Falls Creek Getaway 2019

I recently visited Falls Creek with my parents.

Getting to Falls

We travelled from Canberra in our family Toyota Kruger with a roof rack attached to make it easier for everything to fit. It’s roughly a 6 hour drive. We stopped briefly for fuel in Murrumbateman, a bathroom stop at toilets on the side of the road and had a late lunch in Mt Beauty.

Where to stay?

We stayed in the same room at the Falls Creek Country Club. It’s cosy but meets our needs. Its easily accessible to drive up to the front door to unpack/pack the car and walk along the road to some shops and restaurants. It also has ski in-ski out access. Its a bonus to receive a returners discount.

I recommend booking early in the season.

How to get around?

Most of the village is covered in snow and this can make things tricky to get around in a wheelchair. We made plans on where we wanted to go and then researched options in the best way to get there and back.

Ski in-ski out access made it easy to access the slopes each morning and return each afternoon Each morning when I had private lessons it was arranged that Falls Creek Instructor Charlie would ski with the sit ski to the back of the Falls Creek Country Club where we’d be waiting. We’d get ready, ski down to Gully chairlift, and make our way to the mountain to be able to ski.

We utilized the on-snow vehicles to get to dinner with friends. These aren’t wheelchair accessible but I didn’t mind being lifted in and out (I don’t weigh much) with my wheelchair placed in a carrier.

What to do?

My favorite activity and passion is to sit ski. I had four days private lessons with Charlie, a days break, then four more. A few of the mornings were with Duane. I had a few runs with Pete from DWA too. We also snuck in about two hours before leaving.

I was able to use new equipment from DWA. It worked well when the bucket was moved forward and a 5kg weight was in the front. Towels filled gaps and a pocket was over the top. I sat upright to ski and reclined to load onto the chairlift.

We bucketed, tethered (ropes behind) and had a skier behind me not holding on but there to help me. We mainly practiced turns on Highway and Drovers. I quite enjoyed going down Wombats Ramble. My favourite snow was a bit slushy.

I had a few successful solo turns.

Charlie let go, took his phone out of his pocket and started documenting PHOTO: Charlie

I enjoyed skiing on my birthday. I was able to get Duane, Charlie & Pete to wear tutus!

Duane & Kate wearing tutus at the bottom of Drovers PHOTO: snowboard instructor

Charlie, Pete & Kate all wearing tutus PHOTO: skier

We went on a Back Country Tour with Steve Lee. It was a fun experience with beautiful scenery and lovely people.

Charlie & I enjoyed the tour PHOTO: Crew

Off snow we play card games. We played UNO, Monopoly Deal, Memory and Dobble. Dobble is a good game to start with as it similar to snap but by matching pictures. Monopoly Deal is a bit more complicated and can last a while.

Where to eat?

Self catering reduced some of the expenses and meant we could eat in. We self catered our breakfasts. I bought my smoothie maker and had my usual almond hit smoothie. I also had raisin toast some mornings. We self catered our snacks including cheese and biscuits, chocolate crackle slice. We also self catered dinners bringing quiches, soup, making pizza and nachos.

Lunches were included in my private lesson package. We were lucky to get recommendations and dine with friends.

Cloud 9 was one of our lunch options. There are steps to enter and exit but there’s plenty of space inside. The vegetarian sandwich and salad was delicious (I don’t eat meat). I also opted for some tea to help warm up. The accessible bathroom is freezing.
Elk Restaurant was another delicious option. I enjoyed the gnocchi. The bathroom is ambulant making it a bit squishy.
The Frying Pan was another lunch option with delicious meals. The nachos were delicious.

Nelse Restaurant & Bar was the venue to celebrate my birthday with friends. There were nine of us. Charlie made a reservation. We accessed by using an on snow vehicle and then I was carried up the 13 stairs. It was flat inside. I enjoyed a salad. I had a pear crumble for dessert presented with a candle.

Bazaar was the venue for my birthday dinner with Mum and Dad. It was easy to get to by walking from our accommodation along the road/footpath, taking a lift up from the supermarket and then into Bazaar. It is expensive but worth it. The buffet style dinner and dessert options provide variety and you will want to try it all! I was happy there were vegetable dumplings and ice cream.