|
Cooma
|
|
|
Because of its location at the intersection of two highways - the Monaro Highway south from Canberra and the Snowy Mountains Highway from the coast to the high peaks -
COOMA
is the obvious base for trips into the Snowy Mountains. Although it functions mainly as a service centre for skiers, it's also an attractive place in its own right, with a number of fine old buildings, notably on Lambie and Vale streets - the visitors centre has a brochure detailing buildings of interest.
The town has really come into its own since the 1950s, when it took on the mantle of administrative centre for the hydroelectric scheme. Many of the migrants who worked on the "Snowy", as it's known - particularly those who arrived from central Europe - ended up settling here, making it a fairly cosmopolitan town. If you're interested in the history of the project and the technical details, check out the
visitors centre
of the Snowy Mountains Authority, on the Monaro Highway in North Cooma (Mon-Fri 8am-5pm, Sat & Sun during school holidays 8am-1pm; free call tel 1800 623 776 for details of guided visits to various power stations,
www.snowyhydro.com.au
). That's about all there is to Cooma, except for
Llama World
, 19km out of town on the Adaminaby Road (Fri-Sun 10am-4pm, daily during school holidays; $11;
www.lamaworld.com.au
), where llamas, alpacas and guanacos are bred. Llamas aside, the Snowy Mountains are traditionally regarded as prime
horse-riding
country. The long-established Yarramba Trail Riding at Berridale, 34km southwest of Cooma (tel 02/6453 7204), offers escorted rides at $25 per hour or full-day picnic rides ($75), as well as extended camping safaris ($180 for two days). Other useful information
for tourists (each section contains more specific sub-sections): |
|
Australia,
|