We have put together everything we know about this place and made it a book. Twenty-three pages, free to download, and no email address required.
Talbingo is a small town. About 220 people live here, on the shore of Jounama Pondage at 410 metres, wrapped on three sides by national park and state forest. Most people drive through it on the way to somewhere else, which is fair enough — the Snowy Mountains Highway runs straight past and Selwyn is forty-five minutes further up. But we have been fitting boots and hiring gear here for thirty years, and in that time the same questions come across the counter every week. How far is Yarrangobilly? Which walk should we do with the kids? Where is the boat ramp? Is the road to Blue Waterholes open yet?
The guide is our answer to all of them, in one place.
What is in it
The Talbingo Story. More than 21,000 years of it. This is Walgalu country, and the river corridors past the town were the summer route into the high ranges for the bogong moth gatherings. European settlement came in 1850 with William Bridle’s Talbingo Run; from 1866 the Lampe family made Talbingo Station one of the best-known properties in the mountains. Stella Miles Franklin was born at that homestead in October 1879 and wrote My Brilliant Career at nineteen. In 1968 the waters of Jounama Pondage closed over the hotel, the homestead flats and her birthplace. When you look out over the pondage today you are looking at the roof of old Talbingo.
Ten walks. From Jounama Creek, three kilometres out of town and finishing at a swimming hole, up to the 655-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track. Each one has its distance from Talbingo, its grade under the Australian Walking Track Grading System, and an honest note on what the drive in is like — because “20 km from Talbingo” means something different on Buddong Road after rain.
The huts. Buddong, Vickerys, Four Mile, Long Plain Homestead, Witzes and the rest, with what each one is and how it came to be there. Several were lost in the January 2020 fires and have since been rebuilt board by board by NPWS and the volunteers of the Kosciuszko Huts Association. There is a short section on hut etiquette too, which is worth reading before you go.
Four seasons. Summer on the water, autumn in the gold, winter on the snow, spring for wildflowers and the Talbingo Tattoo. The same town gives you four completely different holidays, and the guide sets out what to do in each.
Getting here and getting sorted. Drive times from Sydney, Canberra and Wagga, where the fuel is, what to expect from mobile coverage, and what is actually open in the village.
Why we made it
Because a good trip usually comes down to a handful of things somebody local could have told you.
– That the Long Plain Road into Blue Waterholes closes from the June long weekend to the October long weekend.
– That the thermal pool at Yarrangobilly sits at 27 degrees all year, including the mornings when there is snow on the steps.
– That chains are not available in Tumut, so if you need them, you get them here.
None of that is secret. It is just scattered, and mostly held in people’s heads.
A note on accuracy
Conditions in the mountains change, and some things in the guide will date. Road closures shift with the season. Lobs Hole and the Ravine Hotel ruins are currently closed to the public while Snowy 2.0 construction continues — that is noted in the guide, but check with NPWS before you plan around anywhere in that valley. Operating dates and hours are worth confirming before you drive.
This is Version 1.0. If you know this country and we have something wrong, tell us. We would rather fix it than defend it.
Download
Download the Talbingo Complete Guide (PDF, 23 pages)
Print it, or keep it on your phone — though be warned that mobile coverage thins out fast once you are past the dam wall, so the printed version has its advantages.
If you are heading up for the snow, come and see us in the shop on Lampe Street before you drive. We will fit the boots, sort the chains, and tell you what the road is doing this morning.