Non-perishable food is supplied in winter for residents of Illawong Lodge. This includes an extensive range of items such as soups, tinned fruit, vegetables and fish, pasta, rice and pulses, coffee, tea, biscuits sauces and herbs and spices. If you have special dietary needs or wish to plan your menu you may wish to view the food and stores list for more detail. The lodge is only stocked for the ski season. There is no fridge. Meat is stored in a metal container buried in the snow and needs to be maintained daily.
You should pack just enough perishable food such as meat, fresh fruit and vegetables, bread, eggs and chocolate for your trip. Any perishable items not consumed need to be carried out at the end of your stay. For those who do not wish to carry, it is possible to eat from the lodge stores for your stay. Often if you are staying in the lodge with others it helps to co-ordinate to share common evening meals. Best ever hut recipes have been provided by members if you are looking for gourmet inspiration.
The lodge is a simple building with solar-powered lighting. There are eight single bunk style beds in the lodge, in one dormitory. You will need to pack a sleeping bag in summer and winter. Pillows and blankets for extra warmth (but not sheets) are provided.
There is a small gas heater which heats the communal living area when residents are awake, however there is no heating in the kitchen and sleeping areas and in the winter the temperature inside the lodge typically drops to about five degrees overnight. In particularly cold weather it can be lower.
There is a gas cook top and oven (the oven has variable performance) for cooking and a toilet and shower for keeping clean. Illawong runs on a low environmental impact policy so water use is kept to a minimum at all times.
There are no power points at Illawong, so you can lighten your load by leaving laptops, MP3 players or hairdryers at home.
Phone reception in the lodge is difficult and we do not encourage phone use in the Lodge; however, if it is necessary it has been possible to get reception whilst climbing the main range on the other side of the Snowy River. It is not always possible to depend on your phone’s reception in an emergency.