Hi everyone, we would like some advise as we are new to caravanning & have not travelled on this road before. We are planning to go down to Cann River & over to say Mallacoota, we want to travel up the south coast. What is the road like as we don't want to travel down anything too steep as we are not experienced enough.
Thanks in advance
If you travel by the main roads they are all sealed.
Leaving Wagga Wagga to Talbingo not to bad with general ups and downs.
Talbingo up over to Yarrangobilly there is a very noticeable climb into the Great Dividing Range but the rest though to Cooma to Cann River is very doable then onto Genoa to Mallacoota.
Experience comes with caravan travel.
If the descend feels steep and you are applying your brakes regularly then slow down and drop your transmission down a couple of gears to assist your brakes and hold your road speed. If need be go to your lowest gear and take your time.
Do not think you are going to slow as most trucks will be doing the same, trying to balance out the braking going down hill.
Keep your passenger relaxed by pulling over to enjoy the views where ever practical allowing other road users slip on by.
Thank you to Radar & Plain Truth, I guess we will learn as we go but always nice to know a little about the roads not travelled, especially with a caravan in tow.
If you make it to Mallacoota, make sure you have a meal at the pub. Best pub meal I've ever had. Resturant quality at pub prices. My wife had a seafood basket that had a lobster tail and came out on two plates for $47 and I had Ocean trout that had two pieces plus 6 oysters on top for $33. Awesome.
I agree with Radar too. It is not called Brown Mountain for nothing. Enjoy the trip it is really good. Just take your time get in behind a truck if you can.
Haven't driven from Wagga Wagga to Cooma but have done the trip eastwards from Cooma about twenty times. From Cooma the road is pretty good but undulating with no steep hills or descents.
Just past Nimitabel turn right onto the Monaro Highway. Until Bombala the road is undulating but again with no steep hills.
From Bombala down to Cann River the road is almost straight with a gentle descent all the way. And I do mean gentle - on the return north the only way you know you are actually climbing is that there is a slightly more load on the engine.
The shortest way is to go via Tumut and Talbingo (the Snowy Mountains Highway), but immediately after the Talbingo turnoff, there is a VERY steep climb - about 10 km in total. The road is a bit narrow and winding, but not a big issue as long as you stay well on your own side of the road. Once you reach the top of Talbingo Mountain, the road is relatively easy from there on. The steep gradient is comparable to the climb from the Gold Coast to the hinterland, or maybe the final pinch on the Great Western Hwy from Lithgow to Blackheath (only longer).
I don't know details of your vehicle and caravan, but if you have any doubts about the tug's ability to climb a steep mountain I suggest that you go via Canberra to Cooma - about 100 km longer.
If you come via the Snowy Mountains Highway (Tumut/Talbingo/Cooma), be advised that there is a lot of construction traffic on the road between Kiandra and Cooma (Snowy 2.0), but the trucks are used to tourist traffic these days. The trucks are legal sized loads, but there are quite a few of them and you will likely see 10 or 15 trucks in the 90 km run Kiandra to Cooma. The road is plenty wide enough and you will have no problems with the trucks - just be aware that they will be there.
As you come through Adaminaby, there is a small pond in the park on the side of the road. There is a resident rainbow trout in the pond. If you are lucky you may see it jumping for the insects around there....
Cooma to Bombala is a good road, and after Bombala you will have the option to go via Cann River; or go on the Imlay Forest Road, heading East and coming out onto the Princes Highway about 20 km South from Eden. All roads South from Bombala are used by logging trucks - the Imlay Road was built specially for the trucks to get to the wood Chip mill at Eden. This road is essentially straight and certainly wide enough to allow fully loaded trucks to pass each other safely. There are no shops etc on this part of the road whereas there are facilities at Cann River. The distances are nearly the same, so there is no major gain either way.
The road from Genoa to Mallacoota is a lulu. It is only 23 km, but will take you about 40 minutes. Sealed road but they certainly didn't know about straight lines when they laid that road out.
All roads from Wagga to Mallacoota are sealed and aligned to take fully loaded timber trucks etc so towing a caravan should present no problems as long as you take your time and stay on your own side of the road.
-- Edited by erad on Wednesday 2nd of February 2022 09:31:17 PM
I live in East Gippsland and often travel on the road from Cooma to Cann River. Erad has given you a very good rundown of the road conditions. Personally, I would take the Bombvala to Cann River route and have a stop and a pie at Cann River. Caravan parking is quite good and, if you need it, there is an excellent free park in Cann River. The Genoa to Mallacoota road is double lane bitumen but very windy and slow. Just take plenty of time. Fishing is good at Mallacoota at the moment if you are a fisherman. Enjoy your trip.
You have all been so helpful, erad our car is a izuzu d mux not a 4wd & our caravan is a 18ft talvor. I think going via Canberra maybe the best way for us this time, thank you for the great advise everyone. I will post how we get on
