Tumut is cradled in the foothills of the Snowy Mountains. Expect rolling hills, secret valleys and majestic mountains. Tumut is located just off the Hume Highway, which means it’s a direct, if lengthy, drive to Sydney four hours away. Add an extra hour on top of that for Melbourne.
This is a lovely town with a number of good restaurants along Wynyard Street that celebrate the wonderful food and wine of the Riverina region. Unlike much of Australia, Tumut has four distinct seasons and in autumn, the town offers some of the most spectacular leaf colour in the country, thanks to the poplars, elm and willow trees planted by early settlers. The locals are happy to celebrate this fact with their Festival of the Falling Leaf.
Tumut is on the edge of Kosciuszko National Park. This is Australia’s largest national park and home to the country’s highest peak, Mount Kosciuszko. Australia’s highest town, Cabramurra, is just an hour’s drive away. Yarrangobilly Caves are a complex of caverns with stalagmites and stalactites. There’s even a thermal pool fed by warm water springs at 27°C where you can take a dip.
As an alpine environment, the landscape is fairly unique within Australia which means that in the summer, it is a hugely popular destination for bushwalkers, canoeists and anglers. In the winter, skiers flock to the Snowy Mountain ski resorts. One of them, Selwyn Snow Resort, is just an hour’s drive away from Tumut.
