Bianca S Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 (edited) Hi Can you please post some pics of Ozzie ski adventures and Ozzie mountains? We are moutain and 4x4 lovers, and love seeing / reading about people's adventures. Read this about somebody's skiing in Oz:Hit Australia's sunny ski slopes, but watch for wombatsBy Catriona Ling(from www.telegraph.co.ukThere is a bizarre feel to sorting out skiing helmets and gloves in the middle of August.As I tracked down missing socks and cajoled children into trying on outfits last worn in the Northern Hemisphere the whole thing seemed wrong.Adding to the sense of unreality, Sydney is enjoying an early spring with temperatures almost a month ahead of where they would normally be. Blossom is out and spaghetti-string tops seem to be mandatory for every female under 25.advertisementOur local ski hire shop is located two blocks from the beach with a breathtaking view down to the ocean. As I loaded up the car with skis and boots I could see the surf breaking and felt I should be donning a swimsuit rather than preparing to rug up.We were lucky; the Snowy Mountains, have not had a great season snow wise, but had a decent fall just before our trip and, as we drove out of Sydney on the Friday, the forecast was for a perfect sunny weekend.It's a six-hour drive from Sydney to Thredbo, one of the main ski resorts in Australia. We felt quite daunted at the thought of it and various colleagues revelled in gloomy warnings of horrendous traffic and hours in queues, but either we were lucky or these characters have never encountered the M25 on a Friday night.Between warnings about the need for snow chains, there are hazard signs for wallabies and emus Traffic was minimal and we cruised down to Thredbo. The Friday night route to the ski fields is classic speed trap country and so cars stick pretty rigorously to the 110 km speed limit on the main roads.Years ago my brother–in-law underestimated police vigilance and was stopped. To his horror, the policeman said he had been pulled over as he was wanted for murder in three states.It turned out to be a joke, I'm not sure if one could classify it as a laughing policeman joke, but it has certainly passed into family folklore. Fortunately our drive was less eventful.Thredbo, which boasts the biggest vertical drop of any of the Australian resorts, is in the middle of Kosciuszko National Park.As you drive into the park, interspersed between warnings about the need for snow chains, there are hazard signs for wombats, wallabies and emus.The salt used to keep the roads clear attracts many of the animals and we passed a number of wombats lying pathetically on their backs by the side of the road.Australian skiing definitely lacks the mountain ranges and area of European resorts, but there is more than enough skiing for all levels at Thredbo to keep a family happily occupied for a week. And on the plus side you have skies so blue that they seem to pulsate and the snow gums with their wonderfully striped trunks and twisted branches are infinitely more interesting scenery than ranks of endless conifers.The mountain restaurant we ate in was fabulous and would have easily given a French mountain stop a run for its money.The children wolfed down home made macaroni cheese, while we had goulash soup.Being Australia, where people are fanatical about their fresh fruit and vegetable juice, there was even a juice bar with staff waiting to squeeze exotic concoctions.A Glaswegian behind the bar made us smile, glad to see that it's not just the Aussies and Kiwis who go overseas to work in ski resorts.Thredbo has invested heavily in snowmaking machinery and while the runs down to the village were getting slushy at the bottom by the end of the afternoon, the snow higher up was perfect and skiing in sunshine gave an added 'zing' to each turn.As a family we're hooked on skiing down under, even if we do have to pinch ourselves to gain a sense of reality as we ski down the slopes in August.A final reminder that we weren't in the Alps came as we drove back to Sydney. A wombat padded ponderously across the road, completely unconcerned by the procession of cars slaloming around it. Edited January 31, 2007 by Bianca.UK Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 I met my wife on the Victorian ski slopes where she kindly helped to peel me off a sign post in front of a lake.It was my first time on skis and didn't take the mandatory learning lesson for skiing the previous day.As usual, I went gung-ho down the slope but couldn't stop, so did a rugby tackle on a sign post which I managed to steer toward, before hitting the freezing water of a lake in front of the trendy restaurant where all the jet-setters were sipping their cafe lattes. I provided the morning's entertainment for some, watching this idiot trying to get himself down from a post, stuck about 1.5 metres (five feet) up, with his skis pointing vertically toward the sky!That was last time on that horse.I've never ridden it since!I do go 4WDing however.My church has a few of us blokes with 4WDs and we trek off together three or four times a year into the bush or along the beach for miles, on weekends or extended trips for a week or two.I'm helping to get the next couple of trips organised . . . . one along the beach of south eastern South Australia for a weekend in late March, the other a 10 day trip into the Simpson Desert with its rough roads and high sand dunes in the far north of the State on the Northern Territory and Queensland borders.Up there, after a couple of day's driving, you can come across "Dalhousie Springs" with its palm trees and hot springs. It is an oasis in the middle of the desert with nothing else around for 200 / 300 kms.There, you can just drop in the water and relax, glass of port in your hand and watch the millions of stars twinkling above. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Ski in Australia? Oh yeah!!!Whose joining us this winter camping at Sawpit Creek? We'll be back there late July, just after the school holidays....The other pic is looking at Zali's (Perisher Blue) from behind the Blue Cow cafeteria complex, midmorning early July 2006. Not a great year, good enough if you were up early - afternoons were decidedly sludgy and mogul country.Bring on the winter!!Neil Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springbok Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Ski in Australia? Oh yeah!!!Whose joining us this winter camping at Sawpit Creek? We'll be back there late July, just after the school holidays....Yay! Snow lifts hopes of good seasonO.K. any recommendations of nice ski-resorts in Australia? I'll be in Sydney from 2nd of June and want to go skiing before I start working! Anyone planning to skiing, please let me know!CheersCharl Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Springbok Posted May 21, 2007 Report Share Posted May 21, 2007 Seems Thredbo is the place to be... www.thredbo.com.au.So who's going to the Winter Opening Weekend, 8 - 11 June 2007?I'd LOVE to go, so please give me a shout, anyone between 25 and 35 without kids preferably. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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