If skiing or snowboarding isn't your thing, there are other options to enjoy the Snowy Mountains in winter, located around 5 hours from Wollongong.

Get a feel for the region's craft brewing scene at independent operator Jindabyne Brewing, which pours a range of beers, including a pilsner and wheat beer, paired with a seasonal menu of snacks and meals.

Or head to Kosciuszko Brewery, found on-site at Jindabyne's Banjo Patterson Inn, or visit Shut the Gate which is a a 25-minute drive from Jindabyne with boutique wines.

Read more: Where the Illawarra's best gin bars and distilleries are hiding

Snowy Vineyard and Microbrewery is a regional pioneer in brewing and bottling located 40-minutes from Jindabyne, which welcomes families and dogs to their cellar door - light meals also available.

If gin, vodka or schnapps are more to your liking, Wildbrumby uses locally sourced fruit in the process. Their distillery door is good for lunch with their restaurant overlooking a sculpture garden.

Top places to eat out in the Snowies include The Lott in Cooma, a cosy café housed in a century-old wool store; Kettle & Seed, also in Cooma, who uses beans roasted by local Snowy Mountains Coffee; organic fruit and vegetables (some from the owners' garden), eggs and freshly baked sourdough can be found at Moontree Health Foods in Cooma.

The mountain hub of Jindabyne has plenty of dining options to whet your appetite. Part café, part grocer, The Market serves wholesome dishes and great coffee for a welcome pick-me-up.

Grab a wholesome breakfast such as baked eggs and greens at Birchwood or try Persian dishes (including dips, pastries and stews) at Café Darya; pizza and pasta can be found at long-standing Bacco Italian Restaurant with kids well catered for.

Further afield, Crackenback Farm, just 15 minutes from Thredbo, serves French farmhouse-style meals and also has a guesthouse with six stylish rooms.

Settle in by the huge stone fireplace at Alpine Larder at Lake Crackenback Resort & Spa and graze on pizza, burgers and salads made using local produce.

You can also pair fine food with premium accommodation at Nimbo Fork Lodge, near Tumut. Taste the region on a plate at its Three Blue Ducks restaurant before nodding off in an elegantly styled cottage or lodge suite.

About a 2-hour drive from Wollongong is the Canberra District, a cool-climate wine region which comprises charming towns and villages including Yass, Hall, Murrumbateman, Gundaroo and Gunning, as well as family-run cellar doors, lauded restaurants and great places to stay.

Family-owned Clonakilla wins awards for its handcrafted wines, often released in small batches. Visit the light-filled cellar door - built from local stone and reclaimed timbers - for a tasting at the bar, or cosy up by the fire while gazing over vines.

Ken Helm, of Helm Wines at Murrumbateman, 40km north of Canberra, has been making acclaimed riesling and cabernet sauvignon since 1973.

You can discover just how good they are in the estate's tasting room, occupying the National Trust-listed 1888 Toual Public School House.

Ken's daughter Stephanie Helm grew up learning about wine. In 2014, she branched out with her husband Benjamin Osborne to launch The Vintner's Daughter. The distinctive wines bottled here - from sparkling chardonnay to syrah.

Read more: Top ways to get back to nature in and around the Illawarra

One of the original Canberra District vineyards, Lark Hill Winery's cellar door occupies a stone-walled building, where tastings can be enjoyed around a fire.

The small village of Collector was settled by Europeans in 1829, the historic Collector Inn was built that same year, today housing the intimate cellar door for Collector Wines - Vintner Alex McKay takes home awards for his creations, often for the Reserve Shiraz.

Not a wine drinker, then you can always try mead - The Travellers Rest Inn, circa 1879, is home to the Win's Creek Meadery, where you can sample this distinctive drink, made using honey.

Win's also makes hand-crushed apple cider, craft-brewed soft drinks and honey beer, which you can sample in the restaurant or take away (along with gourmet honey products, arts and crafts) from the Bee-Spoke Gift Shop.

Weave up winding roads into the wilderness about 2 hours north-west of Wollongong on the Greater Blue Mountains Drive, taking your time to admire the heritage buildings of Springwood, Faulconbridge, Wentworth Falls and Leura en route to Katoomba.

Katoomba doubles as a handy base for immersing in the storied history and superb natural settings of Leura, Blackheath, Mount Victoria and the Megalong Valley - all with a variety of restaurants, hotels and cosy guest-houses.

In mid-winter sometimes visitors can be lucky enough to wake one morning to the sight of the region's eucalypt forests dusted with a layer of snow.

Stretch your legs around the grounds of the Blue Mountains Botanic Garden, Mount Tomah, where you can also indulge in a hearty lunch, before heading to Bilpin to visit the apple orchards.

Riverina to Snowy Valleys Way

For a longer drive, head to the food-bowl town of Griffith, about 6.5 hours south-west from Wollongong.

Visit the country town of Narrandera, making a short detour to visit Lillypilly Estate Winery and Toorak Winery in Leeton to pick up a bottle or two of Riverina region wine.

Elevate a picnic lunch in Kindra State Forest, on the journey from Narrandera to Junee, with tasty morsels from Coolamon Cheese Co. in Coolamon.

Pick-up something for the kids or indulge your childhood fantasies at Junee Licorice & Chocolate Factory in Junee, then cruise along for another half an hour south to Wagga Wagga for a revitalising cocktail at Birdhouse Bar & Kitchen before dinner at Magpies Nest.

Set in a renovated stone stables dating from the 1860s, the location is as memorable as the modern Australian cuisine.

Allow the Sturt Highway to carry you towards the dreamy Snowy Mountains via charming towns such as Adelong and Tumut. Further south is Tumbarumba, where you can seek out installations by Australian and international artists on the expanding Snowy Valleys Sculpture Trail, in and around the towns of Adelong and Tumbarumba, as well as Batlow and Tooma.

Travel deeper into this soul-stirring area on the Kosciuszko Alpine Way, ending your trip in a snowy winter wonderland.

Prepare for this fabulous final leg by checking for weather conditions and road closure information on the NSW National Parks and Wildlife website before you set off.

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