Spring on the South Coast and the Snowies
08 December 2024 / Story: Bob & Linda Downing, Bill Short, Keith Monaghan; Photos: Bob & Linda Downing
Day 1
4 cars met in Milton at The Heritage Bakery and left with the intention of having morning tea at Mossy Point boat ramp which ended as lunch at Grumpies in Mogo, followed by a mooch around. The mooching continued in Central Tilba where we helped the local economy at the lolly shop and small bar. Onwards to Bermagui where we were met by our Canberra friends, another 5 cars. After a chill out and fivesies, the ladies of the group decided that it was too chilly to have Pizza on the lawn and decided that the local club was the place to go. A wise choice everyone later agreed.
Day 2
Our run commenced at an ungodly (for some who are not early risers) at 9am when we left the motel in convoy. It was a warm and windy start to the day and most MX5’s had their tops down. It was a scenic but uneventful run south through Tathra and Merimbula and then across to Candelo where we stopped for morning tea with the flies and locals who were impressed with our little cars.
Having survived morning tea, the flies and questions from the locals, we split into two groups for a more spirited top down run up the hill with the Canberra mob leading. Ah, good to have radios as not long after the lead pack set of it sounded like a wrong turn message coming from the radio. Forewarned, our group took the same wrong turn a short time later.
We had a mostly uneventful run up the Mount Darragh Road to Bombala via Wyndham. Most of us had lunch at Cosmo Café followed by a brief walk around in the heat, swatting the flies, to stretch our legs and take advantage of shopping opportunities.
We continued as two groups along the next section of the run along the Monaro Highway and Snowy River Way to our next way stop just outside Dalgety and beside the Snowy Mountain River. Thankfully there were not quite so many flies here. It was very calming listening to the babbling water and cicadas.
Waving goodbye to the flies, we combined groups for a relaxing run to Jindabyne where we settled into the Jindy Inn Motel. The Motel people were very accommodating and made a room available for our pre-dinner social gathering. Yep, lots of stories told there. There was a short walk to the Jindabyne Hotel for dinner on the balcony, with the lake in the background. Excellent food, a glass or two, more stories and people drifted back to the motel in due course in preparation for tomorrow's adventure.
Day 3:
Around the block.
The day started bright and sunny with predictions of temperatures reaching into the 30s, which started early with the air conditioning needed. Nine cars gathered together to start the trip around the block. We left the accommodation at around 9:00 and drove through Jindabyne out across the dam on our way north.
After passing through East Jindabyne we came across what might be, due to the weather, a not so suitable event of riding a bicycle through the hills north of Jindabyne. After overtaking these, it was on to Berridale and we were surprised not to see a radar trap in town. At the end of town we took a left turn towards Adaminaby.
The group travelled through some very scenic countryside until we reached the Snowy Mountains Highway. We continued to Adaminaby where a stop was taken for refreshments.
Next, it was into the Kosciusko National Park through the historic gold mining town of Kiandra. Kiandra is the home of the first recreational ski field in Australia and the longest running ski club in the world, both starting in 1861. A little way down the road we took a left turn onto the link road. This took us past Three Mile Dam and onto the intersection at Goat Ridge Rd. We turned onto Goat Ridge Rd and continued to Cabramurra for short stop to take in the views and some photos. Having not been to Cabramurra for several years it was surprising to see the damage bushfires had done to the town and the surrounding bush.
From there it was on to Khancoban with a photo stop at Tumut Pond Dam. The country is very rugged here and it makes you think how hard it was building the Snowy Mountains Scheme. We arrived at Khancoban for a lunch stop and enjoyed a break from our cars and discussions with our cohort. After replenishing our energies, we took the Alpine Way heading back towards Jindabyne.
This section of road winds further South before turning north at Tom Groggin. This is rugged country and the road showed this as we wound our way through the Great Dividing Range under the shadow of Mount Kosciuszko. Just before Thredbo we stopped at Dead Horse Gap for another photo opportunity and then continued on our way down the mountain and back to our accommodation in Jindabyne.
This around the block trip was a short 350 kilometres across some of the most spectacular country Australia. It was enjoyed by all who did the run.
To finish a great day, we walked to the Jindabyne Brewery for a drink, some dinner and discussions on the day’s and tomorrow’s events.
Day 4
The start of our homebound journey took us in the reverse direction from Jindabyne to Khancoban which we had travelled the previous afternoon. A quick stop in Khancoban to recover some lost property and we were on our way to Corryong for a final morning tea stop. Following this, the Canberra contingent departed for home. The rest of us continued on to Tumbarumba for lunch at the bakery and then to Gundagai for the night. We had a delicious Chinese meal for dinner at the local club.
Day 5
Leroy and Grant were early morning starters which left only 3 cars for the final homeward run. By this stage the few remaining decided to traverse the highway towards homè, Bill and Janice took the Picton Road home from the Hume whilst Sue and Keith, Linda and I opted to travel through Bundanoon and Kangaroo Valley for lunch before tackling the ongoing Cambewarra Mountain roadworks on the way home. An enjoyable five days away zooming around the mountains in our great little cars and some great company.
U-Turn count Rod 1 Bob 2 (no run in strange surroundings is complete without at least 1 U-turn)
