To the Sea, to the Sky

01 December 2024 / Author - Rod Nicholas, Photos - Rod Nicholas, Simon Trickett

Last year I revisited one of old mate Ken Keeling’s legendary runs and knocked out a loop around the Snowies over a long weekend. It was a hoot, and the run found its way onto the calendar again—same time, same place. All good, but I felt like mixing it up a bit, so found myself dillying and dallying around with the planning until I had five (yes five!) different runs, all variations on a theme (the theme being ‘have a bucket-load of fun’).

Getting ready to put my choice up on the website, I realised I had been gazumped: our South Coast cousins were doing my run (more or less) the following week! I made contact, and we agreed we would conduct a joint run. It was a good idea, saving time and effort for both run leaders by sharing the organisation workload.

And so it was that my small group assembled at Hume for a run down to the sea—Bermagui via Bombala and the Brown Mountain to kick off our four-day weekend. We were joining up with an equally small group of South Coasties for a relaxed dinner. It was an effortless trip to Nimmitabel for refreshments and then on down the Brown Mountain. We were in Bermi in
time for lunch and a little sight-seeing.

Day 2 was back up into the sky—Bermi to Jindabyne the wiggly way. Joining up with the Coasties, our group, now nine cars, headed out of Bermi via Tathra and Merimbula for morning tea at Candelo. This section was pretty cruisy, following the beach down to Merimbula, and then a short burst through the green countryside to Candelo. It was the next section, from
Candelo to Bombala that I was looking forward to.

I’d been wanting to try out the challenging Mount Darragh Road, which seems to be a favourite of the South Coast Chapter, for several years, and finally got the opportunity to give it a go. It did not disappoint. It wriggles and jiggles beautifully up the hill, dense bush scenes either side, and more than a few corners to excite. Simon had a little heart flutter as a wallaby dashed across in front of him moments after leaving Wyndham, but otherwise all was good. The only downside was the short section of traffic light-controlled roadworks as we approached the top and the 4WD towing a car on a trailer that exercised its right to drive in a manner that kept both vehicles on the road, unfortunately (for us) ignoring the several places to pull over that would have allowed a small convoy to pass. But once over the hill, we had a straight run into Bombala, waving to the pack of Porsches that were headed down the mountain (we would see these folks several times over the trip).

Bombala was our lunch stop, then on to Jindy via Dalgety. Good country roads, not overly exciting, but enjoyable anyway. They were mostly empty, other than us, and the rural scenes are picturesque. We arrived at the Jindy Inn in good time, but a little late for anyone who wanted to visit the Wild Brumby Distillery. So, fivesies were in order after a short rest and prior
to our walk to the pub for dinner.

On Day 3 it was time for some Skyjincks, as we zoomed a loop around the Snowies (totally bereft of snow). The Snowy Loop was a feature of my run last year, but reluctant to do exactly the same thing again, we mixed it up a bit. The first stage was an easy run down to Adaminaby; a bit of highway to Berridale, then some open country road before we joined the Snowy Mountains Highway with its sweeping bends and expansive views. The roads seem to encourage right-foot pressure, but ever mindful of setting a good example for other road users, we exercised all due care and responsibility and arrived a little short of the hour Google maps reckoned we should take. Coffee and cakes were the order at the bakery.

Back on the Snowy Mountains Highway, after Adaminaby we turned left after passing by the Kiandra Heritage District on to Link Road and headed towards Cabramurra. Last year we took Elliott Way to Tooma, but we hung a left at the intersection and dropped downhill on Goat Ridge Road. The road was bordered by a forest of dead gums, starkly white and ghostly. It was an enduring reminder of the January 2020 fires that smashed much of the Kosciuzko National Park. As we turned into Cabramurra, it was evident there had been a significant rebuild following the fires. The 2020 fires destroyed 36 houses, along with several of the unit blocks, the school, the old ski club, and the Edinburgh Cottage where many members of the Royal family, including the Queen, and other guests have stayed over the years. New apartments and buildings dominate the scene, which is much changed from the time Maryanne and her family visited friends there fifty-plus years ago. We ventured to the lookout, took some snaps, and then restarted our journey down the mountain to Khancoban.

Goat Ridge Road became Snow Ridge Road, then Tooma Road as we dropped down to Tumut Pond Dam. We stopped for photos and to allow a couple of vehicles plenty of time to get ahead of us, then hit the road again. What. A. Blast! The road was in great nick, and as twisty as I could wish. It was top-down all the way, although very hot, and we made fairly short work of the run. We passed a few brave cyclists on the way, wondering what in the world possessed them to ride such an extreme track—did they not know how narrow the roads were and how steep the hills?

Lunch at the Pickled Parrot in Khancoban was another hot affair—the air conditioning appeared to be nothing more than leaving the door open, which didn’t help given it was over 30 degrees out.

Khancoban to Dead Horse Gap is a short 70 km, but this road is a blast. There’s up, down, up, down, up until it reaches 1588 metres, and throughout it all there are good roads, corners and bends galore and stunning scenery. There is very little chance to get into the higher gears, so much of the time is spent in 3rd and 4th , with a few 2nd gear hairpins as well. Traffic was light, catching up to a few cars every now and then, but mostly it was free reign (albeit law-abiding, of course). Plenty of grins by the time we stopped at Dead Horse Gap for another couple of snaps. Then straight down to Jindabyne (without stopping at Wild Brumby) and getting ready at the Jindy Inn before walking a short (but uphill) path to the Jindabyne Brewery for dinner. Tasty food, tasty beer and good company. What more do we need?

Day 4 saw us heading home, although our South Coast friends, who still had 300+ kms to get home, were going to overnight at Gundagai. Back up the hill to Dead Horse Gap, then down to Corryong, just across the border into Victoria, for morning tea. Going down the Alpine Way is a very different experience to going up. We were mostly unhindered by traffic, and it was a good drive, but I missed the excitement of the humming engine as it pulls 6K revs in 2 nd gear around a corner. After our recaffeination, and farewells, we headed on through to Tumbarumba, where our cousins were stopping for lunch. We kept going, taking lunch at the old favourite, the Oriental Hotel in Tumut, and then proceeded home via Gundagai and the Hume Boreway.

By the time I got home, I’d travelled a little over 1,350 km, consumed 84 litres of fuel (for which I’d paid $171) and reaped a return of 6.2 litres per 100 km.

Our long weekend away was a hoot, and I am delighted to have spent it in the company of such wonderful people. I want to thank, particularly, Bob and Linda Downing for their planning efforts—great work, and a lively, fun-filled run. Thanks all for your enthusiasm—I hope to see you again on another run. I also want to say that having members of other Chapters involved—this run featured the Canberra, South Coast, Illawarra and Sydney Chapters—is brilliant. It totally reinforces the ‘One Club’ perspective!

If you are interested in the route, have a gander at the following:

Basic route: https://maps.app.goo.gl/kShSJa5VmsgZZAQu5

Snowy Loop: https://maps.app.goo.gl/nK539LW3rGhyz4VR8

There are plenty more photos on the Facebook pages of the South Coast and Canberra Chapters (thanks to all our photographers).