Coast and Mountains (aka Rocky Mountain High)

27 November 2022 / Words by Norm Barker. Photos by Norm & Roz Barker, Rod & Maryanne Nicholas

This run took in the treeless high plains, south coast hinterland, which was greener than ever, then the waters of the south coast, where a visiting cruise ship was sighted. We next headed south and then west to the Snowy Mountains and across the top of Australia to the wet inland country.

Due to the expected road conditions the run started as a waypoint run. Five cars headed directly for the first stop at Nimmitabel and the remaining 6 cars met at Hume and left in pairs. It was a beautiful sunny day and some of the potholes had been recently repaired, making our journey a little less stressful. Morning coffee at the Bakery was well received and people headed off in pairs again. 

Morning tea stop at Nimmatabel

There were two one-lane sections on the Brown Mountain, but the traffic was light, and everyone was enjoying the drive.

Road works on the Brown

The countryside was the greenest and wettest we had seen for years. The river at Candelo was down from the level three weeks earlier when I did the reccy. We joined the Princes Highway and drove through Merimbula and on to Pambula, where we were booked in for lunch. Lunch was enjoyable and as usual plenty of conversation. As this was a relaxed run there was no hurry to get to our motel in Eden. A couple of the cars decided to call into the brewery at Pambula and reported later that the brew was acceptable. Arriving at the motel, everyone checked in and got settled before doing their own thing for the afternoon. Some took advantage of the shops being open and some walked to the wharf to see the recent changes.

Dinner was at the Great Southern Hotel, which from the dining room has a great view over the ocean (no whales sighted though). Everyone enjoyed the dinner and time together and we walked the couple of blocks back to the motel.

On Saturday morning some of the early risers took a quick trip down to the wharf to see the newly arrived cruise ship (The Majestic Princess).

Majestic Princess Out in Eden Harbour, gorging tourists

Once we had all checked out it was an easy start at 9:00, and with the roads very quiet we decided to go in convoy. Another sunny day as we headed south past Boydtown to the Imlay Road and across to Bombala. We encountered a motor bike convention here and so divided up to find a café for morning tea. Once everyone had had a break, we headed off to Jindabyne via Dalgety. On the way we passed a large group of new wind generators and some rather broken up sections of road but not too bad, overall.

Turbines on the road to Dalgety

We arrived at Jindabyne about lunch time and parked at the ‘Jindy Inn’. We all went to the shops for lunch and then wandered back to check in. This motel is a boutique style, and the owner is very friendly and welcoming. The rooms have a great view over the lake and are very comfortable. Breakfast was included in the lounge dining area. People did their own thing in the afternoon. A few visited the Wild Brumby Distillery and then the short blast up to Thredbo, which was very busy with walkers and mountain bikers, while some looked around Jindabyne. Roz and I went over to east Jindabyne and The Tyrolean Village which we had passed for the last 47 years but never visited. We all gathered at the Lake Jindabyne Hotel for dinner looking out across the lake.

Sunday morning looked a little overcast but fine to start. There was the obligatory photo of the cars in front of the motel which is now featured on their website. We headed back to Berridale and left on the back road to Adaminaby. This is a scenic quiet drive and apart from one little section the road was good. Morning tea at the bakery was great and the staff of 2 looked after us very well.
Shortly after leaving Adaminaby, it started to rain and then fog set in.

Rain on the Highlands

Followed by fog

Just after Kiandra we spotted some brumbies. On to Tumut at a sedate pace due to the wet road. The rain stopped just before Tumut, and this was the lunch stop at the Royal Hotel. This was the finish of the group run and people made their way home via the road to Gundagai.

Everyone had a very enjoyable weekend with some having driven on a few of the roads for the first time.

Heaps more photos in these links
Photos by Norm & Roz:
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/k92y6qqpaiz8e81/AAC7MawfN1g-igYJsY2i0Hyma?dl=0
Photos by Rod & Maryanne
https://photos.app.goo.gl/4Kpcbz3LTxXo6T5q6