~Cooleman Run~
Run No. -
Portion No. -
Acres -
Henry (2nd) Pearce
Postby kanangra - Mon 09 Sep, 2013 3:38 pm
I've been back a couple of weeks and thought I should write up my walk in the northen end of KNP. I drove down from Sydney and over the range into Brindabella. At first I drove up Grace Rd on the western side of the valley till a local stopped me and informed that the road was gated ahead. I said that I had driven through years ago but he said it had all changed. So I turned around and tried the road on the eastern side instead. That came to an end after a while at the river. So I reversed to the top of the nearest hill and set off. It was 10:30.
The first thing I had to do was cross the Goodradigbee River itself which was running strongly in 3 channels. I mustn't have had my trail legs as I nearly went under in crossing the first channel. I remember thinking, not a good way to start the trip. Safely on the other side I picked up a farm track which led uphill and soon disappeared into the paddocks. I walked across the farmland to a fence where I picked up the original road right on the boundary of KNP where there is a large sign. The road then led down hill to a turn off to a campsite on the river. The sign said that the road was blocked so the guy had been right after all. This means that the Long plain Rd is no longer a through route for vehicles as it had been years ago.
I soon came to the bridge over Cooleman Ck and the gate on Long Plain Rd. which is kept locked in winter. The next stretch up-hill under the power lines was not as bad as I was expecting and after a couple of hours I was at the junction of Cooleman Ck Trail. I turned off here and followed the trail down to the creek where I stopped for lunch. Just as I got set to munch down on my wrap the rain that had been threatening all morning began to fall. Fortunately only lightly at first and so I was able to scoff lunch down. Before long the rain turned to sleet and then snow. Still it was a pleasant stroll in this remore region known as the Bramina Wilderness Area. I passed several cleared grassy areas each with a fenced off section perhaps for yarding brumbies?
About 3:30 I burst out onto the Boundary FT which was wide and snow covered. I turned left here and followed it for about an hour in ever deepening snow till the junction with the Broken Cart Trail. Here I turned left and walked down to Broken Cart Ck where I set up camp beside the road under a tree where the ground was free of snow. I soon had the tent up and dinner on the go. By 7 I was ready for bed and surprisingly despite the early hour was soon asleep. It had been a good day.
It rained/snowed most of the night. I could have sworn I heard a vehicle go through but I must have been dreaming. After packing up I was off by 7:10. I retraced my steps a short way and turned off onto Feints Trail which proved to be my very pleasant companion for the next 5-6 hours. It has not seen any vehicular use in a long time and is now pretty much a grass covered swathe through the the tall forest. After a while it descends steeply to the old gold workings on the Goobragandra River. I decided to take breakfast here seated on a log on the far bank. Once again the rain came and I was soon on the move again. From here the track heads due south steeply uphill. It is a bit of a slog but soon evens out and is very pleasant if quite a long track. I left the river at 8:30 and did not arrive at the Peppercorn Trail until 12:30. 4 hours of reasonably solid going.
From here the trail was soon climbing again up onto the Fiery Range. The higher I climbed the deeper the snow got till it was over a foot deep on the track. I plouged on and down the other side passed a high open area with weather station. On consulting the map later I noticed this was the source of the Murrumbidgee River. The track followed the juvenile stream as it drained the flat but then swung away as it approached Long Plain. Here I decided to take lunch just inside the tree line as it afforded some shelter from the wind that had sprung up. As I dropped my pack I disturbed a brumby grazing nearby. One of many I saw. I ate lunch looking out over the expanse of the plain. The powerlines came in and out of view depending on the movt. of the mist and low clouds.
I pulled my hood down tight as I stepped out onto the plain that looked wild and windswept. Before long I crossed the Murrumbidgee again this time on a substantial bridge. Within a few kilometres it had already become a significant stream. This brought me out onto the Long Plain Rd which I had left just over 24hrs before. I crossed straight over onto McLeods Spur Trail which would be my return route out to the car. This led across the upper plain in what was one of the most scenic sections of the walk. Several good campsites beckoned but all were exposed and I had a lot of ground to cover still. I took afternoon tea amongst the ruins of the old Peppercorn homestead. There is nothing in the way of shelter there now. I drew some water from the creek, crossed the barrier and at 3:30 set off on the final stretch for the day.
This too was very pleasant going at first on the fringe of the open country but before long I was back in the forest and the track started to climb. Soon the snow thickened till it was well over a foot on the track and over a metre off it. It was starting to get dark and I hoped to be able to get the high country behind me before night fall but dark came and I was still high on the flanks of Mt Jackson. There was nothing for it but to make camp in the snow. I found a spot right on the trail where the snow wasn't as deep and set up camp there. I used the water I'd carried from the creek to make dinner and settled down to sleep about 7:30. My socks were wet from the night before and my feet were really cold even in the sleeping bag. This made sleep difficult for quite a while but eventually It overtook me.
I was awake and up before first light because I wanted to be away early as I still had quite a distance to cover. It was over an hour before I dropped below the snowline and for the first time on the trip the clouds lifted and the sun came out shedding beautiful mountain light on the surrounding peaks. At one point the spur narrowed and I had good views into the valley of Peppercorn Ck on my left and the Goodradigbee river on my right. At last the track dropped away steeply and descended for a solid hour to the river. Here the current was flowing fast and waist deep so I decided to take breakfast whilst I got ready. I began to cross just as the sun was striking the river which here runs through a deep gorge. With the aid of a stout staff I made it safely across but it was touch and go.
Once on the other side the track climbs steeply before returning to the river which has to be crossed again. This is the park boundary and there is a sign declaring that fact. There are a couple more crossings before the track bursts out into the clear. The paddocks are overrun with kangaroos and I notice a nature reserve sign on the gate. There is a real assortment of old rusting machinery lined up beside the road including several tractors and lawn mowers?
From here there is one more crossing of the river and then a pleasant wander through farming land till a gate off to the side of the road I had driven in on. From here It was only a short distance back to the car where I arrived at 11:30.
This was a very good excursion in this infrequently visited area. I would estimate the total trip distance at about 100k.
K. **************************************************** Explore a heritage homestead in the high country A visit to the Kosciuszko High Country would not be complete without stopping in at some of the unique heritage huts dotted around this area. Built by pastoralists, stockmen and the Snowy Hydro-electric Authority, these buildings are now recognised as important heritage structures, demonstrating a range of land uses through the history of the region. The Cooleman Plains in Kosciuszko National Park have been used by Aboriginal communities for thousands of years as a summer meeting place, to hunt and gather foods and conduct traditional ceremonies. However, in the 1830s graziers were attracted to the area as it provided summer grazing for sheep and cattle. It was around this time that permanent huts and homesteads started to be built to accommodate the stockmen and their families. Coolamine Homestead Kosciuszko National Park Historic Hut Long Plain The heritage buildings of the Coolamine Homestead large image
Coolamine Homestead is a wonderful example of a heritage homestead and it can be found on the Cooleman Plains in Kosciuszko National Park. It is a rare, surviving example of a permanent pastoral outstation that retains hand built slab buildings and yards.
There are four main buildings to explore at Coolamine Homestead - the Cheese Hut, Campbell House, Southwell House and the Kitchen.
Coolamine Homestead Kosciuszko National Park Long Plain Historic Hut The Cheese Hut features interlocking logs and a thatch ceiling large image
The Cheese Hut was built in 1889 by Thomas Franklin and is one of only a few interlocking log buildings in the high country. It is an unusual form of construction in that it uses whole logs to create thick and solid log walls. This building also features a sapling roof frame and snow grass thatched ceiling. The building was designed to provide a constant internal temperature and a stable environment for storing and maturing dairy products such as cheese. During reconstruction work, the original roof and supporting posts were retained and reconstruction was completed using traditional methods and tools and locally cut timbers.
Coolamin Homestead Kosciuszko National Park Long Plain Heritage Hut Campbell House large image
Dating from around 1892, Campbell House was built for use by pastoralist Frederick Campbell as he was a regular visitor to the Cooleman Plain. The house consists of five rooms and was built entirely of horizontal slabs, which is less common than both whole log and vertical slab construction.
In this type of construction slabs cut from the outside slice of tree trunks are dropped horizontally, one above the other, in between two posts. It gives the outside a horizontally fluted surface, formed by the natural curves of the timber while the inside features smooth, flat walls. In every third panel, there is a door or window. This construction method creates a slightly more sophisticated form of slab hut (because no-one wants to live in an unsophisticated slab hut, right?).
Coolamine Homestead Kosciuszko National Park Long Plain Keritage Hut In this room you can see both the bare timber walls and the walls lined with newspaper large image
The internal walls were lined with newspapers, which served a dual purpose as a form of insulation and decoration, which you can still see today. Some of the newspapers date back to the 1930's, adding another fascinating dimension and an interesting read, to the history of this place.
The roof was insulated with horse hair and had a calico ceiling. The steep pitch of the roof and the absence of gutters in Campbell House was designed to prevent the accumulation of snow during winter. It is interesting to note that it was not until the mid - 1930's that this house was occupied permanently by Mollie and Tom Taylor.
Coolamine Homestead Kosciuszko National Park Long Plain Heritage hut
Southwell House large image
Southwell House was originally built as a two room slab hut around 1885 by lleaseholderTimothy Kelleher. It was later used as a residence for outstation managers during the Southwell occupancy from 1891 - 1908. During this time extensions were made, including another room, sleepout and a verandah. The use of the overlapping vertical slabs in the original construction of this building provided protection from the weather. During the reconstruction, much of the original hut was salvaged.
The kitchen building on the site today, located behind Southwell House, is actually the third to have been built here. The first kitchen, dating from the 1890's was of timber horizontal slab construction, but was destroyed by fire in 1919. A temporary cookhouse was then used until the current building was completed in 1921. This building was later converted to a garage when the main room at Campbell House was used as a kitchen.
Other features of the Homestead include the stockyards, outhouse buildings and an old dray on the site of the old barn and hay shed.
Walking around the grounds, surrounded by mountains, you get a feel for how isolated you are, and can only imagine what life would have been like for the families living in this remote part of New South Wales in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. It is fascinating to learn of their self-sufficiency and how they survived in this remote and harsh landscape. It is also the perfect place for budding photographers to test their skills with the lens.
Coolamine Homestead Kosciuszko National Park
A scenic spot to test your photography skills large image
Coolamine Homestead became part of Kosciuszko National Park in 1977, before then it had been a private holding but had not been permanently occupied for some time. In the 1980s the National Parks and Wildlife Service stabilised and restored the homestead which had deteriorated due to its isolation and through damage by visitors. In the restoration process local timbers, traditional methods and traditional tools, such as adzes and froes, were used.
There are a number of information signs located around the homestead site which provide historical information about the buildings and the area's grazing history.
Coolamine Homestead is located on the Blue Waterholes Trail in Kosciuszko National Park. From the Snowy Mountains Highway, turn off on the Long Plain Road, travel around 17km and turn right on to the Blue Waterholes Trail. Travel around 5.5km to Coolamine Homestead.
It is important to note that the Long Plain Road gates are locked from the end of the long weekend in June to the beginning of the long weekend in October each year. Gates may also be locked at other times due to inclement conditions such as snow or bushfires. ****************************************************
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