Sunday, Feb 08, 2009 at 21:53
"...be under the stars somewhere..."
Good luck at that time of the year. The mountains up there are very wet and cold. Even camping in a tent will be cold.
I have spent a significant amount of time camping up there in winter as I used to do a LOT of cross-country ski touring and as such am
well equipped to
camp in cold, wet and snow conditions. In fact, I prefer camping in the snow as it is generally easier to stay dry, than when it is raining or sleeting.
It would be damn hard work with kids, trying to keep them warm and dry, but I would suggest having a look around
Island Bend on the Snowy as a reasonable place to
camp at that time of the year, though I was there on the coldest day ever recorded in Australia! The temp at Charlotte's Pass was -23C and -18c at
Island bend. We had a bucket of water beside our tent an by the morning it was frozen SOLID. Not just a layer if ice on the top. I have an expedition rated sleeping bag that is of very high quality with a goretex shell (worth about $800) and I was JUST warm enough that night in a little hiking tent with just 2 of us. You will want some very good gear to be able to ENJOY camping up there at that time of the year.
My wife loves camping, but I wouldn't take her up there at that time of the year as I know she would struggle with the weather.
I can't help much with the snow driving stuff, but many of the tracks up there are either closed for the winter or the major roads are cleared by snow
clearing machinery. I'm sure there are some tracks to drive on, but only those who live up that way or are very familiar with 4WDing in the area will be able to help you with this. Driving in the snow is generally a bit of a dead loss in my experience. Most of my snow driving has been in the
Vic High country and this is usually restricted to the main access roads. Unless the snow is quite soft and relatively fresh, you wont get very far in deep snow.
Many 4WDers seem to have this obsession with driving up to the snow, getting bogged, snatch out backwards, trying again, getting 2-3m further, getting bogged again and on it goes....all on a road that will have a
gate a little further up the road. I find this quite mindless, but each to their own.
It sounds like you just want a snow experience, so I would suggest you choose the spring holidays instead of the winter ones. There is simply more chance of getting a little good weather and temperatures are (generally slightly warmer and the 'bulk' of the snow has already fallen).
Hope I don't sound too negative for you, but trying to save you from an unpleasant trip. Though all that being said, if you think the family could cope with those conditions, it is a very beautiful place at that time of the year if you can get a view through the fog and snow storms.
Cheers,
Mark
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