TUMUT - KIANDRA - CABRAMURRA - TUMBARUMBA - BATLOW - TUMUT

Grade: M-XXX or L-XXX depending on the length of daily stages.

Distance: 260 km return

Road Conditions: Sealed apart from the Tumut River - Paddy's River section between Cabramurra and Tumbarumba.

Route: A circuit to the south of Tumut which takes you through Kiandra, Cabramurra, Tumbarumba and Batlow.

Terrain: Mountainous for the first half, rolling country for the second.

Maps: Natmap 1:100,000 Tumut (8527), Tantangra (8626) and Yarrangobilly (8526). The last is especially important for the Cabramurra - Tumbarumba leg of the journey. See also sketch map.

Starting Point:Tumut

Description:

This three day ride starts along the Snowy Mountains Highway, going south from Tumut, beside the shores of Blowering Reservoir, and then climbs up to the Kiandra Tableland. The route then turns west through Cabramurra and the Maragle and Bago State Forests, and then on to Tumbarumba, before heading north through the apple orchards of Barlow and back to Tumut.

It is important that you use detailed maps for this ride, especially for the Cabramurra - Tumbarumba leg of the journey. From Cabramurra, Tumbarumba is reached via the Goat Ridge Rd, Elliot Way and Tooma Rd.

Make sure you carry a few days' supplies of food with you. The ride should only be undertaken in the warmer months, as the Kiandra - Cabramurra Rd is often closed due to snow during the winter.

The roads are all sealed apart from the Tumut River-Paddys River section between Cabramurra and Tumbarumba.

The going is quite hilly for the first part of the ride but this mellows to a more rolling trip later on.

The points of interest on this ride include:

• Tumut - a substantial town (population around 5,000) with a number of motels, hotels and camping grounds. It can be reached from Canberra by car via the Hume Highway through Yass and Gundagai (200 km), or by bike through Uriarra Crossing and Wee Jasper (160 km) (Refer Tumut via Wee Jasper ride ).
• Blowering Reservoir is the last dam on the Tumut River before it joins the Murrumbidgee River, and in conjunction with the Burrinjuck Dam on the Murrumbidgee southwest of Yass, is used to regulate the supply of irrigation water to areas many kilometres downstream in the Murrumbidgee Irrigation Area (the MIA).
• Talbingo is a small village to the west of the Highway with the last shops before Cabramurra.
• Yarrangobilly Caves - these make an interesting but energetic side trip. It's a rapid downhill run of five kilometres from the Highway to the Caves and a slow five kilometres back to the road. There are a number of caves with daily inspections, and one self-guided cave. The thermal pool at the Caves is probably the best reason for taking this side trip. Unfortunately camping is not permitted (one of the low areas in the Kosciusko National Park where this is so), and you have to climb back onto the Highway before dark. There is a very pleasant camping ground on the banks of the Murrumbidgee several kilometres up the Rules Point Rd which is on the opposite side of the Highway to the Caves.
• Kiandra , Three Mile Dam, Cabramurra see Snowy Mountains Ride.
• Tumbarumba has a population of around 1500, a number of shops, at least one motel, and a caravan park.
• Batlow, much the same size and status as Tumbarumba, is the centre of a prosperous apple growing district. The road from Tumbarumba is flanked by the Bago State Forest on the east and the Green Hills State Forest on the west.

  More information about this area.