FIRST DESCENT OF A SNOWY MOUNTAINS GEM

The Gungarlin River, which really seemed nothing more than a creek in the Snowy Mountains, a tributary to the Snowy River above Jindabyne, had not really come on to my radar in all my years of paddling in the mountains. Little did I realise that it had a lot to offer for the avid creek boater.

It was quite few years ago, and I was down in the Snowy Mountains with my brother Robert and father Peter, for some winter skiing. Unusually warm weather had delivered heavy rain fall across the mountains and the Snowy River was running super high, with all the surrounding creeks and tributary’s also running high. Dad suggested we check out the river section below Island Bend pondage, which is where the junction of the Gungarlin and the Snowy River meet. We stood on the small concrete bridge looking up the Gungarlin River and I couldn’t believe