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, plus Sat & Sun during school holidays 8am–1pm; free; free call 1800/623 776 for details of guided visits to various power stations).
That’s about all there is to Cooma, except for the Llama Farm, 19km out of town on the Adaminaby Road (Fri–Sun 10am–4pm, daily during school holidays; $10, children $5), 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 02/6456 3150), offers escorted rides at $20 per hour or full-day picnic rides ($75), as well as extended camping safaris ($165 for two days).
Cooma airport is 10 minutes south of the town and has regular flights to and from Sydney.
Attractions
- Lama World: Learn about our Lama family - llama, alpaca and guanaco, working and living together in a lovely bit of Australian bush. Open all yea, Adaminaby Road, Cooma NSW 2630
Practcilities
Accommodation can be hard to come by in the ski season, when everything, especially the motels, is booked up pretty early, but the rest of the year you shouldn’t have too many problems.
Good options include the inexpensive and central Royal Hotel, on the corner of Lambie and Sharp streets: built in 1858, it has loads of character – many of the rooms have French windows opening onto the huge balcony. The family-run Bunkhouse Motel, 28–30 Soho St, is a guesthouse-style backpackers’ with dorms and lots of en-suite singles. The good-value Swiss Motel, 34 Massie St, also has holiday apartments on offer ($61–74) – and there are plenty of other motels nearby.
Snowtels Caravan Park, Snowy Mountains Highway, with a tennis court and communal kitchen, is probably the best of the campsites.
Out of town, you can get away from it all with farmstay accommodation: Rose Valley Station, 8km along the unsealed Rose Valley Road, after heading 14km northeast along the Monaro Highway, has cottages sleeping up to six; Warreen Farm Holidays, 37km east, provides accommodation in a self-catering cabin on a sheep and cattle property; and Litchfield Holiday Farm, Carlaminda Road, 21km east, is a riverfront sheep and horse property, whose rates include all meals and horse-riding.
Cooma’s not really a foodie sort of town. The best place to eat is Café Upstairs, 121 Sharp St, next door to the tourist office. A cross between a café and a licensed brasserie, it serves everything from hamburgers to trout and good-value pasta dishes – plus decent espresso – and is open daily from noon to midnight, and on weekends until 2am. Other good cafés include the BYO Terry’s, 112 Sharp St, the new Sharp Food, 122 Sharp St and Mystic Munchies, 161 Sharp St. Inexpensive pub meals can be had at the bistro of the Australian Hotel, 137 Sharp St.