(459 km south of Sydney)

Trip duration: Minimum of two days.

On the road
Take the M5 Motorway south-west of Sydney and link-up with the Hume Highway. From Goulburn, the Federal Highway leads to Canberra and the alternative Queanbeyan bypass onto the Monaro Highway to Cooma. An alternative to the "straight run" from Sydney, is an overnight stay in Canberrra.

COOMA

This lively, modern tourist centre at the junction of the Monaro and Snowy Mountains Highways, on the Southern Tablelands of NSW, was once dubbed Australia’s most cosmopolitan town. Today it is a busy tourist centre with skiers making their way to the Snowy Mountains snowfields. The remainder of the year it concentrates on farming and being the centre for the Monaro plains, well known for their fine wool.

Must see

Self-guided Lambie St walk, taking in historic buildings classified by the National Trust, such as The Royal Hotel, which opened in 1858, and is the oldest hotel still in business. Half a kilometre west of the town is the Aviation Pioneers Memorial, with wreckage of the Southern Cloud, an aircraft which crashed in the Snowies in 1931.

Jindabyne 56 km west of Cooma, is situated on the shores of Lake Jindabyne, at the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. In summer you can swim or rent windsurfers and boats on the lake. It is famous for fishing and other water sports on its beautiful lake. During the ski season, in particular, it is a hub for nightlife.

Thredbo, considered by many to be Australia’s premier winter resort, with the longest runs. In summer it is also ideal for bushwalking and wildflower displays. There is 700m of slide track, down which you can hurtle in a small cart, you can reach speeds up to 35km/pr.

Charlotte Pass, 98 km from Cooma and 8 km from the summit of Mt Kosciusko is a convenient base for ski tours to some of Australia’s highest peaks and most spectacular ski runs.

Mt Selwyn, at the northern end of Kosciusko National Park, has been designed for beginners and families. Mt Selwyn is one of the main centres for cross-country skiing.

Blue Cow Mountain is the highest ski resort. Access is by the Skitube, an underground rack rail system from either Bullocks Flat (near Jindabyne) or Perisher Valley. The service centre of the resort is open throughout the year.

Kosciusko National Park, New South Wales largest national park includes caves, glacial lakes, forest and all the state’s ski resorts as well as the highest mountain in Australia. Although the park is most famous for its snow, it is also popular in summer when there are excellent bushwalks and marvellous alpine wild flowers. Outside the snow season you can drive to within 8 km of the top of Mt Kosciusko.

For further information on any of the drives mentioned above, contact the regional travel centres listed, or the following:

For further information, contact:

Cooma Visitors Centre
119 Sharp Street
COOMA NSW 2630
Freecall: 1800 636 525
Phone: (02) 6450 1742
Fax: (02) 6450 1798
Web: www.visitcooma.com.au

Snowy River Information Centre
Shop 1, Petamine Plaza
JINDABYNE NSW 2627
Phone: (064) 56 2444
Fax: (064) 56 1249

Tourism New South Wales
140 George Street
THE ROCKS, SYDNEY NSW 2000
Phone: (02) 9931 1111
Fax: (02) 9931 1424

Acknowledgement

Images courtesy of Tourism New South Wales

Tourism New South Wales releases materials solely for the purpose of positive promotion of New South Wales as a tourism and travel destination. Any breach of this copyright condition could result in legal action.

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