Thredbo to Lakes Entrance road

[_VXV]

About to do a family roadtrip Adelaide>Jindabyne in the school holidays & want to go back via Melbourne. There's a road from Thredbo heading vertically down towards Lakes Entrance that according to the map is approx 220kms but Google Maps is saying allow 5+hours. It'll be steep & windy but is it that bad?

Will have 2 kids (5+8) & don't want vom city.
Thanks in advance.

 

[Messenger]

That sounds right. After the rain Victoria has had might want to check its condition too.

 

[_VXV]

That sounds right. After the rain Victoria has had might want to check its condition too.

Cheers, did wonder about the conditions also. Looks like I'll take the long way round.

 

[Hoops]

Cheers, did wonder about the conditions also. Looks like I'll take the long way round.

It's a lovely drive. Jindabyne to Melbourne via Cann River has good roads but if coming from Thredbo going to Melbourne via Corryong would be the quickest.

 

[Wallaby]

I've done the road via Bombala and McKillop's Bridge - according to Google maps it's about 2-3 hours longer than the Cann river route. But it's great - lots of dirt roads (still 2-wheel drive), Snowy River, forests, logging truckseek:). It's a full day - you want to stop a few times. (And the Bombala pub is the only place I've found Tooheys Old on tap - that's got to be worth a visit).

Agree about the weather - may be a bit dicey right now.

 

[_VXV]

It's a lovely drive. Jindabyne to Melbourne via Cann River has good roads but if coming from Thredbo going to Melbourne via Corryong would be the quickest.

Thanks mate, with it being the tail end of the trip & the kids etc think I'll just get out of Dodge as quick as possible.

 

[_VXV]

I've done the road via Bombala and McKillop's Bridge - according to Google maps it's about 2-3 hours longer than the Cann river route. But it's great - lots of dirt roads (still 2-wheel drive), Snowy River, forests, logging truckseek:). It's a full day - you want to stop a few times. (And the Bombala pub is the only place I've found Tooheys Old on tap - that's got to be worth a visit).

Agree about the weather - may be a bit dicey right now.

Thanks mate, I'll see how it's looking when we're there & decide. Not sure I can tolerate the kids for that drive but the forests and the lure of tooheys old may be too much to resist.

 

[Meow]

It's a lovely drive. Jindabyne to Melbourne via Cann River has good roads but if coming from Thredbo going to Melbourne via Corryong would be the quickest.

Via Buchan is far quicker (you can also visit the caves). Travelled the road a few times when I lived in East Gippsland and it was paved + generally in good condition, but this is some years ago. Couldn't give an answer now. In some of my recent trips back out there, the Princes Highway has almost been in worse condition than the OP described with all its potholes, intermittent roadworks, etc.

If it's Corryong via the Hume Highway you're referring to, I couldn't think of a more boring road trip. The scenery and attractions out Gippsland way are far nicer - boating/fishing at Lakes Entrance, bushwalking, cycling, great beaches, etc.

Just on Lakes Entrance - if you don't plan on stopping there, turn off at Bairnsdale and head via Bruthen. Will shave 20-30 mins off your trip. Just don't take the Alpine Road or you'll end up in the middle of nowhere.

 

[Meow]

Another word of warning - many Gippsland roads use a white-coloured bitumen that can make it difficult to see line markings. Have veered onto the wrong side of the road several times because of this.

 

[Meow]

Apologies, the road I was thinking of before is the Bonang Hwy and goes via Orbost & Bombala. The one you mentioned (directly from Lakes Entrance to Thredbo) has unsealed sections. In your case, it might indeed be quicker to travel via Corryong.

 

[_VXV]

Apologies, the road I was thinking of before is the Bonang Hwy and goes via Orbost & Bombala. The one you mentioned (directly from Lakes Entrance to Thredbo) has unsealed sections. In your case, it might indeed be quicker to travel via Corryong.

Nice work mate, thanks for the effort.
All the best for this weekend & next

 

[Doss]

Haven't done this route unfortunately. The route to Thredbo via Corryong is fantastic once you get east of Albury/Wodonga, though.

 

[_VXV]

Haven't done this route unfortunately. The route to Thredbo via Corryong is fantastic once you get east of Albury/Wodonga, though.

Thanks, did it when I was a kid & without being funny i remember it being a bit magical. Hopefully my kids will react the same.

 

[_VXV]

For anyone interested,

Made it to Melbourne yesterday evening, came back via Monaro Hwy from Bombala to Cann River then into Melbourne. No road problems, just lovely scenery.
Decision to take this road was pretty much made for us by the weather. After leaving Albury we found Alpine Way after Khancoban closed due to a road slipping away the night before, so had to take the long road around which had just opened after winter to Cabramurra & Kiandra and then down to Jindabyne. This road was closed down the day after we went through due to falling trees, we got lucky!
So in the end, with three of the four roads out, with the road I mentioned in the OP the road through Suggan Buggan closed also, not operational we went around a little longer but safer.
Thanks for the help.

 

[Full Credit]

Good thread, drove the Barry Way (I think that is what it is called) from Buchan to Thredbo a few years back during summer. Took about 6 hours, single lane dirt track through the Australian Alps with a sheer drop down the side, scary s**t especially seeing as the people at Buchan told us to watch out for buses coming the other direction, never ran into one but did run into a ute coming the other way, had to reverse about 500 metres to find a place wide enough for them to squeeze past. 10/10 would do again.

 

[Doss]

I have done the Omeo-Corryong road. It wasn't bad but considering the altitude it gets to, wasn't quite as good as I would have hoped; thought there might be better views.

You do pass very close to Dartmouth Dam which is huge; it can be reached by a quick side trip at several points.

The road gets to about 1200 metres at one point, so be careful of the weather.

 

[rocker_oz33]

Took me 5 hrs from G town to lakes entrance.
Getting though the city was a bish,didn't use the tolls.

 

[rocker_oz33]

For anyone interested,

Made it to Melbourne yesterday evening, came back via Monaro Hwy from Bombala to Cann River then into Melbourne. No road problems, just lovely scenery.
Decision to take this road was pretty much made for us by the weather. After leaving Albury we found Alpine Way after Khancoban closed due to a road slipping away the night before, so had to take the long road around which had just opened after winter to Cabramurra & Kiandra and then down to Jindabyne. This road was closed down the day after we went through due to falling trees, we got lucky!
So in the end, with three of the four roads out, with the road I mentioned in the OP the road through Suggan Buggan closed also, not operational we went around a little longer but safer.
Thanks for the help.

Did you go to caan river/ I think there is a beach their.
We drove past the turn off on our way up the nsw south coast

 

[_VXV]

Did you go to caan river/ I think there is a beach their.
We drove past the turn off on our way up the nsw south coast

Didn't stop this time as we lost a bit of time. Will go back another time & better explore this area, next holiday is somewhere warm with pool service!

 

[Ulahoopski]

I've driven that road from Buchan to Jindy several times (never in winter). Love it. Never had a problem though I'd recommend 4wd for that extra bit of safety. My trips were always in a Subaru wagon. The Suggan Buggan schoolhouse visitors book had pages of notes which shows that a lot of others have gone that route too.

 

[Doss]

I've driven that road from Buchan to Jindy several times (never in winter). Love it. Never had a problem though I'd recommend 4wd for that extra bit of safety. My trips were always in a Subaru wagon. The Suggan Buggan schoolhouse visitors book had pages of notes which shows that a lot of others have gone that route too.

Would be an interesting (and I imagine hazardous) road in winter, that one.

 

[Ulahoopski]

Did you go to caan river/ I think there is a beach their.
We drove past the turn off on our way up the nsw south coast

We used to go camping at Cann River. Amazing spot. You need a boat and plenty of supplies, especially water. From the town you head to the river then by boat out to the lake/ inlet. That flows out to the ocean. So you have fishing everywhere, waterskiing or boating in the inlet, and the surf beach. There's also a huge sand dune that comes down straight into the water. At least there was the last time I was there 25 odd years ago.