Jindabyne is a small town in the middle of nowhere. Yet in spite of an ungodly location, it remains a top winter hotspot. It boasts one thing that the rest of the state cannot: being the gateway to the snow. I’ve booked the Jindy accomodation about two months in advance. This has become my trend: securing seats and rooms early to avoid disappointment. Our last two trips had an average of about two months between booking and travel.

The arrival

One thing that stands out about Jindy is the painstaking journey to get there. The bus left Sydney around 7am, and we arrived there before 2pm. In that time, I could take a round trip to Auckland with time to spare. The coach made several stops along the way, including lunch in Canberra. I slept walked through check in at reception and soon we were in our room. It wasn’t anything fancy, but it was workable. The other door opened to an open area with views of the lake. I sat there for a while, ignoring my throbbing head. After twenty minutes watching the birds and hearing the crashing waves, we went for lunch. The food is pretty much the same: standard Aussie pub food. We walked through town afterwards, but the whole place had a backward, sleepy feel. I guess people just went for pit stops on the way to the snow.

Mixed bag

The rooms were comfortable, with daily housekeeping and climate control. No shower gels and shampoo, no premium pay TV channels and no room service. There was complimentary daily breakfast though, and free in room wifi. There was a closet too to hang your stuff. The breakfast met my expectations. Though quite Aussie, there was tea, three choices of fruit juice, and a reasonable selection of go foods. Staff were friendly and welcoming, but they didn’t have the things I requested. In the end, Lake Jindabyne hotel is a worthy three stars. Some might argue otherwise, but it’s a mixed bag. It does a few things well while lacking in other respects. What wins me over though is the view of the lake. There is a trail around the lake, and we walked this during our first day. The greenery refreshened my mind, the wind rejuvenated me. After the cumbersome coach journey, wandering along the path was a real shot in the arm.

Snow fallin’

On our last day, we were in for a special treat. As we waited for hours for our return coach, it started becoming very cold; my hands were freezing. Suddenly, the snow fell. I’ve never ever seen real snow in my life; it was awesome. The kids were having a field day; surely this was the way to be stranded. My friend commented that he hadn’t seen snow like that in a very long time. He was 2 or 3 when it last happened. He was so young he only realised this through the pictures. I’ve read that it rarely snows in Jindy. If it had to happen once in a few years, I’m glad I was there. Being a natural chronicler, I captured the moment on my mobile phone. Others followed suit and started recording. How did you find my shots?

To be continued…