00:00The Snowy Mountains. They're Australia's Alps. A white wonderland in winter. Outstanding
00:07wilderness in summer. They're also surrounded by charming and pretty towns, like Tumut.
00:19Set on the slope of a valley with the wandering Tumut River on one side, and the foothills
00:24of the Snowy Mountains on the other, Tumut has four distinctive seasons. Right now, Tumut
00:33is currently draped in its autumn foliage. The poplars and willow trees that were planted
00:42here by early settlers turned summer and autumn in Tumut into one of the most striking displays
00:48of colour in Australia. These deciduous trees are thriving in the area, and locals say
01:08Tumut's altitude and climate have a lot to do with it. So if the town is ablaze with
01:17such colour, why not celebrate with a festival? What celebration would be complete without
01:24a parade? It's the highlight of the Falling Leaf Festival, a colourful collection of Tumut's
01:35community groups, schools, local businesses and industries, participating to celebrate
01:42the spectacular display of autumn colours in Tumut. Down Tumut's main street they move.
01:49So many of them, it takes more than an hour for them to pass by. The Tumut Festival also
01:56attracts some of Australia's best bluegrass musicians, who can be seen jamming in the
02:01central park. Close by, their flows a small but much heralded river, the Tumut River.
02:29This flows along the edge of Tumut, and is renowned for some of Australia's best trout
02:35fishing. Its waters carry both brown and rainbow trout, attracting fly fishermen from all over
02:45the world. One local fisherman who has represented Australia all over the world is Geoff Naylor.
02:55It's an exercise in patience in these cold waters, but over the course of a morning Geoff
03:06reels in several trout. Just an hour and a half south of Tumut, you can drive up into the massive
03:18Alpine National Kosciuszko Park. When the first snow of the season starts to fall, we stop at
03:24the settlement of Karango, a must-see. The twisted snow gums are covered with snow and
03:45thriving. This is the only native tree in Australia that can survive above 1800 metres.
03:51Local historian and author Harry Hill explains that this old homestead of Karango was built in
03:58the 1900s. The homestead had many outer buildings, with people living here having
04:05to sustain themselves. Living in the mountains meant difficult and sometimes inaccessible roads
04:13to town, with bad weather and a limited food supply. The huts were built by stockmen,
04:20miners and fishermen. They were also used by the Snowy Mountains Hydroelectric Authority,
04:27who studied how best to collect water from the melting snow and rain in the mountains.
04:31Many of these huts have been lost through fire and decay, but around 120 of them still remain.
04:51The red breast of the Scarlet Robin contrasts starkly against the freshly fallen snow.
04:58Higher sits a Kookaburra, contemplating his new surroundings. Hopping blissfully on a snowbank,
05:10a descendant of the European rabbits introduced by early settlers. Today,
05:15they're considered Australia's biggest pest. But it's the big mobs of kangaroos
05:24that are really fascinating. These are Eastern Greys, best known for their ability to survive
05:35in hot and hardy conditions across eastern Australia. So to find them thriving in the
05:42freezing cold conditions of the Australian Alps is a surprise. It speaks volumes for
05:52their ability to handle a wide range of temperatures and conditions. This early
06:00snow has fallen a month before winter officially starts, and while this fall is likely to melt
06:05within days, in four weeks time there'll be permanent snow on the ground for at least
06:10three months. Resilient they are, these Eastern Greys, able to dig deep into the snow to find
06:21grass to eat. It's a marvel of adaptation. Ten to twelve centimetres of glistening snow
06:39on the ground is a perfect coating to explore the region south of Karango by horseback.
06:50This is Man from Snowy River Country. Pioneering, hard-riding mountain men provided inspiration
06:57for this famous poem. Horse riding has always been a way of life for people living in the
07:02snowies. We're in the saddle with a group of riders who'll spend the next week crossing
07:11the high country. It's a magnificent experience. On their way they encounter a mob of wild
07:28Brumbies. The Brumbie is Australia's wild horse, and is an important part of Australia's
07:39folklore and heritage. The snowy wilderness is a sanctuary for them, and they roam freely
07:48on the high country's grazing lands, but also live and cope well in the snow. Further up
07:58the snowy mountains, on the edge of the park, sits this grand building. Urangabili Caves
08:08House. It's surrounded by some 60 limestone caves, the four biggest of which are open
08:15to the public. The limestone that these caves are made of was formed from the shells and
08:21skeletons of sea animals laid down before the area rose 1,200 metres above sea level
08:27around 40 million years ago. The Urangabili River has forged a valley over 200 metres
08:34deep through the belt of limestone, forming the caves that visitors can explore today.
08:41Inside the caves, there's a bizarre web of limestone formations. The Jillabean Cave is
08:49over 3 million years old. When rainwater falls over a cave and trickles through the rocks,
08:56it picks up carbon dioxide and minerals from the limestone. This solution, called calcite,
09:04travels through the rock to reach the edge and continues to grow as a stalactite. These
09:09white stalactite straws come from the white limestone, and the brown coloured ones from
09:15iron oxide that filters down through the caves. Bushfires throughout the decades have left
09:21their mark too. The wonderful thing is that these formations are still growing, but ever
09:26so slowly. Only about 3 centimetres every century. Further west around Tumbarumba is
09:38prime cattle country. These cattle are being rounded up by a man who both musters for a
09:44living and runs public performances at his Boggy Creek property to show off his skills.
09:50Meet Tim O'Brien. Years in the saddle means Tim has developed a healthy range of tricks. He's
10:00perfected superb handling skills with his prized horses. Today he demonstrates how he can ride
10:06without using his hands, controlling his horse with gentle pressure applied through his legs.
10:11Cracking the stock whip is another of Tim's skills. Today he cuts the stems of a number of
10:19flowers. There is other farm animals. Rover the pet pig. The miniature ponies that race
10:35with puppet jockeys. And Ralph the Kelpie, rounding up sheep, even running across their
10:44backs, all part of his duties. Time to take a well-earned bow as we end our visit to the
10:53splendour of southern New South Wales, known as the Alpine country of Australia.
