Australia’s best landscapes series: The Australian Alps

There are many drives to explore in the Australian Alps National Landscape including the Kosciuszko Alpine Way, the Snowy Valleys Way from Tumut to Wangaratta, the Great Alpine Road from Bairnsdale to Wangaratta, the Bogong Alpine Way from Bright to Omeo via the Bogong High Plains and the difficult 4WD-only Wonnangatta Drive.

The Kosciuszko Alpine Way is a stunning driving route all year round offering dramatic mountain scenery. Most of this 175-kilometre drive is through the Kosciuszko National Park, recognised as a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve. There are nine wilderness areas in the park and some plant species that are found nowhere else in the world. Whether you start at Jindabyne or Khancoban, you’ll always be in sight of Mt Kosciuszko, Australia’s tallest peak.

Visit great local wineries and boutique breweries, take a gondola ride on to Eagle’s Nest (Australia’s highest restaurant) and see the legacy of the ‘Man from Snowy River’ at a wild brumby sanctuary.

Just west of Cooma, be sure to stop at the Mount Gladstone Lookout for sweeping views across the Monaro Plains to the peaks of the Snowy Mountains. Summer or winter, these drives through Australia’s high country provide new perspectives on the Australian landscape.

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