Have you ever been tempted to turn off for an adventure on a dusty dirt road? Then Long Plain Road in the northern region of Kosciuszko National Park should be your number one choice, just leave early to embark on a full day of adventure.
Turn off Snowy Mountains Highway and a fork in the road for Port Phillip Trail may be tempting but that is for another day. Continue and take a left detour to Long Plain Hut, your first stop where you will see this wonderful old high-country hut. Also ideal for caravan and camping.
As you venture along Long Plain you are sure to encounter numerous brumbies, often just grazing in the plains. After a lengthy and mostly uninteresting drive, except for power lines, brumbies and crossing the Murrumbidgee River, Cooinbill Hut and campground is to your right. Stop and admire this quaint hut. Each hut also has a signage board and history.
Look for right turn to Blue Water Holes where the landscape changes to a more tree lined narrow road. But it now becomes more interesting.
Coolamine Homestead is just one of the unexpected treasures on this trip, and apart from these classic 1800 built huts, inside you will see the walls lined with old newspapers. If you have the time you can catch up on some old news.
Like a pot of gold at the end of the rainbow, Blue Water Holes is your final stop. Walk, see sign boards and explore as you could spend a good portion of your day here.
Clarkes Gorge Walk, a 2km round trip and the 7km round trip to Nicholls Gorge Walk are a few options. The stepping-stone river crossing will test your balance and past Clarkes Gorge on an unmarked difficult steeper 4km trail you can also hike to Cooleman Waterfall. The signage boards also offer details on exploring the caves near Nicholls Gorge.
In late 2019 the National Parks and Wildlife removed several Brumbies from the Blue Water Holes campgrounds. The wild horses would often be seen licking the fireplaces and roaming through the popular campground.
As with any remote trip, be prepared with water, food, first aid and suitable supplies for your length of stay. For more reading on the area, search high plains area on the nationalparks.nsw.gov.au website.
