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On a mostly dry and flat continent, nothing says challenge like the snow-clad and mountainous Australian Alps. Spanning one territory, two states and around 5 million hectares, the Alps offer breathtaking vistas and year-round opportunities for outdoor adventure. The Australian Alps are home to 16 national parks and reserves, including Namadgi in the Australian Capital Territory, Kosciuszko in New South Wales and Alpine, Mount Buffalo, Snowy River and Baw Baw national parks in Victoria.
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1. Nature rich and rare |
Climb past glacial lakes and snow gum woodlands to Mount Kosciuszko, Australia’s highest peak. Surrounding the summit, a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve has 20 plants species found nowhere else in the world. Watch mountain ash trees make way for gnarled snow gum forests and colourful alpine meadows on Victoria’s Baw Baw Plateau. Discover underground caves and a myriad of bird life near Lake Jindabyne in Snowy Mountains. Or spot kangaroos, wallabies and rare corroboree frogs in the granite landscape of Namadgi National Park, near Canberra. |
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2. A world of adventure |
| Embrace all types of winter fun at the snow resorts dotted across the Alps. Hit Australia’s highest ski slopes at Charlotte Pass or carve up the snow at Thredbo and Perisher Blue in New South Wales. Ski or snowboard at Mt Buller, Mt Hotham and Falls Creek surrounded by Victoria’s Alpine National Park. In summertime, you can hike, bike, horse ride or four wheel drive these wildflowers-cloaked slopes. Abseil the granite outcrops of Namadgi National Park. In New South Wales, you can canoe the Snowy River and go caving near Tumut. |
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3. History old and new |
Explore the campsites, ceremonial stone arrangements and rock art left by the Ngunawal people thousands of years ago in Namadgi National Park. Nearby Tidbinbilla Nature Reserve is home to the 21,000 year-old Birrigai Rock Shelter and Bogong Cave, where tribes once gathered to harvest bogong moths. See the courthouse where notorious outlaw Ned Kelly stood trial in Victoria’s old gold town of Beechworth. Or hike to old cattle huts on the Bogong High Plains. Visit Omeo, where the historic buildings include a courthouse and an 1858 jail built of logs. |
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4. Journeys with mountain views |
| Wind from Melbourne through Victoria’s High Country on the Great Alpine Road. Australia’s highest sealed road takes you from Melbourne, past the Ovens Valley wine region and Mount Hotham to Gippsland. For a real challenge, trek through three states on the epic Australian Alps Walking Track. It stretches for 650km, from Walhalla in Victoria to Tharwa just south of Canberra. Walk the track in eight to ten weeks or do day walks and shorter sections such as the Baw Baw plateau, Bogong High Plains and Mount Kosciuszko. |
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