Early autumn road trip and camping holiday to the Australian Snowy Mountains

Written by Gary on March 19th, 2016

It has been over 30 years since I last drove north across the Victorian border to the Tumbarumba region west of the Snowy Mountains, and the last time I went I drove the long trek on mostly gravel rural roads from Tumut to Canberra via Wee Jasper (according to Google, this part of the trip now takes around 3hrs not sure how much is bitumen).

This week of annual leave I decided to embark on a solo road trip to Tumbarumba region, but this time explore the Snowy Mountains where I had never previously visited.

Tumbarumba is some 450km or 4.5hrs drive from Melbourne along the quite boring Hume Freeway, so on my way up I decided at the last minute to divert from Wodonga on the border and head through the more interesting but much longer back roads.

This took me through lovely hilly rural country sides, initially along the Hume Reservoir which is currently suffering from a massive toxic blue-green algae bloom which stretches from there down stream some 700km down the Murray River thanks to low water flows and the hot summer, early autumn weather over over 30degC on most days.

This is quite a nice drive and takes one through Tallangatta township and past the old now submerged Tallangatta township then onwards to Corryong some 1.5hrs drive from Wodonga. Just before Corryong there is a nice looking caravan park at Colac Colac adjacent to the highway on an open farmland region.

Between Tallangatta and Corryong there are opportunities for the nature lovers to further explore either:

  • Omeo Highway south to:
    • Lake Dartmouth
    • Mitta Mitta River valley
    • Mount Benambra
    • gold and tin mining relics at Mt Wills (granite summit, snow gums, and great scenery), Mt Murphy, Cassilis Historic Areas such as the Green Creek historic battery,Pioneer Mine at Mitta Mitta,
    • Harrington’s track historic bridle trail along Murray River from Tom Groggin to Bunroy Station, 20km one way
  • Bethanga Historic area and Wallaces Smelting Works to the north
  • The Plateau to the north
  • Mount Granya State Park to the north – steep slopes rising above Lake Hume, 870m elevation, Granya Falls are seasonal.
  • Tallangatta Valley to the south
  • Mount Lawson State Park to the north – steep slopes, rocky bluffs, 1041m
  • Burrowa-Pine National Park to its north
    • Bluff Falls and walk to Ross Lookout (not suitable for caravans, nearby Blue Gums camp ground)
    • steep sided Mt Burrowa (1300m) which sits atop a sub-alpine plateau accessible by walking tracks
    • Pine Mountain (1062m) – a gigantic granite rock monolith 1.5x bigger than Uluru – walking track to summit
  • Thowgla Upper to the south
  • the Benambra-Corryong Rd valley which takes one southwards to:
    • Wabba Wilderness
    • Pinnibar Pendergast State Forest
    • Benambra and nearby Alpine National Park, Tambo State Forest and the Mitta Mitta River valley
    • further south to Omeo and then through the Alps down to Bairnsdale and Lakes Entrance on the southern Victorian coast

From Corryong I decided to head to the southern parts of the Snowy Mountains via the tiny town of Khancoban where I would have to pay my day access fees (these are only required for the southern areas – I accidentally paid for 3 days of fees but only used 1 day in the southern area).

Khancoban is also the last stop for fuel, food, public toilets that are not drop toilets, internet and mobile phone access, but as I was to find out, no car repair services.

After an early dinner, I proceeded up into the windy bitumen Alpine Highway past the Murray 1 and 2 hydro-electric power stations and to Scammel’s Lookout which looks southeast towards Mt Kosciuszko (Australia’s highest peak at 2228m) which is hidden behind the steep barren western fall of the Main Range and Mt Abbott.

View from Scammel's lookout

View from Scammel’s lookout.

From there it was a short drive down to popular Geehi Flats camping ground along the banks of the lovely shallow but fast flowing Swampy Plains Creek. I had intended to continue on to Tom Groggin camp ground on the banks of the upper reaches of the Murray River for the night then next day tackle the steep drive up to Thredbo, but as I pulled into Geehi Flats, I noticed a very loud noise coming from my front brakes highly suggestive of a lost brake pad from the mountain driving although I try to use my gears to brake downhill as much as possible.

Geehi Flats camp ground

Bridge at Geehi Flats camp ground.

Nevertheless, this meant an uneasy night sleeping in my tent at Geehi Flats wondering if this was the end of my holiday plans.

Milky Way from Geehi Flats

Milky Way and my tent at Geehi Flats taken with Olympus OM-D E-M1 Micro Four Thirds camera and Olympus mZD 8mm f/1.8 fisheye lens at ISO 3200.

Although Geehi Flats camp ground is a lovely spot it is a LONG way for Victorians (perhaps 7.5 hrs from Melbourne) and does not offer any more than any camp site along a river such as around the Bright region, but for those traveling through the southern parts of the Snowy Mtns it does offer a more protected and warmer camp ground to rest at given it is around only 400m elevation and is accessible by caravans (caravans cannot get from here to Thredbo though as the Alpine Highway is too steep).

forest

Next day I drove back to Corryong (where they were getting ready for the Man From Snowy River festival over Easter) and after a wait of a few hours for the mechanics, had the welcome news that a stone and become stuck in the brake calipers and all is well.

So on early afternoon on day two, with storms, rain and strong winds forecast for the Snowy Mountains that night I decided to cut my losses, and head to Tumbarumba and get a better night’s sleep in a cabin out of harm’s way from the storms.

En route to Tumbarumba is a lovely drive through hilly rural countrysides reminiscent of Victoria’s Mansfield region, and past the Southern Cloud Memorial Lookout and on to lovely Paddys River Falls.

The Southern Cloud Memorial Lookout is a very exposed, but nice spot on a hill alongside the highway looking east at the western part of central Snowy Mountains and is a memorial for a historic Southern Cloud plane crash in the 1930’s, the wreckage of which was not found until 3 decades later – there is now a walking trail to the wreckage site. This plane crash was to change the safety of Australian aviation in profound ways.

Southern Cloud Lookout view

View south-eastwards from Southern Cloud Lookout.

Paddys River Falls is easily accessible at the end of a 2km gravel road and can be seen from the car park or a short easy walk down to the falls – although walking down to the stream itself can be a touch slippery!

There is no camping at the falls but just before you get to the turn off to the falls, there is a free camp ground on the river near the main highway which is popular for caravans.

Paddys River Falls vintage style

Paddys River Falls vintage style hand held long exposure.

Tumbarumba itself is a small town with little to attract a photographer but is a nice central location from which to base activities in the region. It was great to have a shower in the cabin and then steak dinner at the Tumba Hotel and a good night’s sleep.

See Day 3 next….

 

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