Jen and I stopped on Tuesday evening at the Polblue Swamp in the Barrington Tops. There are a collection of clear streams here but it was so cold that I refrained from swimming.
Though the timber was a bit wet, we managed to get a stable little fire burning. I used a little gas burner to boil the billy. As the sun sunk, the temperature dropped rapidly and I started putting on extra layers of clothing.
We had been warned by a kind gentleman at the Gloucester visitor's centre that it would be mighty cold up in the mountains. "We're from Canberra; it'll be fine" was our response. Admittedly, I was surprised to find so much ice on the ground in the late afternoon. These icy outcrops were very widespread at the Polblue Swamp.
Though warned that we ought to expect temperatures down to −9 °C, the temperature dipped below even that. In the middle of the night, the thermometer registered −10 °C. Thankfully, Jen and I were using good down bags in our tent. Though the cold did have some surprising effects: the hood of my bag was freezing to the inside surface of the tent, our gas-powered light and stove were not useful as the vapour pressure inside the gas cylinders (70:30, butane/propane) dropped almost to zero, and the camera took one photo and then conked out due to battery problems. That one photo was of Jenny's glasses that iced over during the night.
In the morning, we took the stroll around the swamp and were impressed by the ice-scape.
Here, Jen and I pause to soak up some of the warming sunshine. As our stove was not functional even after our walk, we postponed breakfast and headed west out of the mountains.
