Australia 2019 – Day 7 – The Snowy Mountains Hydrologic and Power Scheme

I woke up under freezing conditions, and I was really proud of myself for gathering enough courage to take a very warm shower in a very cold bathhouse. With such an auspicious start I drove into the fog, intent on giving it another go to cross The Great Dividing Range via Jindabyne and Cooma. Little did I know that I had selected the best possible path through the Snowy Mountains and the Kosciuszko National Park (don’t even try to pronounce it, because in Aussie it doesn’t sound anything like it reads) to see the southern portion of The Snowy Mountains Hydrologic and Power Scheme. I was tickled pink when the signs alerted me to this fact, because visiting this scheme was one of the goals I had set for this trip.

But of course there still was the small issue that I still had to cross the divide. Once again I started seeing nasty little signs warning me that I needed to carry chains or I could be fined, and once again I ignored them. The day was absolutely glorious, so the chances of me finding ice on the road were small. Well, I did find some snow on the road, but nothing worth worrying about, so by noon I was coming into Jindabyne, and an hour later I was entering Cooma, both of which started as company towns at the time the hydro and power scheme was built. Cooma is the epicenter of the whole thing, and it is here that the Visitors Center is located.

The scheme was devised in the 1940’s, and was built in stages between 1949 and 1974 (but a new power plant was added to the system in 2004-2008). The issue is this: Australia’s biggest mountain range is in the southeast, and runs parallel and very close to the coast. The mountains receive a goodly amount of snow (hence the moniker Snowy Mountains), but half of it is wasted in the very short run to the sea to the south. The purpose of the scheme is to capture some of the water in the southern slope, store it in reservoirs, and through a series of tunnels convey it to the inland area to the north, both to generate power and to irrigate the valleys of the Murray and Murrumbidgee rivers (where do Aussies come up with these bizarre names?). It is rightly recognized as one of the Engineering Marvels of the World, with something like 15 reservoirs, 6 enormous tunnels, 7 power plants, and two pumping stations for pumped storage. Check it out in Google and you will be amazed!

I saw a movie named “The Best Years” which I wish Ronnie could see. He would be fascinated by the fabulous work that engineers and heavy construction equipment can do.