Melbourne to Canberra

[pfgrobler]

We are traveling from Melbourne to Canberra in a Honda Jazz and we are looking for some advice We looked at 3 possible routes :


Option 1 ) take the highway all the way sleep over at Wodonga https://goo.gl/maps/ZA9mkpXYJsv

Based on a old question on trip Advisor we also started looking at https://www.tripadvisor.com.au/ShowT...Territory.html


Option 2) https://goo.gl/maps/9apMHFRyigm

Option 3) https://goo.gl/maps/TaPwsWXveaR2

Option 2 and 3 seems a allot nicer - but would the be doable in a Honda Jazz ?

[NFT5]

A Honda jazz wouldn't be my first choice for an 8-9 hour trip, even straight up the Hume. Still, this is probably the best option.

Option 2 is doable (all bitumen) but gets a bit windy from north of Corryong to Gundagai. Much more scenic but watch the logging trucks near Tumut.

Forget about Option 3. Dirt road from just outside of Adaminaby to south of Tharwa.

[pfgrobler]

Thanks

I do miss my Pajero as well.

[pfgrobler]

Would https://goo.gl/maps/KnxB4qT7vg82 be an option sleeping over at Corryong ?

[insect_eater]

The main limitation on options 3 and 4 is that the Khancoban-Cabramurra road is closed until October. http://www.environment.nsw.gov.au/ne...-until-october The other issue that you may be required to carry and fit snow chains during winter on the road through the Alpine NP.

I think that the first issue can be circumvented by following option 4, but taking the Cudgewa Road (ie. turn off before Corryong) to Tintaldra, then Tooma, and follow the Elliott Way to the road between Cabramurra and Mt Selwyn. Great road if you like narrow, winding and rarely travelled bituman, mainly rural, but great forest views in the last section. You'd need to check to make sure it is all open, and still need to deal with issue 2 above. If going this way, I'd contact the Tintaldra Hotel to see if they have rooms if you like classic country pubs.

Otherwise option 4 is all good bitumen, though narrow and windy (and beautifully scenic and remote feeling) in parts. I've done option 3 in a day.

The gravel road between Adaminaby and Canberra is also sometimes closed, but I think is otherwise a pretty good road. It shouldn't be considered a short cut - but most of it is fast gravel, except that there are a few rock bars and clay patches in the middle part. I've driven a corolla along it many a time - going slow where there are loose rocks, bars, clay if wet. As a scenic option, I'd usually go that way unless closed, or on a sports motorbike where it'd be sketchy.

[erad]

Agree with Insect Eater re the road over the Snowy Mtns. A few pointers to watch for:
1 Beware of ice. It normally isn't too bad in the afternoon, but there are patches where the sun doesn't shine and it can be icy. Powerline Hill is one example, about 8 km from the turnoff to Cabramurra. It is a mongrel. You get a good run at it in the lower stretches but the last turn before the final run is too sharp. You lose momentum and it is icy from there on. Be prepared to use chains. The downhill run after Kiandra has a few bends where tourists often slide off the road - fortunately into the bank, not over the edge.

2 This road is isolated. There are stray horses (brumbies) on the road particularly on the lower eraches of the Elliot Way. Kangaroos and wombats as well.

3 Probably the most dangerous area is the run from Adaminaby through the Namadji National Park (in the ACT). We often use this road as an alternative to the Monaro Hwy from Cooma to Canberra, but NEVER at weekends or public holidays. ACT drivers seem to use this road a their own private raceway. Summer (Fishing) or Winter (Skiing), it can be heavily trafficked.

[pfgrobler]

We ended up doing the following route https://goo.gl/maps/mvj7Fi4ozXo

Was a nice drive - saw less snow than we hoped. We lost the GPS for a while and so missed Corryong

The just seems so many roads that seem tempting if you have 4x4 available.

[erad]

I see that you went via Thredbo. Did the National Sparks & Wildfire Service charge you entry fees, or did you manage to drive through without paying. It should have been the latter option if you told them what you were doing.

[insect_eater]

Looks like a scenic route - for me the section through Yarrrangobilly - Adaminaby would have been my fave part.

There are lots or good areas to explore in that country - and you don't need to go far off track. Just having time to soak it up makes the difference.

Where did you end up staying on route?

[pfgrobler]

We stayed at Tumut.

Did not see anywhere or one where we should/could have paid - maybe we just did not realise.

We did enjoy the drive more if it was in the dark than we wo7ld have liked though.

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