Where is this track?

To the west of Canberra into NSW and then south into the northern parts of the Snowy Mountains.

What are the road surfaces and conditions?

If you follow that attached KML or MKZ track maps from Canberra:

• Everything up until you get onto Brindabella Road is sealed.

• Of 53km on Brindabella Road the first 9.5km is sealed, the remaining 43.5km until the turnoff onto Barnetts Road is well maintained dirt road (the condition varies depending on season and rainfall).

• Bramina Road, Barnetts Road and Boundary Road 03 are less well maintained fire trails and can be affected by wet weather.

• Broken Cart Trail experiences seasonal closure (typically closed between the June and October long weekends) and can be badly affected by wet weather.

What type of vehicle can you take?

On a perfect day and with perfect dry track conditions most AWD's will get the job done. But when was the last time anything went perfectly? I'd recommend a true 4x4 with some all terrain or mud terrain tyres to make sure you don't pick up a puncture or get caught out in slippery conditions.

What are the highlights?

The trip out on Brindabella Road becomes picturesque once you get past the sign welcoming you into Namadgi National Park.

Down in the valley where you'll cross the Goodradigbee River is simply funtastic and worth a stop for a coffee by the river. Take the left onto Brindabella Valley Road (before you get to the river) and head down about 1km and find a place where the perfect grass rolls straight into the river and take a break.

Broken Car Trail is a great stretch of trail through simply beautiful Australian high country forest. Where it joins with Long Plain Road you'll get a glimpse of the wonderful high plains countryside.

What about the track in general?

Somewhere between an Easy track in the dry and a Difficult Track if very wet. The best of this track is Broken Cart Track itself, and where it gets you. I use this track as the gateway into the Snowy Mountains if I'm not in a hurry, if I'm in a hurry then Boboyan Road south of Tharwa and into Adaminaby is my first choice. And if I'm feeling absolutely lazy then I take the long sealed way on the Monaro Highway through Cooma, but this is not suited to my particular vehicle setup.

Bramina Road, Barnetts Road and Boundary Road 03 can get very slippery after a day or two of rain and slow down progress quite a bit. Broken Cart Trail, as suggested by the seasonal closure, can become pretty bad at its worst. The closure is to save the trail from you more so than save you from the trail, but it can be bad. If you're thinking of using Broken Cart Trail on the shoulders of the seasonal closure its a good idea to contact the Tumut Visitor Centre in case the closure is extended.

If you want to make things more difficult for yourself but take a much more direct route then try the Powerline shortcut. This has you turning left off Brindabella Road onto Boundary Road 03 (yes, this is the road you do actually take on the original route) and then right onto Powerline Road which will take you through to join backup with up with Bramina road, turn left onto Bramina to get back onto the original track. Powerline itself can be tough and challenging, there's a tricky climb at the start that I have heard some refer to as Mini Pipeline (IYUKYK). I reckon give it a shot, the worst that can happen is you turn around around with your tail between your legs and take the original route (or is the worst getting stuck in a bog and needed a winch out?).

What's the way back to civilisation?

If not the way you came in then take Long Plain Road all the way south to the Snowy Mountains Highway which will take you to Tumut or Cooma and deep into the Snowy Mountains and all they have to offer.