Triathlon & cycling training camp, NSW, Australia

We are situated in the Snowy Mountains area of NSW is a relatively new town created after the original settlement was drowned by the Snowy Mountains Hydro-electricity Authority in the late 1960s (now known as Jindabyne Lake). Over 90% of the Jindabyne area is utilised for agriculture and conservation with the smallest portion attributed to urban land.

This indeed provides us with the perfect backdrop for many beautiful and scenic rides including the largest national park in NSW, Kosciuszko National Park. The park is named after Mount Kosciuszko, which at 2228 metres is Australia's highest mountain. Kosciuszko National Park is also home to some of Australia’s rare animal species.

In consideration of the continuing conservation efforts by governing bodies we encourage and observe simple rules whilst enjoying the local roads and parks. These include keeping strictly to the roads and when off the bike keeping off soft ground to protect local plant species and encouraging each group to keep noise to a minimum to avoid disturbing local wildlife.

As this is a training camp as opposed to a tour, the attendance numbers are much higher with this years attendance being in excess of eighty people. To allow for easier travel on the road and also to reduce the negative social impact a large group would have on local daily life, the camp is separated into smaller groups according to levels of ability. Although water and ride food is provided before each cycling session, a team vehicle also accompanies each group providing both water and food for replenishment purposes. Rubbish is collected by each team car and returned to our lodge for correct disposal and recycling at the end of each day.

Our Bungarra Lodge accommodation is owned and operated by members of one family and have been our most obliging host for several years. Although all meals are provided for, our continuing trade with local business for smaller items such as dairy and bakery goods reinforces our healthy rapport with local enterprise.

The best way we know how to ensure our company approach to responsible travel is exercised throughout each tour is to have the owners of the company guide you personally. We encourage you before and throughout the tour to treat the Snow Mountains Region as you would your own home, providing you with ‘Responsible Travel Tips’ prior to our camps departure. These may range from something as simple as perhaps bringing enough cycle clothing to ensure you are able to do an ‘economy’ wash rather than wash every day, thus reducing water usage to showing a healthy regard for areas of land that was home to Australia’s native Aboriginals for tens of thousands of years and very much a part of Australia’s cultural heritage.

When we are not on tour, we continue to practice our responsible approach to the environment. We recycle and use environmentally friendly products wherever possible such as our cleaning products, energy efficient light bulbs and recycle all rubbish.

As a community initiative, we have raised sponsorship funds to invest in a quantity of bicycles and bicycle related equipment and now offer a cycling programme to our local youth. The equipment and expertise of our coaches are offered free of charge in an attempt to promote cycling to our local youth so that they may learn about a whole different side of cycling they didn’t know existed.