The following pit stop is submitted by Australian reader Sarah McConalogue. It’s included in this week’s Mondays are for Dreaming series by Mother of all Trips for two reasons: Australia is at the top of my ‘must go’ list, and by August, I’m dreaming of some reverse-seasons winter fun!
When overseas travelers think of Australia, most tourists probably don’t immediately think of snow. We have it though, and I recently took a family trip to the the snow resort of Mt. Baw Baw. Mount Baw Baw resort is not one of Australia’s biggest ski destinations, but it has the advantage of being an easy day trip from the city (located two and a half hours out of Melbourne, Victoria). As such, it’s the closest snow mountain with lifts (and the cheapest lifts in Victoria apparently) and has full facilities; plus the drive is picuresque. The resort is set up for summer and winter visitors (you can find out more about the summer activities on their website).
Date visited: June 24, 2011
The snow season is July-September; we were very fortunate because a week after our June visit, there was very little snow. Check the snow report before you go.
What to do: Mount Baw Baw offers ski-in, ski-out accomodations, a pizza place, a bistro/resturant/coffee shop with spectacular views, hire (rental) shop, ski school, snowboard school, private lessons, seven lifts, runs for different skill levels as well as 10km of groomed trails. If you aren’t really into snow sports but want to have fun there’s two toboggan (sledding) runs and when we were there they were setting up the snow tube run…I’m sad we missed that one! On school holidays and weekends they have extra activities for kids including husky rides, froglets day camp (while you’re out skiing) and Christmas in July.
Ticket prices: Monday-Friday admission is $33 per car, weekends are $35 per car. $12 per person if arriving by bus. Season and consecutive day passes also available.
Accommodations: Mt. Baw Baw offers everything from cabins, hotel rooms, lodge space, and apartments on-site! Check their accommodations page for availability and pricing.
Website: www.mountbawbaw.com.au
Directions: There are three ways to arrive at Mt. Baw Baw, all of which are mapped on the website. We went via the M1 turning off at Drouin, hiring our gear from the friendly hire shop at Neerim South (you must carry snow chains or you don’t get in) and driving through the beautiful screnery to Noojee and Icy creek. There was some wildlife spotting on our way up: kangaroos, wallabies and king parrots, (also an Alpaca farm at Neerim Sth and plenty of cows!). The last 25km were winding roads. If you have a carsick child you may want to bring a bucket or go a different way because there’s not always a place to pull over on those roads. Also I wouldn’t recommend returning down that road at night. Make sure you leave the mountain by 4pm to be out of there by dark.
All in all a great day trip to touch base with the beauty of regional Victoria!
