What a choice - snow on the mountains or mountainous surf on the coast.
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"It was a king tide last night. It was huge and it felt like you were in Venice," according to Batemans Bay hotelier Alison Miers.
And it was a balmy 17 degrees there while stay-at-home Canberrans were still scraping the frost off the windscreens, and the would-be skiers were stuck in traffic jams.
But on the coast the water was spectacular, but dangerous.
We did have a massive swell coming through. And there's been a few whales, and people love that.
- David Maclachlan
Waves of up to five metres prompted the Bureau of Meteorology to issue a hazardous surf warning right up the coast from Eden. On dry land, the tourist trade was reasonable over the long weekend.
Alison Miers' hotel, Bay Breeze Boutique Accommodation, was booked out, but she still thinks business could be better.
"Canberra people are trying to get to the snow," she said, "and international travel has opened. They can get wings and they will fly, so regional travel has dipped before it picks up again. And I think it will."
She reminded Canberrans how enticingly different the temperatures lower down, at sea-level, can be.
"The weather here has been unbelievable. It's been 18 degrees, and the Canberra people have certainly enjoyed that."
Her view of "could be better" was echoed by others in the coastal region.
"The roads are very busy. There's a lot of people coming down," the President of the Batemans Bay Business and Tourism Chamber, David Maclachlan, said.
Trade had been quiet during the election, he said. Canberrans seemed to have stayed at home - or at least away from the coast.
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But the long weekend had seen a pick-up.
He still thought, though, that the start of the snow season had kept some away.
But those who went got an experience: "It's been warm, and we did have a massive swell coming through. And there's been a few whales, and people love that," he said.
Further up the coast, winds of 100 kilometres-an-hour battered the Illawarra's beaches. Meteorologists forecast five metre swells on some beaches.
It was enough to draw the experienced surfers out and in. Newbies were advised to stay dry and away.
Illawarra Mercury photographer Sylvia Liber said there was a crew down from Cronulla as well as some big name local surfers.
Top temperatures in Batemans Bay this week are forecast as 18 degrees on Wednesday, 19 on Thursday, 18 on Friday and 17 on Saturday.
The BoM's corresponding highs for Canberra are 12 degrees on Wednesday, 13 on Thursday, 14 on Friday and 13 on Saturday.