Table of Contents
Snowy Mountains, NSW
see also:
- southern coast of NSW - the Sapphire Coast - Merimbula
Wild brumby mob on Long Plain plateau
introduction
- Note there are park entry fees for those accessing the NP on the Alpine Way (eg. $17/car per 24hrs excl winter) - snow chains required after snow and should be carried June-Oct, but snow can occur any time of year!
- Mt Kosciuszko is the highest mountain in Australia but the Snowy Mountains are quite rounded and so the summit appears more of a underwhelming hill rather than the dramatic slopes of Victoria's Mt Feathertop.
- the parks are known for their wild brumbies (and also alpine dingoes)
- most streams flow all year but water should be treated to make it potable
- eastern side snow melt runs into the Snowy River which runs over 400km south to the Gippsland coastline of Victoria at Marlo over 400km
- camping:
- bush camping is not permitted within water catchment areas, within 30m of streams, or within 200m of public roads
- collecting firewood or cutting trees is illegal
- do not bury any rubbish - take it all with you even a small piece of tin foil can kill an animal, while orange peels take a long time to degrade
- popular National Park summer sites include:
- Tom Groggin, 24 km west of Thredbo on the Alpine Way, is a large area on the banks of the Murray.
- Geehi flats, 31 km south of Khancoban on the Alpine Way, is on the site of the former Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric camp beside Swampy Plain River but no water here?
- Old Geehi campground - set right on Swampy Plains River, this secluded campground is a beautiful, peaceful place to pitch your tent, drive through the Geehi camp ground and ford the river but need a 4WD for the track, alternatively, access via Geehi Walls trail from the Alpine Way, then turn south at the 1st intersection, ?roads are too boggy to access after rains
- Three Mile Dam, near the Mount Selwyn skifields in the north of the park, provides good high altitude camping. The dam was constructed in 1883 to sluice ore for gold at the nearby Kiandra goldfields. Trout fishing is now the major attraction.
- Talbingo and Blowering Reservoirs provide exposed camping with splendid views over the water.
- further off the beaten track, consider the Cooleman Mountain or Blue Waterholes camping areas
- Ghost Gully hidden off Long Plain Road at jnction of two creeks but popular with horse riders
- O'Hares at Talbingo with lake views and boat ramp
- Old Snowy camp ground near Tantangara reservoir said to be good for astronomy and horses, invigorating valley views, lies alongside Gurrangorambla Creek in the northern (Currango/Tantangara) precinct
- The Pines at Blowering reservoir
- Humes Crossing campground east shore of Blowering dam
- Yolde campground near Blowering dam
- Yarrangobilly Village campground located beside historic Cotterill’s Cottage
- Wares Yards campground - not far from Tantangara Dam, offers an ideal base to explore the area, including Boggy, Nungar, and Kellys Plains
- Cooinbil Hut campground looking out over treeless Long Plain and the headwaters of Murrumbidgee River
- Ngarigo campground on the banks of Thredbo River
- these sites are free and no booking is available
- commercial camp grounds outside the park include:
- Tumbarumba Creek Caravan Park
- River Glade - Tumut
- Kosciuszko Mountain Retreat - 15km from Jindabyne
- Snowy Wilderness Resort near Jindabyne
- Rainbow pines Old Adaminaby near lake Eucumbene
- gold was discovered at Kiandra in 1859
- much of the park was logged for alpine ash from 1860's to early 1900's.
- alpine wildflowers are at their best in Jan-Feb but there is always something in flower other than in winter
- the 672km Australian Alps Walking Track (AAWT) runs from Walhalla in Victoria, across the Victorian Alps and then across the Snowy Mountains and finishing at Namadgi Visitor Centre
vegetation and animals
- above the treeline of about 1800-1850m:
- vegetation is mainly alpine herb fields and mosses although some mountain plum pines can be found. Very few birds or animals live in this zone permanently other than a few snakes (copperheads, eastern brown and white-lipped snakes - assume ALL are venomous and deadly), lizards, pigmy possums, alpine funnel web spiders, wolf spiders, some insects (such as alpine ants), and little ravens and the occasional wombat. Insects and birds become much more plentiful in spring including millions of Bogong moths which migrate from warmer climates in the north to seek cool, dark crevices above 1700m. In spring a mass migration of wasps, flies and moths which can last a week, leave the mountains an travel south over Dead Horse Gap.
- above the snowline (~1450m) up to the treeline:
- this is the subalpine zone where vegetation types are dependent upon microclimates and fires with alpine ash, snow gums, stunted shrubs and heaths.
- Cold Air Drainage shrub and herbfield frost hollow landscapes occur in the Subalpine and uppermost Montane forest areas and have inverse tree lines. Long, Currango and Tantangara Plains in the northern part of Kosciuszko National Park are typical of these cold air drainage upper Montane landscapes and many of the pastoral huts are located around the edges of these or similar plains.
- typically the huts have a northeast orientation to catch early morning sun and are located at the edges of forests near creek lines for protection from westerly winds, the nightly cold air drainage and to provide for easy water and firewood collection (now illegal)
- below the snowline down to 900m:
- montane forests begin dominated by tall wet sclerophyll forests of alpine ash, mountain gums, manna (ribbon) gums, candlebarks, black sallees, and wolly tea trees with some snow gums, while in moist gullies, a dense understorey of tree ferns, fungi, mosses and lichens grow. The endangered Southern Corroboree frog is only found above 1300m. Most animals and birds in the park live in this zone.
- below 900m:
- this is the lowland zone of dry sclerophyll forests and patches of stunted cypress pine while tea trees flourish near the creeks and wattles in the woodlands.
Tumut region
- Tumut is 203km north of Wondonga taking just over 2hrs by car via the Hume Hway and is on the northern end of the Snowy Mountain Hwy
- it is 65km or 53min drive north of Tumbarumba
- Yarrangobilly Caves are 76km south and take just over 1hr drive
- alternatively, one could drive to Canberra via the gravel Wee Jasper Rd from Tumut which is 70km to Wee Jasper (1.3hrs) and a total of 152km or 2.6hrs to Canberra (compared to 2hr 10min and 194km via the more circuitous highway north of the range via Gundagai and Yass)
- gold mining heritage - gold rush towns include Batlow, Adelong and Kiandra (town no longer exists but ruins remain)
- Warogong Sugarloaf walk
- 10.4km return, 4.5hrs, mod; 450m ascent and descent
- Thomas Boyd Track Head
- The Hole - 13km return, 5hrs, mod ~400m ascent and descent
Talbingo region walks
- Blowering Cliffs walk
- 4.8km, 1.5hrs, mod. 250m ascent and descent
- Blowering Basin walk
- 3.4km, 1.5hrs easy, 200m ascent and descent
- Buddong Falls
- 2.4km return, 1hr, mod. 200m steep descent (slippery when wet) and ascent back to nearly 2000m altitude
- both roads into Buddong Falls are unsuitable for 2WD vehicles
- Jounama Creek walk
- 6km return, 2hrs easy 80m ascent and descent
- Old Mountain Road walk
- 8.2km return, 3hr, mod. 500m ascent and descent
- Landers Falls Lookout and Big Talbingo
- 20.8km return, 7hrs, mod. total of ~700m ascent and descent
- Bogong Wilderness
- 41.4km return, 2 days, mod. total of ~900m ascent and descents
- Vickerys Hut
- 5.2km return, 2hrs, mod. 180m descent then ascent
Tumbarumba region
- Tumbarumba is an excellent base on the western side of the mountains
- it is some 4.5hrs drive from Melbourne via the Hume
- alternate back roads access from Bright in the Victorian snowfields via Yackandandah or Gundowring takes around 3hrs and is 227km, although it is quicker but longer via the Hume (248km and just under 3hrs)
- 109km or 1.3hrs south-east from city of Wagga Wagga
- TumbaFest - last weekend in Feb
- Man From Snow River Bush Festival (MFSR) - usually Easter
- Paddys River Falls
- free camping at Paddys River Falls Camping Area 28km south of Tumbarumba
- Sugar pine walk in Bago forest via Kopsons rd
- Blowering Dam
- Yarrangobilly caves, thermal springs and camp grounds
- Cabramurra - Australia's highest town at 1488m and was established for the Snowy Mtns Hydroelectric Scheme in 1954 using prefabricated houses, the town was moved 500m in 1974 to a more sheltered location with new houses built from bessa blocks, and the original site is now a lookout. Only workers for the company running the Tumut 2 power station are permitted to live there. There is a short airstrip nearby. Annual rainfall 1700mm.
- accommodation:
- Tumbarumba River Caravan Park
- McPhersons Alpine Retreat
alpine circuit road from Tumbarumba
- from Tumbarumba you can do an alpine circuit road which will take 4hrs plus sightseeing:
- heading north through Bago Sate Forest to Batlow (30mins) then south-east for 27km on a winding road to Talbingo and Blowering Dam will take 45min
- then turn right onto the Snowy Mountains Hway and pass through Yarrangobilly Village (free camp site and access to Long Plain to the east) and to Yarrangobilly Caves and thermal springs a total of 37km more taking a further 40 minutes for a total from Tumbarumba of just under 2hrs and 102km
- one can then head south via the Selwyn Snowfields to Cabramurra, Australia's highest town some 40km and 45min drive
- from Cabramurra, one can then head north-west via Goat Ridge Rd/Elliott Way to Paddys River Falls turn off (free camping near there) 55km taking just under 1hr (optionally for a much extended circuit drive further south to Tumut Pond Reservoir and the summer access Swampy Plains Creek Rd back to the Alpine Way near Khancoban)
- from the falls turn off back to Tumbarumba is a final 14km taking some 11min
Long Plain
- closed in winter
- Long Plain Hut, Cooinbil Hut, Coolamine Homestead, Blue Waterholes camping area with an amazing karst landscape of small caves and gorges such as Clarke Gorge or Nicole Gorge
- 70,000 hectares at 1200m altitude of treeless frost grass plains stretching 20km from Peppercorn Hill to Rules Point in the south where cold air flowing from the higher slopes becomes trapped (nighttime temperatures have even fell to -25degC here) and causes an “inverted tree line”
- >1hr, 20km gravel corrugated road (not suitable for caravans past the 17km point) to Cooleman /mountain camping area then further 3km to Cooleman Homestead (restored) and a further 2.5km to Magpie Flat camping area which is near the start of the Jennings walks of this limestone karst region formed 440mya under sea which were uplifted 40mya:
- Blue Waterholes to Clarkes Gorge walk
- 5km 1.5hrs easy grade return walk - but care is needed after rain
- Blue Waterholes is the largest karst spring in Australia, the water has a strong blue colour as a result of the minerals dissolved from the limestone
- Cave Creek Waterfall and nice waterhole past Barber's Cave but march flies and snakes can be problematic
- Nichols Gorge Circuit walk
- 6.7km 2hr mod. grade walk (more time if cautiously explore caves with torch and non-slip footwear)
- Cooleman Cave
- Murray Cave
- 31km gravel drive up Port Phillip Trail to:
- Old Currango walk (at 15.6km mark)
- 1873 Currango Homestead; 9.2km, 3hr easy return
- then via Pocket Saddles Rd to:
- Leura Gap walk - 27km, 9hr return hard walk
- Bimberi Peak walk - 21.2km, 8hr, return hard walk
Clarkes Gorge
Cooliman Homestead in morning fog
Yarrangobilly Caves
- 6km unsealed road and entry fees apply
- accommodation in lodge or nearby camp grounds
- Yarrangobilly caves - self-guided tours (South Glory cave only) open 9.30am, guided tours of other caves - see times
- Landers Falls Lookout - 10km 2.5-3hr return walk from 2WD carpark or 1.6km return from 4WD carpark with steep section
- Glory Hole Farm and River Walk - 3.3km, 1.5hr easy, 100m descent then ascent
- thermal pool, homestead, cemetery, river
- Bluff Lookout circuit - 2.3km, 1hr easy
- Castle Cave - 2.6km, 1hr easy
Yarrangobilly
- just under 3hrs drive from Canberra via either Hume Hwy to north, or slightly quicker and shorter route via Monaro Hwy and Cooma to the south
- Jounama Homestead Ruins walk - 15.7km return, 5hr easy grade
- Talbingo Reservoir Viewpoint walk
- 12.6km return, 4.5hrs, mod grade - cliff line 500m above water
- 200m descent and ascent
Kiandra
- gold discovered in 1859
- Kiandra Heritage Trail - 1.2km return, 30min easy
- Kiandra Plain - 7km return, 2.5hrs mod
- Gooandra Homestead - 10km return, 3hrs, easy
- Blue Creek Coppermine - 21.5km return, 8hrs, mod ~700m descent and ascent
Selwyn snowfields
- Mount Selwyn Ski Resort
- Elaine Mine walk - 16.2km return, 5hrs mod. total ~200m ascent, descent
- Cabramurra Plateau walk - 6.3km, 2hrs, easy.
- Goldseekers Track - 3km 1hr easy
Jagungal Wilderness
- Black Jack and Manjar - 19.8km, 6hr return, mod. ~350m descent and ascents
- Jagungal Wilderness - 66.8km return, 4 days, hard, ~150m descent and ascent
- Southern Cloud crash site - 15.2km return, 5hrs, mod.~200m descent and ascent
- Snakey Plain and Wheelers Hut - 16.4km return, 5hrs, mod. ~600m ascents and descents
Khancoban region
- 76km south of Tumbarumba (1hr drive)
- 149km east of Wodonga via Lake Hume, Tallangatta, Burrowa-Pine Mountain NP and Corryong taking just under 2hrs
- 466km and 5hrs drive from Melbourne
- situated on the Alpine Way which further south takes one to:
- Scammells lookout
- Geehi Hut
- Kosciuszko
- Tom Groggin
- Dogman Hut camp area
- Murray Gorge
- then eastwards across the mountain range to Thredbo and then to Jindabyne (see below)
Jindabyne region
- on the south-east part of the Snowy Mountains next to Lake Jindabyne
- can access either:
- west to Khancoban (see above)
- northwest to Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass and Mt Kosciuszko
- on Alpine Way towards Thredbo:
- Bullocks Track walk to Thredbo Diggings from Bullocks Hut (1934) - 4.6km return, 1,5hrs easy but mountain bikes!
- via Kosciuszko Rd towards Perisher Valley:
- from Kosciuszko Mountain Retreat 14km from Jindabyne:
- Waterfall Walk - 5.5km, 1.5hrs, mod. 180m ascent/descent, views over Jindabyne
- Pallaibo and Sawpit Falls - 11.2km return, 3hrs, easy 250m descent, ascent
- Rennix walk - 11km return, 3.5hrs, easy, crosses a 10,000yr old bog
- Rainbow Lake - 3km return, 1hr easy
- south via Barry Way to Pilot / Cobberas Wilderness Area
- The Pilot - 43km, 3days, mod. ~700m total ascent, descent
- northeast to Lake Eucumbene and Snowy Plains and the Snowy Mountain Hway via Adaminaby, Kiandra north-west to Yarrangobilly
- east to the cold, flat Monaro tableland elevation ~800m to Cooma then north to Canberra
Thredbo village walks
- Crackenback chairlift runs even in summer and will save you a 595m ascent!
- Mount Kosciuszko summit walk
- 12.4km return (after catching the Crackenback chairlift to the top station), 4hrs mod. 300m ascent to 2228m (highest in Australia) and descent, elevated walkway
- Rams Head, Rawson Pass circuit
- 11.5km, 5hrs, mod. 200m ascent and descent; stunning views from ridge, mass blooms in Spring
- Dead Horse Gap, Thredbo River
- 9.1km (after catching the Crackenback chairlift to the top station), 2.5hrs, mod. 600m descent
- Merrits Nature Track
- 3.8km (after catching the Crackenback chairlift to the top station), 1.5hrs, mod. 500m steep descent
- Southern Main Range Circuit incl. Mount Kosciuszko summit
- 50.9km, 4 days, hard
- The Chimneys
- 16.1km, 5hr, mod. 250m steepish ascent and descent, but nice views
- Riverside golf course 1hr stroll
- Meadows Nature Track - 3.2km circuit
- Thredbo Village Walk - steep, winding streets of eclectic architecture
Perisher Valley and Charlotte Pass
- Snow Gums boardwalk from Charlotte Pass Lookout - 0.5km return, paved walk to another lookout
- Porcupine Rocks - 5.4km return, 2hrs, easy, 200m ascent, descent, spectacular granite boulders
- Blue Lake - 10km return, 3hrs, mod. total 400m ascent, descent, but very popular
- Blue Lake, Club Lake circuit - 13.1km, 4.5hrs, mod. total 400m ascent, descent, more adventurous than just Blue Lake
- Mount Stilwell - 3.6km return, 1.5hrs, easy 200m ascent and descent
- Charlotte Pass, Main Range, Rolling Ground, Munyang
- 29.7km, 2 days, hard, ~600-700m total ascent, descent
- from Guthega Power Station / Munyang:
- Whites River Hut, Rolling Ground, Dicky Cooper Bogong
- 26.3km, 2 days, hard, ~800m total ascent, descent
- Brassy Mountains, Mawsons Hut, Kerries Ridge circuit
- 40.6km, 3 days, hard, ~700m total ascent, descent
- Guthega, Mount Tate, Tate East Ridge circuit
- 12.9km, 5hrs, mod. ~600m total ascent, descent
History
- early 1800's sheep graziers given pastoral grazing licences from 1836 onwards, then settlers occupied the Monaro tablelands and the sheep then grazed the summer grasses of the ranges
- a small village developed at elevation 918m where a bridge had been built across the Snowy River and this was settled mainly by the Irish and became known as Jindabyne
- in 1859, a small gold rush occurred at the south end of Long Plain when alluvial gold was discovered at Kiandra
- Norwegian gold miners started snow skiing and formed the first snow ski club perhaps in the world in 1861
- the winter ski industry would develop when the gold soon ran out
- 1909, NSW Govt opened the Hotel Kosciusko at Diggers Creek, high on the road above Jindabyne to create an alpine tourist trade and this ran a coach service which made it reachable from both Sydney and Melbourne - this hotel burned down in 1951
- 1930, the NSW Govt builds the chalet at Charlotte Pass, further in and higher up at 1760m elevation and this allowed tourists to walk to the summit of Mt Kosciusko
- 1944, NSW declares the ~500,000 hectare Kosciusko State Park which gradually phased out grazing
- post WWII, several problems arose:
- Australia was too reliant upon its wool industry needed to ramp up its manufacturing and other industries
- Australia needed to find work for the 100,000's of war immigrants from Europe who were arriving by ship
- Australia needed more electricity to manage the above
- the main water irrigation supply - the Murray - Darling system was regularly running dry
- the snow melt waters were essentially being wasted down the Snowy River where few people could benefit from it
- hence the plan to divert the waters west from both the Snowy and the Upper Murrumbidgee Rivers via tunnels through the Snowy Mountains and at the same time gain hydro-electric power from it - the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electric Scheme (16 major dams, 7 power stations - 2 built underground, 145km tunnels, 80km of aqueducts and pipelines and 2 pumping stations) was developed after the Act passed Commonwealth parliament in 1949 on the grounds of national security over-riding the State jurisdictions which “owned” the waterways - the authorising govt lost office within 4 months of authorising it but the project went ahead. Hudson was appointed as Commissioner (which he held for 18 years) and immediately went to work recruiting workers from Europe - from any country that would release them - over 100,000 workers from 30 countries would be employed (some were POW on assisted passage and required 2 years of directed labour to complete), and told to forget their nationalities and the war. The project took 25 years to complete and cost $800m in 1950 currency and 121 workers died. The town of Cooma flourished as it was the head quarters for the scheme. Cabramurra was a village built on a ridge at 1488m elevation to accommodate the workers became the highest town in Australia.
- 1950: Charles Anton, an Austrian businessman from Sydney, founds the Kosciusko Alpine Club, in 1957, secured a lease in the valley for 670m of continuous fall for ski lifts at Thredbo, Perisher on the other side would also soon be developed
- 1950's: the Alpine Way construction route was created between Khancoban and Jindabyne
- 1955, 1st power generated from the scheme
- 1956-57: the small town of Old Adaminaby was compulsorily acquired and ~100 of its buildings relocated to make way for the massive new Lake Eucumbene dam
- early-mid 1960's: Jindabyne village is relocated in a similar way as with Old Adaminaby and furnished with electricity, sewage, water and made roads (these may not have made it to some other rural villages for another 30 years) - all the remnants were destroyed and burnt and after 1967, Lake Jindabyne filled and flooded the area of old Jindabyne - the flows to the Snowy River below it were reduced to 1% of previous flows causing much issues with those in Victoria as they watched their river die
- NSW now had a functioning winter ski industry with 3 centres: Thredbo, Perisher and Charlotte Pass - all within 30min drive of Jindabyne
- 1967, it becomes the Kosciusko National Park
- 1974, Hydro-electric scheme project is completed
- 1980's Jindabyne expands for the new winter tourism or thin summer trade of trout fishing
- 1987: privately funded 8.5km rail tunnel “Sky Tube” opens to address the risk of road closures during winter and runs from Bullock's Flat on the Alpine Way (1130m) up to Perisher Valley and onto Blue Cow at 1800m and would open a new ski area at Blue Cow in 1988
- late 1980's: snow making machines installed
- 1995: merger of the Perisher Valley ski resorts after purchased by Vale Resorts of Colorado
- 1997: Thredbo Village landslide catastrophe killing 18 people - a trapped ski instructor was rescued alive after over 65hrs - the only person recovered alive - the apparent result of a leaking water main on inadequately engineered road backfill decades earlier
- 2002: Govt agrees to return “environmental flows” to the Snowy River with target of ~21% of original flows
- 2003: major bushfires burn through the Snowy Mountains
- 2017: Snowy 2.0 project announced by PM Malcolm Turnbull to link to reservoirs Tantagara and Talbingo via 27km new tunnels and an underground power station designed to store energy by pumping water up hil when power is cheap and releasing it again when the grid needs it - unfortunately the tunneling has not gone well
- 2019/2020: major bushfires burn through the Snowy Mountains
- 2020's: the cost of skiing there is now not competitive with a flight to Japan and its ski fields which are more reliable with better snow quality and quantity, and this is becoming a bigger issue with constantly reducing snow falls in Australia due to climate warming - many Australian ski resorts may soon not have a viable industry
- Jindabyne is now looking at mountain bike tracks, longer hiking tracks and sailing to offset the winter issues but Snowy 2.0 worker accommodation is limiting tourist accommodation capacity