Snowtrip to the New South Wales Snowfields

It’s a warm Spring Friday morning when we all set off for our extended, 4-day, weekend trip to the New South Wales snowfields.

There are 3 families and one couple (13 people in total) in a rolling convoy of 4 cars. The 5 small kids are all hyped up to the max as are the 4 bigger boys. We’re all keen to get to the snow. Some of us have never been before but have heard great things about how much fun it is.

The trip was scheduled over 4 days during which time we did the following:

* To break the trip up a bit on the way down to the snowfields we decided to stop for a lunch break in Canberra and take a walk around Parliament House.

* To break the trip up on the way back we stopped at the Science and Technology Centre (Questacon), also located in Canberra.

* Whilst we were actually down at Anglers Reach we spent Saturday at the rapidly melting Selwyn Snowfields - not good conditions for the advanced skiers/snow boarders as the slopes were a bit slushy and therefore slow, but great it was great conditions for the learners so they could get their snow ploughing and turning techniques sorted out.

* The Sunday was spent at Perisher Blue where there was plenty of the white stuff – great for everyone, although some of the new comers to the sport were a bit concerned because the slopes were faster and a little steeper.

Quick Tips:

Costs that you should take into account when going to the snowfields:

- Cost of ski/snowboard hire - - per day per adult depending on what you want to hire.
- Cost of a first time ski lesson and lift pass - per day per adult
- Cost of return skier lesson and lift pass - per day per adult
- Cost of lift pass only - per day per adult
- Cost of petrol - .25 per litre
- Cost of entry into National Park - per car per day.

Other things you should remember:

- The food and drinks are a lot more expensive on the slopes
- Take your sunblock and lip balm
- Have a great time

Best Way To Get Around:

Unfortunately, from our location on the Central Coast, there was about a 5-hour trip, south, ahead of us to get to Anglers Reach where Waterford Lodge where we stayed for the weekend. It’s a long way but we’ve got to do it – can’t wait for the day when you can just say "beam me up Scotty".

There’s the 3 ½ hour trip, through the western suburbs of Sydney, to Canberra and then, after Canberra, it’s another 1 - 1 ½ hour trip, through Cooma, to Anglers Reach.

Fortunately Sydney roads are a lot easier to negotiate now that the new M7 Motorway has been completed and there are not as many sets of lights to slow things down. If you don’t have E-tag (an electronic toll paying device that is stuck to the inside of the cars windshield) you will have to stop at the toll booths and pay.

If you don't have a car or your own transport your travel options to get to the snowfields are extremely limited - it's either a bus, coach, tour or hitching.

Once on the snowfields there's plenty of ways to get around -
- chairlifts or t-bars
- skies, snow boards
- walking
- tobogans, tubes
- oversnow vehicles
- the tube (train) between Perisher and Blue Cow
- buses between Perisher and Smiggins or Guthuca

Waterford Lodge is located in Anglers Reach – a small lakeside village with a scattering of houses, two caravan parks, two small shops (in the caravan parks), plenty of birdlife (red breasted robins, magpies, currawongs, various types of parrots and wrens), and plenty of kangaroos hopping around, in the paddocks and on lawns of all the properties, at dawn and dusk.

The lodge is capable of sleeping 14-15 people –

- There are 3 double bedrooms and 4 bedrooms with two single beds.
- There are 2 bathrooms of the main bedroom wing and one of the double bedrooms has an ensuite.
- There are no towels or linen supplied so bring your own.
- There is an electric blanket supplied on every bed – great.
- There is a large kitchen fully stocked with everything you will need while you are there except food, drink, dishwashing stuff, and tea towels to dry the dishes.
- There is one lounge room and one large combined lounge/dining/bar room.
- The large combined room has a wood fireplace and two bar heaters.
- The bar area has a fridge, bar stools, and a bar.
- The lounge areas both have a TV and a number of lounges.

Yes there’s not much to do in Anglers Reach but it is close to the snowfields and cheaper than a lot of other towns/villages to stay in.

The closest place you can dine out and go for a few drinks is Adaminaby which is approximately a half-hour drive, so make sure a designated driver is assigned before you set out.

The lake is but a few minutes walk, directly downhill, from the lodge. The fishing is supposed to be very good here although no-one was out on the weekend we were there. There are several access roads to the lake if you have a boat.

Other places of interest in the area are –

- There are some of the best caves in New South Wales in the area – I understand they area located on the road to Tumut – the caves area also has a thermal pool – we didn’t get to go here but we will next time.

- There is a heritage trail you can follow through the valleys, on the way to the Mount Selwyn snowfields. There are a number of spots along this trail that you can stop at and that are all clearly sign posted and marked. There’s an old cemetery, a couple of old homesteads and an old factory site just to name a few.

- The Snowy Mountains National Park is worth a visit no matter what time of year it is. In winter you go for the snow, in spring and autumn for the changing colours of the countryside and to go fishing, hiking, horseback riding, or cross country cycling and in summer you go for the fishing, hiking, horseback riding or cross country cycling.

- You can visit the Snowy Mountain River Scheme.

Canberra – Parliament House (24th August 2007)

What is a trip through or to Canberra without a stop off at Parliament House - very un-Australian – especially for a group of footy loving Australians with two kiwis in toe.

We headed for the underground car park in our 4-car convoy and found 4-car parks in very close proximity to one another. After a brief stop at the car park toilets we ascended the stairs to the courtyard in front of Parliament House.

There was a brief discussion on whether we were actually going to go into the joint or not – some thought we’d stopped just to have a spot of lunch on the lawn in front, but they were wrong. We entered through the front door, through the security area and into the great marble entrance hall – so this is where the tax payer’s money goes – thank god the entry is free.

There are grand marble stairways on both sides of the entry hall. We ascended the staircase on the right hand side to the next level and found ourselves face to face to photos of all the current State Senators and members of Parliament. Further around were artworks and other items of interest kept safely in glass cabinets which stood in the middle of the floor so you could view them from all angles.

This level also allows you entry, via large open areas filled with displays or marble lined corridors, to the public galleries and a large café which supplies all sorts of food and drinks – for a price.

The lower, ground level has the entry doors to the Parliament seating rooms where the members gather to discuss the world events and, most importantly, Australian issues with the hope that they can come up with good solutions to any problems.

After roaming around both levels for a while we decided that it was time to have lunch on the grass just across the road from the courtyard. Here the kids and the guys kicked around a foot ball – the grassed area was the size of a football field after all - while the girls got the goods out of the eskies (chilly bins) and picnic baskets. Then we all had a hearty meal consisting of sandwiches, biscuits, potato chips, cola, juice, and plenty of other junk food before piling into the cars again and heading of on the road.

We decided that on the way home we should stop of in Canberra again and do something else. The guys all wanted to go to the Go-cart track so we packed up our belongings, stuffed it all into the cars and set off.

Unfortunately the Go-cart track was closed when we got there so we moved to Plan 2 – let’s visit the Science and Technology Centre (Questacon). All we have to do is find it.

Yeah, yeah – how hard can it be you ask? Easy – just follow the signs directing you to the wrong building – we ended up outside the Australian National Museum.

Another 10 minutes later we finally made it to our intended destination, we parked the cars, paid the $15 entry fee per adult and entered.

The Questacon is a large centre dedicated to anything and everything associated with science and technology and that is totally hands-on.

There are all sorts of things on display including:

- There’s a section dedicated to all the things you would find in a sideshow alley. From rotating clowns heads, electronic fortune teller, distortion mirrors, a simulator ride, a free fall drop, and other sideshow attractions.

- There’s a sport-related section which has machines that can calculate how fast you can run/walk, how high you can jump, how fast you can throw a ball, how well you can balance, just to name a few.

- There’s a small kids' section full of all sorts of small climbing frames, areas full of small balls – anything a small child would love.

- There’s a section on natural phenomena including a lightning making machine, an earthquake simulator, a tsunami simulator, and a tornado simulator.

- There’s a spy section which has on display all types of things associated with codes, spies, code breaking devices, and security devices – there’s even a laser network setup where you can try to work your way across a small area avoiding the laser beams all the way.

- There’s a section dedicated to visual effects items which includes movement sensors and projectors, displays of the different types of lens (frasnel, fish eye and the like), holograms, image projection, and many more.

- Lastly there’s a section which has displays associated with levelers, pulleys, pivots, and fulcrums – you can sit in a small chair lift and pull yourself up using the pulleys, you can lift a mate, hanging onto a rope, of the floor by using a pivot just to name a couple.

The Questacon also has a lecture theatre where, at several times throughout the day, they hold short lecturers about the different areas of science and technology – the talk we went to was a 25-minute discussion about the solar system and the planets. It was really interesting just to find out about the numbers, sizes, and distances of and between the different planets, suns, minor planets, moons, comets, and meteorites that make up the solar system. 

Mount Selwyn Snowfields (25th August 2007)

We’re up at 6.30am this morning because this is going to be our first day on the snow. We have decided to go to Mount Selwyn to see what its like – we’ve heard the snow there is pretty thin on the ground and that they are actually making snow overnight. There were several of us that have never skied or snowboarded and we have been advised that Selwyn’s slopes were great for learning on as they aren’t as steep or as long as the slopes at Perisher Blue or Thredbo.

After a half-hour trip from Anglers Reach we reached the snowfields of Mount Selwyn and there was not very much snow at all – what a difference from a couple of years ago when we came here and there was snow as far as the eye could see. This year the only snow that was available was on the upper ski slopes, on the tube ride, and where the toboggans ran. Still that didn’t stop any of us.

They purchased their lift passes - $69 per day for adults (not sure about kids – about $49 I think) – booked the kids that had never skied before into classes and found a central, outside table directly opposite the slopes.

The kids started the day by heading of to the tube ride for a couple of goes – just to warm up and to have a bit of fun. The younger ones really loved it while it was a bit tame for the older kids.

Then it was time for donning the skies for the mothers and kids and snowboards for the guys. Then the fun really started – the kids were all over the front slope, falling on their butts, getting guided down the hill by their mothers and trying to master the art of getting on and off the chair lifts and the t-bars without falling flat on their faces or on their butts. All the time they were laughing their heads off.

Meanwhile the seasoned performers were racing around all over the place, covering all the runs and making as much use of the dwindling snow as they could, but they still had a great time.

Because I don’t ski but prefer to hike around and have a good look this day on Mount Selwyn was perfect for me as the slopes were grassy and not covered with deep snow which makes it so much easier to walk. I went on a long 2 ½ hour walk around the woods and slopes, taking photos and pictures of the scenery and anybody of our group that I came across on my travels.

Although the lack of snow was disappointing for the more experienced skiers/snowboarders of our group it was still a great day and everyone enjoyed it. We have been to Selwyn other years when the snow covering has been great – suggestion would be to check the snow report in the morning before heading of.

Selwyn has a small shopping arcade which consists of a café, a small shop, an information office and a dining area. Food and drinks are not cheap.

Perisher Blue Snowfields (26th August 2007)

Once again we’re up at 6.30am in the morning but we’re not heading the Mount Selwyn today – oh no – we’re going to Perisher Blue where there’s plenty of snow for the more experienced skiers and snow boarders amongst us – don’t worry though there are still beginners slopes.

After a 1 – 1 ½ hour trip from Anglers Reach, in the opposite direction, through Jindabine, we reached the packed car park at the Perisher Blue snow fields – it was so packed we had park our car down the road and wait for a bus to pick us up and drop us off.

The place was a hell of a lot busier than Mount Selwyn and I almost got knocked over a number of times – even on the learner’s slopes – while I was taking photos or videos.

Everyone who wanted lift passes rushed of and got them - $89 per day for an adult – you’d want to get good use out of it. We found and outdoor table directly opposite the learners slope and outside a small café and that was the last time we were all together in the same spot for the remainder of the day.

Perisher has everything for everyone whether you’re a spectator, a skier or snow boarder, a learner, a tobogganer, a tube rider, a hiker, or an experienced skier/board rider.

- There are shops, cafes, bars, and hotels. The price of food and drink is a lot better here than at Selwyn.
- There’s a large tube ride area.
- There’s a huge toboggan area.
- There are numerous runs and chair lifts linking Perisher Blue with places like Smiggins, Blue Cow and Guthuca.
- There’s also buses and a ski tube (train) that links the areas where there are more shops and snow fields – the Ski Tube links Perisher with Blue Cow.
- There’s a half pipe and runs with all sorts of jumps and beams set up for those who have a bit of a daredevil streak. - There are numerous runs of varying degrees of difficulties
- There’s a learner slope and a learners school with easy ride on escalators that are good for learners – don’t have to contend with those t-bars and chair lifts until you’re ready.
- There are miles and miles for you to hike in – snow shoes are advisable although I didn’t bother and still managed OK

I hiked from the bottom Perisher to the top of the slopes at Smiggins and then up to the top of Perisher half pipe. On the way back down I stopped to watch some of the skiers and snow boarders using the half pipe – they’ve got balls. The walk took me about 3 – 3 ½ hours with a couple of stops to take in the scenery and people-watching.