Road to Tumut & Cooma

Gus1949 · Senior Member

Road to Tumut & Cooma

Dougwe · Chief one feather

The road from Hume Hwy via Gundagai to Tumut is no problem. From Tumut I have only gone as far as Talbingo so haven't done as far as Cooma. I have been told by fellow GN the road to Cooma is very mountainous so I wouldn't. It is the Snowy Mountain Hwy, after all.

erad · Guru

This road is regularly used by large semi-trailers, so a caravan is no issue. However, it all depends on what you use to tow the van. There are a few largish hills before you get to Tumut, and from Tumut onwards, you have some whoppers. The worst is Talbingo Mountain. This is about 8 km of steep, winding climb, but again, it is regularly used by large trucks. I have a Pajero diesel and tow a 16.5 ft Jayco poptop caravan up the hill. The inlet air temperature gets a bit high after a few km, and I have found that if I change up to a higher gear, there is less turbo boost and the temperatures come down a bit. I have to drop back to second gear to climb the winding sections of the mountain but as soon as possible I change up to 3rd gear (I have manual transmission) to keep the inlet air temperatures at a more reasonable level. The temperature gauge on my Pajero never moves more than a needle width, but I keep the cooling system in good order all the time. I have no hestitation in towing my van up and down this road, but I live here and know the roads well. Take your time, stay well on your own side of the road and you will be perfectly safe.

If you come this way, be very careful around Blowering Dam. There are heaps of kangaroos and wombats, so avoid travelling in the early or late hours of daylight and do not travel at night. The bushfires have decimated this area lately, but the road is perfectly safe to travel now. Kiandra is especially worth looking over, particularly if you remember what it once was. How a stone building (the old Kiandra courthouse) could burn with no trees around it is beyond my comprehension.

If you are worried about travelling this road, an alternative route can be to go via Yass to Canberra and thence down to Cooma, but this adds about 100 km to the trip.

Gus1949 · Senior Member

Thank you for your advice. If I go that way I may check it out without the van on first.

Plain Truth · Guru

Gus,you will have no problems,we towed over in Nov. last year.Just one steep section just past Talbingo.This photo is at Kiandra.

Sharmalhar · Newbie

Erad, is the trip between Cooma and Talbingo (the reverse direction to this subject) the same, less or more demanding for your rig?

erad · Guru

The trip Cooma to Talbingo (and further on) is a lot easier than the other way. There are gentle climbs as far as Kiandra, and then it is undulating from there to the top of Talbingo Mountain. A couple of short, steeper climbs, but no big deal. Now, as you approach the final descent down Talbingo mountain, the speed limit changes to 60 km/h. From here on, the road gets narrower and winding, and Steep. DO NOT RELY TOTALLY ON YOUR BRAKES HERE - use LOW GEAR. It is only 5 km or so, but you will have much more control over the rig. As for suitability for a 20 ft caravan, no problems - large trucks use this road all the time - you just have to hope that you don't get stuck behind one going down the mountain because it will then be slow for sure and you will be riding your brakes all the way down.

If you are interested in the Snowy Scheme, you can turn into Talbingo at the base of the hill and see Tumut 3 Power Station. You are allowed to drive around the rear of the station (over the pipelines), but you cannot go inside the station. Snowy Hydro has a visitor's centre in the shops area of town. If you go past the station, you will see the pipes - they are BIG - they are 5.5 m diameter. Also you will see the 330 KV transformers at the rear of the station, but you cannot see much more in that area.

Once down the hill, I assume that you intend to continue on to Tumut etc. This will take you past Blowering Dam. The area around the dam is principally grassy (treeless) country and it is teeming with Kangaroos and Wombats - the 4 legged variety, although there are quite a few 2 legged wombats around there at times we well. If you are going through this area early morning or nearer evening, be careful. There are a couple of short sharp climbs and descents in this area as well, but they present no problems if driven sensibly.

-- Edited by erad on Friday 15th of January 2021 09:53:35 PM

Possum3 · Guru

Query for Cindy - I have noticed lately that some older posts are coming into my display (like this one started Feb 2020) completely out of posting order. Is this occurring in other GN's feed or is my computer playing up?

I may not be the sharpest knife in the block but I am definitely getting that I've been here before feeling.

Dougwe · Chief one feather

Yep. Me too Possum. I thought it was my settings got CV19 so checked and no changes.

JayDee · Guru

About 40 plus years ago Dee and I and our 3 boys were heading to Tumut and Cooma in our trusty Ford Falcon station wagon towing a 16??? foot van.

We did not have electric brakes in those days and had to rely on car brakes and gears. Had no knowledge of the roads in the snowy.

We were coming down this very steep mountain road and our hearts were in our mouths. The brakes were overheating and I was losing control of the brakes as they no doubt were red hot. We finally made it to a service station right at the bottom of the range. I talked to the manager re my experience and he took me outside and showed me the side fence with artwork and said all those dings in the fence are from people who were struggling to stop after coming down the mountain.

We had a couple of hours rest to let the brakes cool and to get our heart rate back to normal.

To this day, I think it was our LUCKY DAY, that we survived the drive.

Jay&Dee

Mobi Condo · Guru

Plain Truth wrote:
Gus,you will have no problems,we towed over in Nov. last year.Just one steep section just past Talbingo.This photo is at Kiandra.

OH! AH!

Firstly we have done the down hill twice now, 1st with our 80 series, 2nd with our Discovery 4 both towing our 19ft 3500Kg van, why, because we wanted to ascertain just how steep the terrain is before trying the long tow up. It appears to us that the most difficult going up would be just out of Tumut to Talbingo and to us would rate about equal to the steepest of the rises between Batemans Bay and Braidwood, but we feel we could handle it quite well. Yes there are LOTS of trucks, both empty and loaded timber jinkers, many 10T Quarry Trucks and Trailers in tow. But road is good and inclines seem well designed.

What got us in the pic though is that the building at Kiandra is now just a WRECK (as on 19 Dec 2020)! What happened ????

PeterD · Guru

Your picture is of the old Kiandra Courthouse. From that page "Kiandra Courthouse was severely damaged by fire during the 2020 Kosciuszko National Park bushfire." The place has a very interesting history, including the claim that it is the place where the world sport of downhill skiing commenced. Read this link as well - Kiandra.

bobsa · Senior Member

Travelled it both ways with a 18.5 foot jayco and Nissan patrol 3.0 L combination
not a problem good road a bit hilly , great views good free camps
Bob

PeterD · Guru

If you have any problems on that road you should look at the inadequacies in your rig or your driving techniques. The hills along it are the type that you should descend carefully in a low gear so you do not have to do too much braking.

Plain Truth · Guru

PeterD wrote:
Your picture is of the old Kiandra Courthouse. From that page "Kiandra Courthouse was severely damaged by fire during the 2020 Kosciuszko National Park bushfire." The place has a very interesting history, including the claim that it is the place where the world sport of downhill skiing commenced. Read this link as well - Kiandra.

It is sad to see reduced to this.

erad · Guru

Sadly, there is very little left of the old courthouse now, after the fires a year ago. There were no trees or bushes around the building - mainly just gravel and some grasses, yet the building caught fire and was destroyed. I think they must have been soring fuels in there because the glass in the window on the side of the building melted, and flowed out onto the ground outside. The stone walls remain but all the roof rafters and roofing material has gone. And yet, a colorbond toilet block about 2 m away from the building was untouched except for the plastic water tank which melted some pipework.. The building looks very much sadder now. All other buildings in the Kiandra area (there were some private ski lodges and a few historic old shops beside the road were all burnt to the ground. I am sure that the end result pleases the National Sparks and Wildfire Service because the fires obliterated nearly all traces of human activity in the area.

Sharmalhar · Newbie

Thanks for your help Erad. We are staying at Talbingo with a while then heading to Tumut and beyond. I am familiar with the road between Talbingo and Tumut. Cheers.