New to the forum. Hi! Trying to weigh up pros and cons of various snow locations for buying a holiday property. We enjoy the mountains in both summer and winter (wide range of outdoor pursuits). Have some little kids to get out on skis and learn. I've had a look at some past threads as well - very helpful. Priorities: - good internet (remote working) - ski school for little ones - groomed xc - advanced skiers - access to backcountry desirable - summer hiking, climbing - space for guests to stay Uncertain - distance to slopes: can't decide whether to be on or off mountain - rentability: could be interested in renting on airbnb but not a must - food/drink: enjoy good food but not a must Between Bright, Dinner Plain and Falls, which would you choose? Why? Thank you!
If you can, go on the mountain. With young kids the whole operation is much easier to manage. The alternative is loading and unloading the car each day, trying to get there in time for ski school, what to do when the weather is crap or people are tired or hungry at the wrong time....
I would choose Mt Beauty or Tawonga South. 30-40 minutes to Falls Creek and 1 1/2 hours to Mt Hotham. Reliable internet, schools, pubs, restaurants, cheap rent. You can't see anything in Bright. Whereas Tawonga South has views of Mt Bogong.
1) If winter & skiing are the priority Dinner Plain - you’re already on the mountain. 2) If mod-cons and year round access to facilities are more of an issue- Tawonga.
We have been happy at dinner plain for the past 20 years. Kids have done a number of winter seasons when younger at the local school, many friends, and a nice local community. Cross country skiing is good to go from your doorstep most of the winter. The village is quiet in offseason but we prefer that. Hotham terrain is excellent.
yes agree, a good friend has recently built in tawonga south last couple of years im just waiting for a mountain creek road place to come up! harrietville doesnt see much sun in winter either frankly id be happy at any of em!
advanced skiers says dinner plain xc says falls both have good BC access depending on whether you want more touring or steeps which do you want most? Bright is a long drive from the snow and if any snow road is going to be closed, that's the one. The town has also become stupidly busy. that may change a bit now but hard to tell. If you are considering off-mountain then consider Mt Beauty, Tawonga Sth or Tawonga. Mt Beauty has secondary as well as primary and tawonga has another primary. There is some good food in Mt Beauty, not much in DP out of season. Bright has more choice but crowds Checkout the internet in the exact spot before you buy. Mt Beauty and Tawonga Sth are mostly wired but Tawonga is mostly fixed wireless. Some odd spots are satellite only. (I work remotely and find wireless adequate). Falls internet is way under-provisioned for winter. I can't comment on DP or Bright internet.
Agreed - but Lots of friendly touring out of DP/ Hotham too...much immediate terrain accessible - Razorback, Loch, Machinery Spur, back end of mt Hotham, down to Derrick Hut, Dibbins.Cobungra Gap... Basalt Temple... Dinner Plain, Aquaduct trail, and then of course - the Paling Spur to Youngs Hut.
it does, roughly.......hotham has a great combo of tree-protected xc trails and steep gully bombing day tours, falls has more exposed xc trails and friendlier meadow hopping destination touring & camping with enough steeps for most but not all
often when the weather is really shit at hotham theres good xc out to DP, christmas hills, whiskey flat etc that we will go to if blown off the lifts or the touring on the tops is no good due to wind, rain, coral reef etc......thats trickier at falls other than noodling around the resort
not sure if you are male or female, or your relationship makeup, but roughly speaking ladies seem to like falls more, blokes prefer hotham. Both like DP. Kids tend to be better looked after at falls, but tend to be radder skiiers at hotham. Put that in your mix. its a complete generalisation of course with multiple stereotypes involved, but thats how it looks to me.
and because im avoiding work, falls is probably an easier day trip from the valley/s, but DP to hotham the easiest.
Hotham has some of the steepest terrain around. It can be challenging. But there are ways around it. Falls has a lot more friendly terrain. Well suited to the little ones. The Great Alpine Road from Harrietville up to Hotham can be a bitch sometimes. The Bogong High Plains Road going up to Falls is easy and close to Mt Beauty.
This is something that I have briefly considered, before remembering that my wife tried snowboarding once, dislocated her elbow, and isn't particularly enamoured of the cold. If I were to do this I would want to be in Dinner Plain, primarily because if I am going to be in a place for the winter, I want to have a proper winter, with snow around us and everything. Having the kids (4 & 0) able to attend primary school and ski/snowboard in the afternoon would be so special. The main downside, obviously, is the cost potential. For a decent place in DP you are looking at costs approximating those of Melbourne. I haven't taken a serious enough look into things to know what the fixed expenses would be for a place up there, but I can't imagine it's exactly cheap living. For year round living? Probably Bright, but then the (daily?) drive up the hill becomes a bit painful as others have mentioned.
i dream of a winter in DP or tawonga south. DP just has that 'its just out there' thing going on, you are in the alps this thread is killin me!
I was actually looking at property online only a few weeks ago in Dinner Plain. Sadly it was for daydreaming purposes only.
2 kids, wife but no dog (yet) - We need a bit more space than that I do the same. There are some nice places up there, as well as some "what were they thinking???" ones, and one that just looks so over the top that it beggars belief. (https://www.domain.com.au/93-big-muster-drive-dinner-plain-vic-3898-2015950737)
This has to be my favourite line: "Two garages fully lined that holds ski boots, quad bikes and several Range Rovers."
On the flip side, now people have had their minds opened up to working from home, I reckon there might be a few more people making a tree change over the next few years.
Technically, not true, on a good day I can “just see” the west peak of Mt Bogong through Tawonga gap from my block! This is from late September so a little patchy but the only photo I can find that shows it. One small reason that contributed to why I bought the block.
@ski2go welcome to the forum. While Falls Creek is my usual ski home, I am currently considering a property in Merrijig. 30 minutes to Mt Buller, easy drive up the hill, under 3 hours from Melbourne, 20 minutes to Mansfield where there are schools, restaurants, shops. Worth a thought.
We love DP and would recommend it highly. I love putting my skis on at the front door and heading off into the forest w my dog, pretty much my favorite thing, and love that last few years have been able to do it 6 months/year. But for the other 6 there’s some terrific MTB trails now, and good fishing just down the road. I think the seller for DP is that it’s very affordable free hold. No resorts management telling you where to park, how much to pay, what you can and can’t do. And nice little (isolated) community.
I live in Merrijig. If you are using it primarily as a ski base I can offer the following considerations in a normal Buller ski season: - If you like to get off the usual cattle race runs which have snow making (LBS, Baldy, Summit, Kofflers, Burnt Hut, Shakey ect.) and/or get off the beaten track, you need to be able to pick and choose when to go up at short notice to take advantage of the conditions. - If you're happy to follow you child around picking them up when they fall and do 6 runs a day, then it doesn't really matter when you go up. For Australia, last year was a typical/normal ski season, yet there were about 3 good weeks at Buller. It was still looking pretty dire up their early August. I would have skied more days at Hotham last year than Buller. Yet in 2017/2018 which were exceptional seasons, I would have skied more at Buller.
it's not clear whether OP wants to live there full-time for many years, full-time for just a few years or part-time. I think that could make a big difference. eg DP would suit lots of people for part-time but most would not want to live there full time for a decade or so. Of course some thrive in that environment
Thank you for the info. Not really just as a ski base, but my adult kids would love to use it as such. Considering downsizing in the city and I like peace and quiet. I have good friends who have bought a property in Merrijig, which they visit regularly, so ready made friendship group.
Looking on the NBN map, Dinner plain is due to get access to fixed wireless services some time this year.
DP could be the place then if you wanted somewhere to live long term then Mt Beauty is a good answer for many. about 45 mins to snow, 55mins to Albury, not too small, not too busy if groomed xc is a high priority, Mt beauty or falls could still be the answer
At that sort of duration, I would definitely be picking DP: Direct access to Hotham Avoids potential for closure of the GAR on big snow days - you get to enjoy the best snow at the quietest times Better potential for income when you aren't there vs Bright/Mt Beauty. I'm not sure what the situation would be for a place in Falls Creek or Hotham proper, including outgoings or similar.
why? bright would have the best return from short term rentals all year IMHO. or it did pre bushfires and covid DP is petty much a ghost town outside winter, Jan and Easter.
It's my impression at least - Bright doesn't really seem to get much of a look-in as a base for accessing Hotham or Falls. Of course it depends on the occupancy rates, but if you only get a few bookings in winter, a summer as a holiday let isn't going to bring in massive numbers.
I think your impression of how busy Bright is, is not reflective of the reality. bright is always busy. DP is a ghost town a day after the season closes and not all that much busier at peak times.
