Skiing in the Snowy Mountains is the perfect holiday destination for families, first-timers and experts. Photo: Supplied.
August in the Snowy Mountains is looking good. Skiing, snowboarding, touring and snow play are on in earnest with superb snowmaking conditions. The pristine snowfields are Australia’s favourite winter tourism destination, attracting many first-time skiers and mountain experts, with alpine resorts to suit all experience levels.
A stay at the snow with friends and family is a magical experience. That’s why it’s important to make the most of your snowcation by choosing the resort that suits your needs. Luckily, you’re spoiled for choice in NSW, where snow resort options include Perisher, Thredbo, Charlotte Pass and Selwyn Snow Resort.
With fresh snowfalls, the excitement for this ski and ride season has been welcomed by the vice-president and general managers at Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham. Nathan Butterworth, Richard Phillips and Tina Burford “can’t wait to see you on the mountain this season!”.
While snowmaking teams are on standby, Mother Nature has not disappointed, with powdery falls at the resorts, which are resplendent in white. Not only is Perisher the largest resort in Australia, it’s also the biggest in the Southern Hemisphere, with 1245 hectares of snowy playground in which to ski and snowboard. It consists of four linked resorts – Perisher Valley, Smiggin Holes, Guthega and Blue Cow – with 47 lifts across the seven peaks.
Thredbo is an award-winning alpine gem, packed with apres-ski bars, restaurants and entertainment. Thredbo is also home to Friday Flat, a brilliant area for beginners to learn and practise their skills, as well as the longest ski run in Australia, known as the Crackenback Supertrail.
After closing in 2020 due to severe bushfire damage, Selwyn Snow Resort has been extensively rebuilt, including the new and expanded Selwyn Centre, housing guest facilities and services. It is popular with families and beginners, offering gentle varied slopes across 45 hectares of skiable terrain. There are 10 lifts, and runs for beginners, intermediate and advanced skiers, and snowboarders.
For the ultimate on-snow experience, the highest resort in Australia, Charlotte Pass, is a charming and secluded alpine village that is completely snowbound in winter, accessible only by over-snow transport from Perisher. The Epic Australia Pass, with many benefits, continues to be Australia’s best-value season pass, with unlimited, unrestricted access to ski and board at Perisher, Falls Creek and Hotham. What’s more, it also unlocks access to more than 75 resorts worldwide.
Arriving at Bullo River Station by private charter airplane or helicopter provides a stunning panorama that sets up your visit in the most memorable way in the Northern Territory. Photo: Supplied.
Travel 800 kilometres from Darwin, and you’re in another world for an experience like no other. Looking for a luxury lodge in which to relax, unwind and get a sense of place? If so, then look no further than the Bullo River Station in the Northern Territory. Why? It is the “signature experiences that make a visit memorable and, for some, life-changing”.
Set on 400,000 acres (almost 162,000 hectares) of privately owned countryside at the convergence of the Bullo and Victoria rivers, Bullo is a working cattle station in the East Kimberley region of the Northern Territory, near the Western Australia border.
According to the station’s co-owner Julian Burt: “Our vision for Bullo River Station is to demonstrate that thriving cattle operations and vibrant ecosystems can coexist.”
Experience breathtaking landscapes and incredible biodiversity where salt and fresh waters meet.
Bullo River Station strives to balance best-practice pastoral work with a commitment to environmental conservation. Photo: Supplied.
The station’s pristine landscape is carved with gorges and waterfalls, making it one of Australia’s most breathtakingly beautiful cattle farms. Encircled by the coffee-coloured waters of the Victoria River and rugged hills inscribed with Aboriginal rock art, this vast property is not only home to around 2000 Brahman-cross cattle, but also a stunning variety of local fauna species including wallabies, dingoes, myriad native and migratory birds, fish and the omnipresent crocodiles.
You can explore Bullo with your own guide: visit secret waterfalls, natural swimming pools and historic boabs, spending the day cruising the Bullo River and dropping a line in for barramundi fishing, bird and wildlife watching and exploring the Aboriginal rock art on the vast property. Of course, there is also the station life, which has its own rhythms, full of dust and excitement. It all makes for an invigorating stay.
Bullo strives to balance best-practice pastoral work with a commitment to environmental conservation. The prime pastoral land is managed with equal care and respect for the pristine and extraordinary beauty of the outback bush. In an Australian-first conservation and pastoral partnership, conservation projects are managed by the Australian Wildlife Conservancy.
As managers Joe and Catherine say: “Station life is ever-changing with no two days the same. One thing you can count on is the hospitality, great meals and generous, comfortable surrounds waiting for you.”
