To the north of Mt Kosciuszko lies Mt Twynam, Australia's third highest peak (2195m) and the equally impressive Mt Tate. Both can be visited on a 23km loop starting at Guthega. While it is possible to do this walk in a day, I chose to camp out for two nights to experience the alpine night skies and hopefully, those sunsets and sunrises that photos don't do justice.
Day 1: Guthega to Mt Twynam 8km, 3 hrs
Arriving in Guthega by motorcycle, I was able to park close to the start of the walk, but there is plenty of parking available no matter your means of transport. I chose to walk in a clockwise direction which meant
I shared the first 2.5km with those walking south along the Guthega-Charlotte Pass section of the Snowies Alpine Walk, opened in 2022. This follows the Snowy River upstream from Guthega Pondage to the Illawong swing bridge. At this point I turned west, crossing the bridge and the gentle slope of the Snowies Walk suddenly became a more serious climb as Mt Twynam loomed directly in front of me.
The track from here is a narrow but well-worn footpad winding its way up a ridgeline and past a stand of the oldest and gnarliest looking snow gums that you'll find anywhere on the Main Range. Before the final kick up to the peak of Twynam, lies a small wetland near the source of Pounds Creek. The terrain levels out here and with some lush, grassy patches between the pools, I decided to pitch my tent here. I had only started walking mid-afternoon, but the wind had increased considerably in the last couple of hours. I knew that this would be the last sheltered spot before the exposed ridgeline on top of the range. The only drawback was not having a view of the impending sunset, and when a
Day 1: Campsite at the foot of Mt Twynam