Little had I known that there was actually a place called the Snowy Mountains when Dora the Explorer used to sing her heart out. But that was before 'Austraalya"!
Well Snowy Mountains there is and we've just 'been and back' (sounds nice - doesn't it? I just made that phrase up--clever me!) last week. So here's me trying to put it all down onto 'paper' (which in this case is just bits and bytes) before I forget.
The drive down from Sydney takes you past Canberra and through Cooma. Cooma has a rich history which I shall go into in a separate blog. The Snowy Mountains lies in the Australian state of New South Wales and is home to the highest mountain of this Island country, Mt Kosciuszko (2228m).
We had no intention of doing any mountain climbing however intriguing the name seemed to be. Our goal was to satisfy the kids desire for some snow play which they terribly missed since leaving beautiful, cold, and dreary England.
Our plan was to stay in Jindabyne and head to Persisher for the snow. Perisher is the largest Ski Resort in Oz and has a few funnily named slopes called Smiggin Holes, Blue Cow etc in addition to the main Persisher slopes. We had booked a small apartment at The Rydges at Jindabyne and requested a lake view room on our booking form at Booking.com. We were very happy we did, as we had such a beautiful view from our balcony which opened out from our lounge.
After checking into our rooms we headed out to Nuggets Crossing shopping centre which was practically just down the road. They had a very handy Woolies where we stocked up for sandwiches and quick dinners. Nuggets also had Perisher and Threadbo(the other ski resort at the snowy mountains) offices and a wide range of ski and snowboard apparel and gear for sale and for rent. There were a few restaurants too. All in all, a nice convenient place but beware, it can get quite busy at times and parking can get a bit tricky at those times.
We checked a few stores for hire prices and finally decided to go with Snow City because it seemed cheaper than the stores at Nuggets for what we needed. Snow city is sited next to a Caltex and offered a friendly personal service. Got our toboggans and snow chains on our first day and returned on the next day for our ski boots and stuff. An important thing to note is that any car driving into the Kosciuszko National Park which houses all the main ski resorts need to carry snow chains unless it is a 4WD.
I'm pretty glad we had them as on our second hike up the mountain we were required to put them on and they really helped while getting back down in the snow storm.
On our first day at the slopes we had plenty of fun toboganning and throwing snow balls. Perisher is just a short drive up from Smiggin Holes and is the bigger of the two. There is a free shuttle bus that runs from Smiggins to perisher and back in case you dont get to park at perisher and have to use the Smiggins car park and need a lift.
Talking of lifts, Lift passes are steep. And especially for beginners like us it was a great way to waste money as we just used the carpet lift once in our entire lesson and was poorer by more than 200 dollars for the privilege. This was in addition to paying about 265 dollars for a private ski lesson of two hours for the family. While I don't mind the lesson price I really think the lift passes should be tailored according to use and ability level.
Our ski lessons were on our second day at the slopes and at Perisher. We had a great instructor who was especially good with the lil ones. But let me warn you--ski boots are horrendous for walking - which we had to do a lot in the snow storm of the day. I nearly believed myself and my kiddo to be lost while trying to get back to our car after the lesson.
In spite of some bad weather the kids thoroughly enjoyed the snow. My toes and fingers got painfully cold quite often but in the end it was worth it. We all enjoyed the ski lessons, snow play, and tobogganing tremendously and got to spend some quality time together. I must say we didnt miss home and the daily routine one bit :) We loved coming back to Rydges and enjoying the heated indoor pool just next to the bistro after a tiring day of having fun.
Rydges dished up a great breakfast menu which came included and dinner in their in-house fine dining restaurant served a reasonable menu with average-good food. The staff and service were great and the warm log fire was a welcome addition. The lobby and lounge had similar open log fires with a modern touch of glass. To be honest I loved those fires. Nothing like a warm fire (except a hot tub) after a tiring day at the slopes. I could go back there any day.
Well Snowy Mountains there is and we've just 'been and back' (sounds nice - doesn't it? I just made that phrase up--clever me!) last week. So here's me trying to put it all down onto 'paper' (which in this case is just bits and bytes) before I forget.
The drive down from Sydney takes you past Canberra and through Cooma. Cooma has a rich history which I shall go into in a separate blog. The Snowy Mountains lies in the Australian state of New South Wales and is home to the highest mountain of this Island country, Mt Kosciuszko (2228m).
We had no intention of doing any mountain climbing however intriguing the name seemed to be. Our goal was to satisfy the kids desire for some snow play which they terribly missed since leaving beautiful, cold, and dreary England.
Some Pics from our drive to Jindabyne. From Cooma onwards its easy to spot hire shops for ski gear all along the way.
 |
| View from our balcony |
After checking into our rooms we headed out to Nuggets Crossing shopping centre which was practically just down the road. They had a very handy Woolies where we stocked up for sandwiches and quick dinners. Nuggets also had Perisher and Threadbo(the other ski resort at the snowy mountains) offices and a wide range of ski and snowboard apparel and gear for sale and for rent. There were a few restaurants too. All in all, a nice convenient place but beware, it can get quite busy at times and parking can get a bit tricky at those times.
We checked a few stores for hire prices and finally decided to go with Snow City because it seemed cheaper than the stores at Nuggets for what we needed. Snow city is sited next to a Caltex and offered a friendly personal service. Got our toboggans and snow chains on our first day and returned on the next day for our ski boots and stuff. An important thing to note is that any car driving into the Kosciuszko National Park which houses all the main ski resorts need to carry snow chains unless it is a 4WD.
I'm pretty glad we had them as on our second hike up the mountain we were required to put them on and they really helped while getting back down in the snow storm.
 |
| Snow play @ Smiggin Holes. |
Talking of lifts, Lift passes are steep. And especially for beginners like us it was a great way to waste money as we just used the carpet lift once in our entire lesson and was poorer by more than 200 dollars for the privilege. This was in addition to paying about 265 dollars for a private ski lesson of two hours for the family. While I don't mind the lesson price I really think the lift passes should be tailored according to use and ability level.
 |
| The baby slope at Perisher. |
Our ski lessons were on our second day at the slopes and at Perisher. We had a great instructor who was especially good with the lil ones. But let me warn you--ski boots are horrendous for walking - which we had to do a lot in the snow storm of the day. I nearly believed myself and my kiddo to be lost while trying to get back to our car after the lesson.
 |
| Driving down Kosciuszko Road in the snow |
In spite of some bad weather the kids thoroughly enjoyed the snow. My toes and fingers got painfully cold quite often but in the end it was worth it. We all enjoyed the ski lessons, snow play, and tobogganing tremendously and got to spend some quality time together. I must say we didnt miss home and the daily routine one bit :) We loved coming back to Rydges and enjoying the heated indoor pool just next to the bistro after a tiring day of having fun.
Rydges dished up a great breakfast menu which came included and dinner in their in-house fine dining restaurant served a reasonable menu with average-good food. The staff and service were great and the warm log fire was a welcome addition. The lobby and lounge had similar open log fires with a modern touch of glass. To be honest I loved those fires. Nothing like a warm fire (except a hot tub) after a tiring day at the slopes. I could go back there any day.
