Headwaters of the Snowy River

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YESTERDAY we had explored parts of the Snowy Mountain Hydro scheme at the bottom of the mountains. We were now about to go into where it all begins.

Descending into the gully

From Kosciuszko Lookout we returned along the short diversion back to the main track and continued following it gradually descending into a wide valley. The heath grass was actually growing through the grating of the elevated metal walkway, but it didn’t create any slip hazard. As we descended the wind started to ease off.

Upon reaching the bottom of the valley we crossed the bridges of several streams that met just below the trail. The fresh overnight rain was making these streams flow well meandering between the clumps of scrub and around the grey boulders across the golden sand and gravel expected in granite. The water cascaded over small falls pooling together just below the track before flowing off downstream.

Headwaters of the Snowy River

These streams are the headwaters of the Snowy River. The stream bubbles down the gentle incline of the valley accumulating with more streams to create the Snowy River, which is the main watershed feeding into the Snowy River Scheme that we had visited various sections of yesterday. Where we had visited were the lower levels, but this was where it all began.

The river up here is fed mostly by melting snow in spring, and the rains of summer and Autumn. During winter cloud seeding is used to produce higher levels of snowfall to help the ski fields stay open for longer, for more water to feed the river during the spring melt, and also to provide more shelter for the pygmy-possum during winter. They move around in burrows under the snow to protect themselves from the predators on the surface. They need to have at least a metre of snow cover to remain safe.

Headwaters of the Snowy River

Once across the streams the trail began to ascend a more moderate slope on this side. Now we were serious about gaining altitude. It was all going to be uphill from here, apart from perhaps a brief descent after the next saddle.

As we started ascending the metal track, with its occasional steps, the cloud overhead thickened. I could still see the summit ahead of me, but much of the time it was shrouded in cloud. Were we going to miss the view from there?

Headwaters of the Snowy River

It was not long before we reached the top of the low saddle. This saddle was a little higher than the last one, but hardly significant at all apart from a stand of precipitous rocks standing to our right. They stood as obvious sentinels on the low hill next to the saddle almost as a huge guidepost to the mountain. The rocks certainly had a spiritual quality about them.

The Aboriginal people consider the mountains of Australia a very spiritual place. The Snowy Mountains are by no means an exception to this.  The people believe the spirits of the ancestral travellers live on the obvious landmarks, especially the large rocks and old trees. These dominant rocky outcrops we were passing would be of particular significance to them.

Large granite outcrop

I do not know the spiritual stories of these rocks, but no doubt such a story would exist. The stories attached to these places have a very important role in cultural practice kept as a closely guarded secret by the elders. You have to earn the right for such information from the senior elders of the tribe. To the rest of us these stories remain a mystery.

The Aboriginal people call this area Tubulluga. For them this is a very spiritual place similar to a church. The mountaintops are where the spirits of the ancestors dance.

Mount Kosciuszko

The spirituality they ascribe to these mountains is enhanced by their long history. Aboriginal people have been coming here for hundreds of generations. Over these ten to twenty thousand of years, a very rich culture steeped in stories, legends, songs and customs have evolved here in remembrance of the tribes and individuals who have dwelled here. Some of these have been immortalised in place names, but otherwise these stories are passed from generation to generation by the local elders. Although the beliefs and stories vary from tribe to tribe, one thing they all had in common was their deep attachment to the mountains which are of great spiritual significance to them.

Headwaters of the Snowy River

One thing all the tribes agree on is that the life on the mountains today is part of an interconnected system of relationships that began in the ancient times of ancestral beings. They shaped the landscape as they journeyed here seeking food and water. Some of these ancestors came in the form of giant animals such as kangaroos, emus, echidnas and wombats which all live on the mountains. Some of these beings from the north and the west ended their journeys here forming some of the landforms we see today.

The traditional Aboriginal people didn’t have a written language. They didn’t have books to read from. Instead they relied on cues such as landforms and animals that live here.

Headwaters of the Snowy River

The stories they told were very complex. If written they would fill many books, often taking weeks to tell and be accompanied by song and dance. These stories are available only to qualified Aboriginal elders.

They came in search for the bogong moth. They also partook in ceremonies and to learn the ancient stories of the ancestral spirit world. They learnt to harness the resources in a sustainable manner ensuring everything was protected. They understood that everything is connected – every mountain, every rock, every plant, every animal and every micro-organism. Anything we change affects every other part of the ecosystem. They treated this area with respect.

From the low saddle the track didn’t descend at all, instead it turned to the left clinging onto the slope heading towards the next saddle. The track ascended and descended negotiating its way around the field of rounded granite boulders having been exposed to millions of years of snowfall and erosion wearing them as rounded as you would expect around a large river or the coast.

Approach to the next saddle

The mountain stood more obvious appearing a lot closer than it had before. We were definitely making progress. We crossed a couple more streams snaking their way down the gentle slope to meet the main ribbon of water of the Snowy River which was now visible down the valley. I imagined these streams would combine in a torrent during the annual spring melt feeding the lakes far below.

The track became steeper as the terrain roughened ascending towards the next saddle. The wind was blowing significantly harder than it had done earlier this morning.

Fortunately the steps didn’t last long as we crossed the saddle taking us out of the valley of the headwaters of the Snowy River.