Thredbo in Winter

 

about kosciuszko national park and thredbo

Thredbo is one of a small number of ski resorts permitted in the Kosciuszko National Park, administered by the NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service (NPWS) on behalf of the NSW Government. Kosciuszko National Park (area over 690,000 ha) is one of the largest nature reserves in Australia, the largest and most popular national park in NSW. It extends from south of Tumut/Yarrangobilly all the way to the NSW/Victorian border, and makes up the Australian Alps National Parks with the Victorian snowfields and the ACT mountain parks.

NPWS oversees all activities in the park and manages access to the park via an entrance gateway on the Alpine Way (13km from Thredbo) and a small office in Thredbo. The Thredbo Ski Resort in operated by Kosciuszko Thredbo Pty Ltd  (also referred to as “KT”) a subsidiary of Amalgamated Holdings (AHL) under a lease from the NPWS. For information about the resort see:
www.thredbo.com.au

The National Parks and Wildlife Service requires all vehicles in the Park to have an entry permit displayed on their vehicle. The daily rate (24 hrs) per car for winter 2011 (June long weekend to end of October long weekend) is $27 or $16 throughout the rest of the year. Alternatively, the annual pass is valid for one year from date of purchase and allows you entry into all NSW National Parks.

Kosciuszko National Park is nationally and internationally recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. The alpine area has quite distinct features, with glacial lakes such as Blue Lake, Lake Albina and Hedley Tarn, and large granite boulders dominating the area. The vegetation varies from fields of snow grass and snow daisies, heaths, and alpine bogs. There are a number of walks you can take across the alpine area.

The Kosciuszko National Park contains nine wilderness areas covering about 300,000 hectares, and one wetland area. Its alpine and sub-alpine areas contain rare plant species found nowhere else in the world, and are also home to the rare mountain pygmy possum and corroboree frog. For further information about the park’s unique values, see:
www.environment.nsw.gov.au

Recreational activities that are encouraged in the Kosciuszko National Park, in addition to snowsports, include: canoeing, camping, cycling, horse-riding, walking and fishing, making it a year-round attraction. Most of these activities can be pursued readily at, or from, Thredbo.