20 April 2012 - Jindabyne Holiday Park, Snowy Mountains, New South Wales

After having wasted so many words about the overpriced camp at Nimmitabel, the caretaker never did turn up last night, nor this morning. Unable to locate any donation box, we hung about until 9 am, but could wait no longer, and so this will join the list of free camps after all. Another rig that had come in later in the evening snuck off before we were up, apparently making no attempt to make any payment at all. But then you see that quite often. Its people like that who paint us all as cheapskates. (Did I say that?)

As we headed up and away from Nimmitabel, the sun was shining and the poplars along the creek beds were the most vivid yellow gold either of us had ever seen. We travelled on over the thirty seven kilometres across the plains, grazed by sheep and cattle, but mainly the former. We noted the well maintained woolsheds and shearers quarters, and the modest homesteads. Mist or low hanging clouds lay in the hollows, sometimes rising like bush fire smoke. The road, now that the Snowy Mountains Highway from Bega had joined this north – south route, was of a far better standard, and we were able to keep up a good steady speed most of the way through to Cooma.

Cooma appeared quite suddenly, nestled in low hills, the houses scattered among the loveliest gold of autumn. The sign at the entrance told us that the population was 8,000 and that we were at 800 metres above sea level. Autumn is indeed a lovely time of the year to travel. We passed through the centre of this tantalising town without stopping, heading directly to the Snowy Hydro Discovery Centre at the northern end.

This wonderful information centre is funded by Snowy Hydro as a public relations exercise and is a must see for any tourist passing this way. But then I would say that because the Snowy Hydro Scheme is the primary reason we had abandoned our original plan to follow the A1 Highway on around the coast toward Sydney, and instead came north from Cann River.

Here we learned the history of the scheme, the geography of the Kosciuszko National Park and of the wild creatures which inhabit this area (aside from the Australians and foreign tourists). We spent nearly two hours there, and were very impressed, finding the wealth of information almost too much to absorb in one sitting. And as I write this, I am thinking that we should perhaps return there after we have ourselves explored the scheme and surrounds. 

Some of the facts and snippets we learned:

• Construction of the scheme commenced in 1949 and was completed by 1974.
• The scheme is the largest renewable energy generator in mainland Australia and plays an important role in the operation of the national electricity market, generating approximately 67% of all renewable energy in the mainland National Electricity Market.
• The scheme includes: 
•         7 major power stations (2 underground)
•       16 major dams
•       80 kilometres of aquaducts
•       145 kilometres of tunnels
• Water is diverted from the scheme for farmers on the Murray and Murrumbigee River systems.
• 75% of water for irrigation in Australia comes from this scheme.
• The chief engineer and commissioner for the scheme was New Zealand born Sir William Hudson.
•  It is the largest engineering scheme ever undertaken in Australia.
• 70% of the 100,000 workers on the project were migrants from thirty different countries, mainly European.
• The official death toll of workers on the scheme was 121.
• Some of the towns constructed for the scheme are now permanent: Cabramurra, Khancoban, Cooma.
• Townships of Adaminaby, Jindabyne and Talbingo were inundated by the construction of dams.
• 1600 kilometres of new roads were constructed and original ones improved, thus opening up the area to tourists who now come to enjoy the natural features of the park, notably the ski-resorts of Thredbo and Guthega.
• The lakes formed by damming, hold thirteen times the amount of water in the Sydney Harbour.
• “Cloud seeding” is used to encourage the formation and growth of ice crystals or raindrops, which in turn, enhance precipitation (i.e. rain). This is done by:
• A minute amount of silver iodide is sprayed across a propane flame.
• The silver iodide particles rise into the clouds.
• The silver iodide causes cloud moisture to freeze and create ice crystals.
• Ice crystals grow big enough to fall as snow.
• And of course the snow in turn melts in the spring filling the lakes and rivers which are then made use of to produce electricity.
• The Hydro Company works hand in hand with the National Parks department with special attention to the conservation of the tiny mountain pigmy possum and the corroboree frog.

And that was just the beginning, but enough to whet our appetite for more, hence our evolving decision during the following few hours to stay more than several days in the area.

We filled the diesel tanks here in Cooma where the price was marginally lower than the last few places we had passed through, then found the local Coles supermarket where we restocked perishable items and then called into the Visitors Centre in the hope someone might be able to suggest the best way of touring the alpine area without moving here permanently. Katrin in the Centre was just marvellous, a true saleswoman for the attractions of Cooma and surrounds. We had entered wondering whether we should stay at Cooma rather than Jindabyne as decided earlier in the day, and left realising that we would have to stay in both places plus a few more as well.

So for now we decided to stay with Plan A and set off for Jindabyne, about seventy kilometres south west, passing over a saddle near the Snowy Mountain airfield at 980 metres above sea level. Misty rain had started soon after we left Cooma, but it did not detract from the lovely landscape along the way, although it did shroud the distant mountains so for now, views of Australia’s highest mountain from this angle must wait for another day.

We were delightfully surprised by the size of Lake Jindabyne and even more delighted to find ourselves right on the lakeside. The township is situated at 930 metres above sea level. It was relocated here and while I did not know how the original town looked, I suspect it was not a patch on this new one.