After the Canberra Marathon: The Snowy Mountains

The Route: Canberra → Cooma → Jindabyne → Thredbo → Canberra Airport Logistics: Hire car, about 2.5 hours south on the Monaro Highway. A car is needed in the mountains. Marathon Month: April Duration: 2 nights

Canberra ──(approx. 1 hr 15 mins, Monaro Hwy)──> Cooma ──(approx. 45 mins)──> Jindabyne ──(approx. 35 mins)──> Thredbo
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                   Canberra Airport (CBR) ◄──(approx. 2 hrs 30 mins by car)───────┘

The Canberra Marathon finishes in Parkes in mid-April. Two and a half hours south, the land rises to the Snowy Mountains and Kosciuszko National Park, which contains the highest point on the Australian mainland. In April the summer walkers have gone and the ski crowds have not arrived. The legs get a lake and a chairlift.

April in the Snowy Mountains is late autumn at altitude. Days are cool and clear, nights cold, and the first snow can fall on the high peaks from late April, though it rarely settles for long before winter. Pack warm layers, a hat and gloves, and check the weather before any walk above the tree line, where conditions change quickly.

Drive south from Canberra on the Monaro Highway to Cooma, then west to Jindabyne. Allow two and a half hours. Fuel up in Cooma. A national park entry fee applies per vehicle beyond Jindabyne; check current prices with NSW National Parks.

Night One: Jindabyne

Jindabyne sits on the shore of Lake Jindabyne, a reservoir created by the Snowy Mountains Scheme, the hydro-electric project that dammed the region's rivers from 1949 and brought workers from more than 30 countries. The original town lies under the water; the present one was built on the hill above it in the 1960s.

The recovery walk is the lake shore. A walking and cycling track follows the foreshore from the town, on gravel and sealed sections that are mostly level, with benches looking across the water to the mountains. Walk 2 or 3 km and come back.

Where to stay: Lake Crackenback Resort, in the valley between Jindabyne and Thredbo, has apartments and chalets beside its own small lake and restaurants on site. In Jindabyne itself, motels and apartments above the lake put the foreshore and the cafés within walking distance.

Where to eat: Jindabyne's main shopping area, Nugget's Crossing, has cafés and restaurants overlooking the lake. The Banjo Paterson Inn, on the foreshore, serves pub meals with a view of the water. Some restaurants reduce their hours between seasons, so check before planning dinner.

Night Two: Thredbo and Kosciuszko

Thredbo, 35 minutes from Jindabyne, is a ski village in a steep valley. In the warmer months the Kosciuszko Express chairlift carries walkers up the mountain, and from the top a raised steel-mesh walkway crosses the alpine herbfields. Mount Kosciuszko itself, at 2,228 m, is about 6.5 km each way from the chairlift, a long walk on tired legs. The Kosciuszko Lookout, about 2 km along the walkway, gives a view of the summit for a fraction of the effort. The walkway is gently graded and even.

The chairlift runs a summer season that ends in autumn, and closes for maintenance before the ski season. Check the dates at thredbo.com.au before relying on it in April.

Down in the village, the Thredbo River has a flat valley path that runs from the village along the water, an easy alternative if the chairlift is closed or the weather turns.

Getting to Canberra Airport

Canberra Airport (CBR) is about 2 hours 30 minutes from Jindabyne by car via Cooma and the Monaro Highway. Leave in daylight: kangaroos and wombats are on the mountain roads at dawn and dusk, and the road has long stretches without phone signal.