This travel diary post provide the final 3 days at the Snowy Mountain, which is around 2 hours drive to the east of Melbourne for the kids to explore the snow for the first time, during the Australian winter in August. Before the trip, the plan was to give the kids a glimpse of the snow, which was something they never seen before. The snow fields around Melbourne was the easiest to travel via driving. The option was either the Lake Mountain or Mount Paw Paw. Given that Mount Baw Baw (for skiing) is further away from Melbourne (around 4 hours drive to the east), with all that travelling time, Lake Mountain (for snow toboggan) is already good enough for the kids around 7 years old.
Accommodation
We stayed at Marysville, just around 30 minutes away from Lake Mountain. We want to give the kids a feel living in a house/cottage, given that they only live in a flat or apartment in the past. It was a great experience for them, living somewhere with a front and backyard. The fireplace is something they never seen before, and they really their time to chill out in the cottage.
Lake Mountain
It takes around 30 minutes to drive from the town of Marysville to Lake Mountain. Along the way, there will be a few toboggan equipment hire shops around. Sometimes you may need to hire additional spikes for the car wheel depending on the weather. We were quite lucky that it was a fine day, so spikes wasn’t needed for our car travel.
There are plenty of car parks at Lake Mountain, and plenty of snow as well during August. Car entry fee AU$69, and Toboggan tickets including access to the runway cost AU$33/person.
The kids had a really fun time on snow tube sliding. Of course, that was the first time they were able to build a snowman! The “Flying Fox” is also available for people who look for a thrill ride.
The Chocolateries Yarra Valley
Before we head back to the airport, the kids also have an opportunity to visit the chocolate factory, located at Yarra Glen. It was not easy to say farewell to Melbourne, but I am sure we will be back to Australia again to visit this wonderful country!
