Post 3/7 in our Australia blog series
It’s easy to pigeon hole Australia as a beach destination. The sand along the Legendary Pacific Coast or the Great Ocean Road is fantastic, and it’s easy to get obsessed with the surf. If you’re not in love with the feeling of grit between your toes and prefer the clean upland air, then read on. We recommend you ditch the sandals for the hiking boots and get exploring!
Just a short drive to the south of Canberra are the quite brilliantly named Snowy Mountains. The setting for this adventure. Their name is, however, only really accurate for 4 months of the year. The skiing season here starts in June and runs to the end of September. The rest of the year the temperatures rarely drop below 10˚C and often peak around a pleasant 20˚C. The experiences you will have in this region will be very different depending on the time of year you visit. This doesn’t mean that there is any less to do when the winter sports are not on offer though. The area is perfectly suited to adventurous travellers that want to get out there and discover something new.
The thing about areas of natural beauty is that other people like to go there too! This is a problem. People are a source of rubbish, pollution and big new developments. Luckily there are initiatives out there embracing tourists and transforming them into sustainable citizens through education. Perfect! The Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre in Cooma is one such marvellous place. Entry to the centre is free of charge and should be on everyone’s to do list. The centre showcases the work of the Snowy Mountains scheme that was set up in 1949 and involves local hydroelectricity and irrigation.
If you travel north from Cooma on the Snowy Mountains highway, you will reach the Yarrangobilly Caves in the Kosciuszko National Park. As you drive up the highway you will pass Lake Eucumbene, which is well worth dipping off the main road just to pause at. Lake Eucumbene will be familiar to you as it is the largest reservoir in the Snowy Mountain scheme. This will give you a nice opportunity to see some examples of what you have learnt at the discovery centre. The lake is a popular spot for fishermen with both rainbow and brown trout to be caught. The fishing in this lake is so good that it was commemorated with a 10 meter high fibreglass trout, aptly named ‘The Big Trout’, being erected in the nearby town of Adaminaby. ‘The Big Trout’ is a tourist attraction on its own, and a perfect photo spot if you find that you are passing Adaminaby.
Ah, we have digressed. Back to the Yarrangobiliy Caves which was our real reason to venture down the Snowy Mountains highway. The caves vary in age from millions to hundreds of thousands of years old and there are three main show caves that you can visit. There is only one self-guided tour cave and the other two have regular guided tours running through them. The limestone caves offer a real contrast to the beach culture that is so prominent in most of the major tourist locations and you can get a real sense of natural history as you explore them.
If you do venture into the Snowy Mountains during the winter months and fancy some skiing then there are four resorts to choose from. Perisher is by far the largest and Selwyn Snowfields is perfect for families so we would recommend either one of these two. Make sure you book your lift passes online before you go because you can save up to $70 for a week’s lift pass. There are regular lessons so beginners and experienced skiers are equally catered for. For more details check out our Australia Travel Guide.
We hope our ideas for a day off the beach have given you the inspiration to try something less mainstream when you visit Australia. All of this is just a short drive from Canberra so try to fit it into your itinerary when you are planning your trip. Why don’t you get a car hire quote now to help with your budgeting?
