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Snowgum on Kosciuszko's snow fields
Australia’s
largest national park is perhaps best known for its ski resorts. Those
who are prepared to look beneath the snow cover, however, will discover
this park’s true natural and cultural treasures.
Kosciuszko National Park protects
part of the Snowy Mountains, the highest mountain range in Australia.
Its landscape was
shaped by the past ice age about 20,000 years ago. The highest peaks including
Mount Kosciuszko were covered in glaciers which formed the park’s
distinct rock formations, moraines and tarn lakes.
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Over
a period of more than 150 years stockmen, recreational fishermen,
skiers and the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Authority built huts
for accommodation and shelter, and with them a memorial to the regions
grazing, mining and recreational history.
Kosciuszko’s Historic Huts differ in construction and fabric,
ranging from one-room huts to expansive homesteads. About 80 huts
have survived intact to date, after 19 huts were either damaged
or destroyed in the 2002-3 bushfires.
The Foundation
for National Parks & Wildlife paid for conservation studies
for Round Mountain Hut, Broken Dam Hut, Happy's Hut and Mawson's
Hut. |
Mawson's Hut
and surrounds
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Two
of the park’s most renowned residents are also two of the most endangered
species in Australia. Both the strikingly coloured Corroboree Frog and
the tiny Mountain Pygmy-possum have made international headlines, yet
very few people have ever seen them in the wild.
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The
tiny Mountain Pygmy-possum hibernates during winter in snow- laden
boulder fields on the coldest slopes of the Snowy Mountains. In
summer they emerge to eat Bogong moths and the fruits of the Mountain
Plum pine. Fewer than 500 individuals exist in NSW due to predation,
loss of habitat, global warming and competition with skiers.
With all these
pressures the future looks grim for the species. Scientists are
now working on a captive breeding program as a last resort, while
predator control aims to protect the few remaining possums in the
wild.
The Foundation has funded monitoring, research and habitat regeneration
for the Mountain Pygmy-possum for more than ten years and will continue
this support.
Mountain Pygmy-possum
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Corroboree Frogs
There are two
subspecies of the tiny Corroboree frog, the Northern and the Southern
Corroboree frog. Both are endangered and have dramatically declined
since the 1970s. Major threats include habitat degradation, increased
UV exposure due to the thinning ozone layer, fungal disease, drought
and lately bushfires.
The Foundation funded a captive breeding program to help scientists
buy time for the species in the hope that over time the frogs may
be able to adjust to their changed environment. |
Below the snowy
surface, embedded in limestone 440 million years ago, lie the Yarrangobilly
Caves.
Considered amongst
the most beautiful caves in Australia, South Glory Cave, Jersey Cave and
Jillabenan Cave are open to visitors on self-guided and guided tours.
The Foundation funded a study of one of Jillabenan Cave’s stalagmites
which indicates that the stalagmite and with it the cave are more than
2 million years old.
Aerial view of Blue Lake in summer |
Bushwalkers
come to Kosciuszko National Park to enjoy the beauty and solitude
of the alpine landscapes with its rugged rock formations and tarn
lakes. Lake Cootapatamba is the highest lake on the Australian mainland.
You can help
us create a walking track around Blue Lake, one of several other
glacial lakes. To help, simply give us a call on 02 9221 1949 or
click
here to donate online. Thank you!
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Little remains
of the abandoned gold mining town Kiandra in the Snowy Mountains.
Legend has it that a thirsty shepherd when trying to drink from
a local creek almost choked on a nugget of gold. By 1860 the quiet
town of Kiandra became a bustling goldmining centre with 15,000
residents, 25 stores, 13 bakers, 16 butchers and 14 hotels.
Kiandra was
Australia's only snowbound gold mining village and, when in the
winter of 1861 Scandinavian miners introduced snow shoeing (skiing)
to Australia, it became the birthplace of skiing in Australia. Foundation
funds helped in the overall redevelopment of historic Kiandra.
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Reconstructed battery stamp at Kiandra
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