Rivers deep mountains high
Everybody knows what to do on Australia’s mountains in the snowy season, but it is just as exhilarating to slope off to discover the high points across the Tasman during summer, for mountainbiking, hiking, camping, wildlife and spectacular alpine views as
During summer across the ditch the only snow is to be found on a few drifts up high or, at Mt Buller in Victoria, on a stretch of machine-made snow where there is at least enough to build a snowman. In any case, ‘‘green season’’ in the mountains relies on a lack of snow, not an abundance.
Here are six ways to enjoy the alpine areas of New South Wales and Victoria.
Downhill all the way
Australia’s mountain resorts are in the gravity business. They build and run lifts to get people up the mountain in winter so they ski or snowboard down then do it all over again.
So why not run the ski lifts in summer and give mountainbikers the same scope?
The best of the trail networks are to be found at Thredbo in NSW and Mt Buller in Victoria.
Thredbo’s layout works perfectly with the lifts. Its Mountain Bike Park and 40km of trails for all levels are accessed via the chairlifts and the resort’s gondola also runs during school holidays (thredbo.com.au).
At Mt Buller, $1.2 million was spent refurbishing the trails before the last snow season and that is a network covering 100km, including the internationally rated Australian Alpine Epic Trail, which has a 1000-metre drop over its 40km, all the way from the mountain to the valley below.
Shuttles supplied by Blue Dirt Mountain Biking brings riders back to the top, running on weekends and daily during the holidays (mtbuller.com.au).
Falls Creek also has big claims for mountainbikers but a landslide has closed its main access road, possibly until March (fallscreek. com.au).
Get off the grid
One of the most cost-effective ways to enjoy the high country is to pitch your tent or park your caravan.
In Kosciuszko National Park, free or low-cost camp sites can be found everywhere from Geehi Flats beside the Swampy Plains River to Ngarigo and Thredbo Diggings beside the Thredbo River.
There are even options for people with horses and a sense of adventure, with a dedicated horse camp at Geehi. There is a 21km trail between Tom Groggin and Geehi that suits horse or mountainbike riders or walkers (bookings required for the campsites, nationalparks.nsw.gov.au).
In Victoria’s Alpine National Park, experienced 4WD drivers have an abundance of options. The 220km Wonnangatta Icon Drive travels through Dargo and over the Dargo and Howitt high plains before reaching historic Wonnangatta Valley.
Historic huts and secluded campsites feature all along the route (parks.vic.gov.au).
For camping where the access is simpler but the river frontage no less spectacular, try Sheepyard Flat beside the Howqua River that runs beneath Mt Buller’s eastern slopes.
And for something a bit different, Alpine Nature Experience has a camp near Mt Hotham with tents suspended from trees or wooden frames (summer.alpinenatureexperience.com.au).
Take a hike
Two of the best trailheads for people to get out on foot are at Thredbo and Guthega in NSW.
The advantage of Thredbo, if you are not too proud to take the shortcut, is the availability year round of the Kosciuszko Chairlift (from A$49 (NZ$53) for a return ride), which takes care of 560 metres of climbing to get you into the mountains.
From the top, a well made, family-friendly trail leads to Australia’s summit – Mt Kosciuszko at 2228 metres. The return trip of 13km takes four to six hours (thredbo.com.au).
At Guthega, the 9km Guthega to Charlotte Pass walk is part one of the multi-day Snowies Alpine Walk (it will eventually link those two areas as well as Perisher and Lake Crackenback), passing over creeks and gullies, alpine heathland and snow gum forests to peaks with big views (nationalparks.nsw.gov.au).
One of Victoria’s finest is the three-day, 37km Falls to Hotham Alpine Crossing with camps near historic cattlemen huts, and a trail that traverses the Alpine National Park between the two areas.
Note that bookings are mandatory for that one (parks.vic.gov.au).
Cast a line
The Australian mountains offer some of the world’s best fishing for wild trout, and while it may seem prohibitively technical and artful, fly fishing is quite simple to learn in the hands of a guide.
In a few hours they can make the complex task of spooling out the line and casting the fly to a place you want it to go a simple proposition.
And though it is a sport that is dominated by men, they will tell you that for whatever reasons, women are far better at adopting the necessary technique.
At Thredbo, Clearwater Fly Fishing Guides (clearwaterflyfishingguides.com.au) runs the local guiding service for the Thredbo River and other waters nearby.
In Victoria, Riverdowns Retreat Howqua (riverdowns.net.au) offers guided fishing on rivers such as Howqua near Mt Buller, with two-hour, half-day and full-day sessions. Fishing licences are required (service.nsw.gov.au or service.vic.gov.au).
Ride high
While mountainbikers have the downhill trails to keep them busy, road cyclists have all the climbing they could wish for.
Victoria’s 7 Peaks ride, compromised by the closure of the road to Falls Creek, is still accessible and the state’s remaining alpine resorts – Lake Mountain, Dinner Plain and Mts Hotham, Buller, Buffalo and Hotham, Baw Baw – are in play.
When fully open, the ride covers 160km, and features more than 7000 metres of ascents (ridehighcountry.com.au/7-peaks).
Pre-pandemic, Jindabyne and the Snowy Mountains proved their worth as hosts of L’E´ tape Australia by Tour de France, which the organiser of that event, Christian Prudhomme, described as ‘‘having all the necessary ingredients to provide riders with a true Tour de France challenge.’’
Classic rides in the Snowies include an 85km Dalgety Loop, the 62km Eucumbene Dam trail, and the 80km ride from Jindabyne to Charlotte Pass, with views to Mt Kosciuszko the reward at the top of the road (visitnsw.com).
Hit the road
Without the pain of carrying chains for winter driving on snow and ice, there is some sublime motoring to be had in the mountains.
Two favourites are the Alpine Way in NSW and the Great Alpine Rd in Victoria.
The latter can be picked up anywhere from Wangaratta to Myrtleford on the Victorian side.
It heads up Mt Hotham, through alpine ash and snow gum forests to ride the ridges and has views back down the alpine valleys one way and into Gippsland the other.
The road runs through Omeo all the way to Bairnsdale, but you can also loop back through Omeo to Falls Creek, given its access from Mt Beauty is currently closed (visitvictoria.com).
The Alpine Way starts near Jindabyne and runs through to Khancoban, with stops along the way to see Lake Crackenback and Thredbo villages, past Tom Groggin Station (from where you are actually looking into Victoria), the river flats at Geehi and even some of the Snowy Scheme’s hydro stations (visitnsw.com).