New South Wales To Victoria Ski Roadie

Back on the road, loaded with treats and coffee, keep going down 31 turning at the M23 headed towards the capital. And in respect of this salubrious city, your next focus has to be a little more cerebral. Well sort of. At the town of Collector, make sure you stop to wander around and have a little moments reflection at the ornate cement sculpture - Dreamer - that sits beside the main road. The unfinished sculpture seems to polarise people, but it’s a great opportunity to get out of the car, stretch your legs and think about Tony Phantastes and his homage to bushrangers, dreaming, his father and the landscape that the gate sits in.

Now whilst we know the snow will be calling, rather than simply passing Canberra by make the time to familiarise yourself a little with the nation’s capital and stop at the Mount Ainslie Lookout. With grand views across the landscape to the mountains and over Lake Burley Griffin, you’ll be able to check out parliament from a birds eye view and appreciate Walter Burley Griffin’s geometric and green vision for the city. So grab a couple of selfies against this phenomenal back drop and get the blood circulating once again before leaping back into the car.

Perisher is a big player, in fact with seven peaks and 3,076, glorious tree filled acres at its disposal, Perisher can boast being the largest resort, this side of the equator. Not only are there four areas that cater for all abilities and 47 lifts to get you to wherever you might want to go, but there is also a train (or a bus if that’s what you fancy) to help navigate your way around the far reaches of the field.

For those new to snow sports, head to Yabby Flat Terrain Park, the perfect place to refine your half pipe ride before heading out to the big bad lands of the Front Valley Pipe. Otherwise they have lots of gentle slopes for those wanting to try their hand at either skiing or boarding. If you’re a master carver then skiing the steeper runs between the gum trees is your bag.

The good folk at Perisher aren’t all about a days skiing however. They are the masters of apres and around ski entertainment. There’s night skiing and a fireworks display on a Thursday (‘cause you can on a Thursday) and in Jindabyne there are a range of 30 restaurants and bars at your disposal, so somewhere for everyone to go to grab a mulled wine, a Wild Brumby Schnapps and a pizza or two.

Something to bear in mind when skiing at Perisher - or in fact the next resort Thredbo - is that you will need a pass for your car in the Mt Kosciuszko National Park (unless you already have an annual pass). During the ski season the day passes are about $29 per day, but if you’re staying for a week or more then jump online and buy the annual pass. Otherwise you can always park your car at the skitube carpark and let the train take you up the hill.

Sticking in the area, just a mere hours drive from Perisher and only 30 minutes from Jindabyne, you’ll find Thredbo. Thredbo proudly claims to have the longest runs in the country (5 of the longest). And whilst you’d think, given it’s low altitude, snow would be sparse it has Australia’s highest skiable point - at 2,036 metres above sea level - and also has Australia’s steepest overall terrain. To top it all off, there’s a plethora of snow guns to ensure there’s snow for everyone.

Regardless of its title as the holder of Australia’s steepest terrain, Thredbo has a great mix of runs for all levels - with about 16% for beginners, a similar percentage of advanced runs (check out Funnel Web if you’ve got a bit of dare devil in you as it’s an ungroomed, mogul covered and at times almost vertical stretch that will get the heart and body pumping). And then the remaining 67% of the field caters for the intermediate level skier/boarder with long, wide runs such as Playground and Ballroom.

Stretch your legs a couple of hours out of Melbourne, at Benalla. A Benalla Street Walking Tour will lead you through the streets and lanes to see the colourful street art that has been accumulating with the annual Wall to Wall Festival. Works have been created by artists such as Rone, Kaff-eine, Guido van Heltenand and there’s even a work over three stories high by Adnate that has been voted the 8th best piece of street art - in the world.

Another opportunity to jump out of the car to get the blood circulating again is Mt Wombat lookout about 5 and a bit hours from Thredbo. Not only will you get rid of the sleepy driving feeling if you park half way up and walk to the summit, but you’ll get wonderful 360 degree views of great Victoria landscape, including both the Waranga Basin and Goulburn Weir at Nagambie.