April 23, 2008 The Highest Point in Australia

We got up at around 6:30 again because we wanted to get an early start on climbing Mt. Kosciusko. It is the highest point in Australia. We originally were going to hike 21k but then we decided to pay the $30 for the chair lift and only walk 13 k. which was a Wonderful decision! We were so over hiking by the time 30 k was over however chair lifts are a little scarier when Snow isn’t covering all the rocks and going down was even worse! There is a reason you ski from the top instead of riding the chair lift up and down. It didn’t help that we had two people that were really afraid of heights. But it was so worth it. The view of the Snowy Mountains from the top was great. Our Aussie mates made sure we brought an Australian flag for the photos! We got done at the mountain and we headed back to Doughety which is a town of 52 people and we were going to the pub for dinner. Steve got the time mixed up in his head and thought it was 5:30 when we got there but it was only 4:30 so we went down to the Snowy River for a little while and then headed up to the pub and the group started drinking. The drivers weren’t so happy about not being able to drink when we had an hour to wait until we could even order dinner. So at 6 we order dinner and at 6:30 the cook comes out and tells us that everything is ready to go she is just waiting for the meat delivery so at this point we have been waiting for 2 hours so Steve decides he want’s to drink and I am now the Designated Driver. We finally get our meal at 7:30 and during this time we have been introduced to a couple of the locals and Sly who had the most to drink tells one of them that I am engaged to Steve and this guy goes out and tells all of the good ole boys so when Steve goes outside he was getting congratulated on his engagement and when he tries to correct them they were like Oh you haven’t told your mom yet we understand we won’t tell her, but congrats. And Diane is being hit on by a guy with a wooden leg, and Jacko the Shearer who isn’t ever sober is hitting on Angela ( obviously there is a shortage of Girls in this area) So we leave and I am driving home which was an experience driving on the other side of the road being careful not to hit any kangaroos and being told I should try and hit rabbits. And we get back to Steve’s Grandparents at 8:30 but it felt like 10 or 11 because we had been hiking all day.