Jindabyne

I was quite shameful to admit that I couldn't do this job that I'd been really good at in my life.

And I actually moved to Jindabyne to work down there.

And I loved it because it was cold.

And I would literally go outside to put the washing on the line for a break.

No, no, it was not.

And with your training, you've got – so after your training run, the bun run, you're heading down south and into the mountains of Jindabyne.

Yes.

Or Thredbo, Perisher.

So we've scored some accommodation up in the snow line, so we're going to be right up there near the start.

Perfect.

Yeah, we'll have a good little holiday out of it and then run Jindabyne Park run on the way home.

Oh, yeah, perfect.

obviously i'm here participating in this event as a private citizen and this is a personal story it's not actually directly related at all to my professional role working for the abc so just to make that distinction Look, I grew up between Sydney and the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales with a parent in both places.

And I'd say that some of my happiest childhood memories related to those experiences in the Snowy Mountains of New South Wales, Jindabyne in particular, where my father had a small property and I had the privilege of... working cattle and riding horses and going to pony club all those years ago.

And that's never really left me, those amazing experiences that I had on the Monaro and in that community.

I then went on to study agricultural science at the University of Sydney, largely through Dad's influence and majored in agronomy.

they come second and third, they place their loved ones first.

It can be an all-encompassing role and it can be hard to think of what you need to do to remain healthy and well in order to not just care for them but also yourself.

And so mum had no plan for her retirement and she ended up leaving Sydney, moving down to Jindabyne and whilst having some community engagement and activities, ultimately she lived in isolation, a fair degree of isolation, and there was definitely loneliness there.

quite a period and just not enough activities, not enough stimulation.

but I think there might have been a few around you, maybe Rene Brock and the like may have been running around you in that race and that would have been a good sort of intro into the race, someone who'd done it a number of times.

Well, I was with Nicky Burke, Rene Brock, and then we just had this great run, the three of us, all the way up to Jindy.

And I remember Rene going to me, he told me later, he goes, you were slowing down climbing up and I just couldn't go past you.

Like I just didn't think it was right to overtake you at the end.

And the hardest thing is the bikes, the cyclists in the park.

If you're in there early in the morning running it, like last year it was a bit later in the day, but previously I'd been in a bit early.

And you get the cyclists that have ridden from Jindy up into Perisher and, you know, and then they're on the way back.

And they're coming down those hills and they're doing like 70 to 90 Ks.

It's a bit higher, is it? Yes, it gets snow.

Cooma down towards Jindabyne and those areas.

Oh, jeez, really? So it's where you get the snow.

Well, I mean, it might be right in there now, but it'd be cold mornings.

Most people would simply find the quickest road to Bega, but that is not what 5k yards on the road to Parkrunday with Billo is about.

This journey takes us up through Coriong, the heart of the Man from Snowy River country, before winding through the Snowy Mountains beneath Mount Kosciuszko and past the alpine waters of Jindabyne.

From there, the road drops dramatically over Brown Mountain and into the green pastures of the Bega Valley.

It is a landscape shaped by mountains, rivers, farming and generations of dairy families.

Getting to Bega from Wodonga isn't exactly a quick trip down the highway.

The journey takes me through some spectacular country, up to Corion, which is famous for being the man from Snowy River Country, before heading into the Snowy Mountains.

It's a road trip that takes me through country associated with Mount Kosciuszko and Jindabyne.

before eventually making the descent over Brown Mountain towards Bega Valley.

But it wasn't enough to provide a full cover across the lower alpine regions.

Olympic skier Jackson Harvey, who's based in Jindabyne, says the 2026 ski season has been unusual.

Typically you'll see the season starting in June and then it should run all the way through September with significant snowfall in August and September.

Whereas obviously now it's really wrapping up and there's not a whole lot left.