalkers, their primary-colour jackets popping out against the green and grey of nature. I must admit this was my favourite part of the walk, being surrounded by these massive granite boulders, enjoying a bit of rock-hopping and finding a great viewing spot for lunch.
As we made our way along the trail, we were continually treated to breathtaking vistas — rolling plains stretched out beneath us, framed by snow-capped peaks in the distance. This wasn’t a walk to rush: every step offered something new: patches of wildflowers, wind-whipped trees and sweeping panoramas.
The Porcupine Walk, though short, added a special touch with its elevated lookout points and more intimate views of the surrounding bushland. Today’s walk was a peaceful and invigorating experience - one that made me feel deeply connected to the landscape around me, just like my mate Banjo felt about the Snowies all those years ago.
View to a thrill
Another section of the Snowies Alpine Walk is the 22km Main Range loop walk which I didn’t do on this trip but have done before. From Charlotte Pass you’ll experience this spectacular alpine circuit that showcases another side of Kosciuszko NP, part of a protected UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. This journey begins by crossing the legendary Snowy River, whose clear, cold waters are steeped in Australian folklore and of course is the basis for Banjo Patterson’s most famous poem.
The Man from Snowy River tells the story of a brave young horseman from the rugged Snowy Mountains. When a valuable colt escapes, seasoned riders fail to catch it. One young man fearlessly pursues them down steep terrain, showcasing courage, skill and determination, ultimately proving his worth and earning widespread admiration.
You can feel this poem on the trail as it meanders through glacier-carved valleys and past the tranquil waters of Hedley Tarn and the stunning Blue Lake — one of only a few glacial lakes in the mainland. In early summer, the landscape bursts into colour with blooming wildflowers, painting the alpine meadows in vibrant hues.
As you ascend the rugged spine of the Main Range, the views become increasingly dramatic, with sweeping vistas of the surrounding peaks and plains. Eventually, you’ll reach Mount Kosciuszko, the highest point on the Australian continent at 2,228m. From this lofty summit, on a clear day, you can gaze out across the vast expanse of the Snowy Mountains and beyond. After soaking in the views, continue along the Mount Kosciuszko Summit trail, which gradually descends and loops back toward Charlotte Pass.
The Snowies Alpine Walk is rewarding alpine adventure offering days of natural beauty, physical challenge and unforgettable scenery that see your disappearing into the intimate world of Banjo Patterson:
“And down by Kosciusko, where the pine-clad ridges raise
Their torn and rugged battlements on high,
Where the air is clear as crystal, and the white stars fairly blaze
At midnight in the cold and frosty sky,
And where around The Overflow the reed beds sweep and sway
To the breezes, and the rolling plains are wide,
The man from Snowy River is a household word today,
And the stockmen tell the story of his ride.”
Great Walks was a guest of NPWS