The "Australian Alps" are the only peaks in continental Australia that exceed 2,000m above sea-level.
Mt Kosciuszko is the highest mountain at 2,228 meters (7,310 feet) tall.
It is located on the Main Range of the Snowy Mountains in Kosciuszko National Park.
It is sometimes included as one of the "Seven Summits", which are the highest mountain peaks on each continent.
There are higher peaks that exist within territory administered or claimed by Australia. Specifically, Dome Argus in east Antarctica at 4,030 m (13,220 ft) is technically the highest Australian peak, but in mainland continental Australia, Mt Kosciuszko is the highest.
You might ask where did the name "Kosciuszko" came from.
Mount Kosciuszko was named by Polish explorer Paul Strzelecki in 1840 after Tadeusz Kosciuszko, the Polish cultural/political/freedom fighter/military hero. However, Mr. Kosciuszko never came close to setting foot in Australia. It is because explorer Strzelecki thought it looked like the Kosciuszko Mound in Krakow, Poland.
Recently, Indigenous Australian groups have pushed for the use of an Indigenous Australian name for the mountain to go alongside the colonial European name. (If you expand the photos you can see some Indigenous legends in the plaques.)
Our approach to the summit was from the ski resort area of Thredbo.
I must confess, we took the skiers chairlift, Thredbo Kosciuszko Express,
to get us up higher before we started on the 13km return trip to the peak.
(We aren't stupid!)
It is a mountain bikers haven.
The trail started with the rocky granite outcrops of Ramshead Range.
Then the trail crosses the headwaters of the Snowy River,
before climbing above Lake Cootapatamba, Australia’s highest lake.
We walked through Rawson Pass
Joined the track from Charlotte Pass
The majority of the trail is a mesh walkway to protect the native vegetation
and prevent erosion.
They were working on part of the walkway when we went.
At the top
And the other direction
At the top of Mount Kosciuszko (2,228 metres) there are 360 degree panoramic views over the
Snowy Mountains and Victorian High Country .
It wasn't gruelling, but,
I think we could say that John worked for his beer
(and I worked for my apple cider.)
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