Another visit to Bright and the Victorian High Country - always a treat! The thumbnail pic is of the Chinese bridge on the site of the gold diggings at Wandiligong.

We had our annual weekend away with friends who are mostly retired and as we tell our children it takes retired people 5 days to have a weekend which is always a bonus for us and travelling through some of the Victorian high country was the bonus it always is.

A bit of excitement on the way through, an outbreak of fire at Healsville.

A tranquil view of the Yarra River at Bright

Loved this old shed at Wandiligong.

A sneak peek from the top of Mount Buffalo. 

An example of some old tobacco drying kilns near Smoko......yes that really is the name of the locality.

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

The roads while sealed have varying surface integrity. From Mt Hotham down the mountain to Omeo and beyond the road alignment camber and surface is generally pretty good but from Mt Hotham down to Harrietville the road is much more challenging and the surface goes from ordinary to awful with little notice. Some of the surface is really rugged so you need to be aware. It is all reasonably well signed but travel on this second stretch will be slower and more tedious especially within slow moving traffic. Unfortunately many of the roads we travelled on appear a few years behind with maintenance programs and are rough and pot holed so exercise caution.

Services available:

 Check previous listings for these localities.

[First leg – Traralgon via back roads (staying off the highway and away from holiday traffic) through Glengarry, Toongabbie, Cowwarr, Stratford (coffee), Lindenow, Bairnsdale, Bruthen (fuel), Swifts Creek, Omeo (lunch), Dinner Plain (all closed up, couldn’t support the local economy here), Mt Hotham (same deal as Dinner Plain), Harrietville (a welcome lemon lime and bitters) and Bright

NB: If you want a more detailed summary of services available in the area travelled here you will find that in previous entries by entering Local rides in the Search section on the second page and hitting Go.

We had a lovely ride with very little traffic and as is always the case it was magnificently soul restoring just to be in the high country. Ahhhhh!



A view from the heights of Mt Hotham.



A street view in Bright. Lots of tourists and cycle riders here but plenty of options for accommodation food and places to relax.

Second leg – Bright to Mount Buffalo, Ovens, Mount Beauty then through the Tawonga Gap and back to Bright.



A view on our way to the summit of Mount Buffalo.



And a lunch shelter near the lookouts on Mount Buffalo in front of the historic chalet.



A view of Mount Bogong on our way to Mount Beauty

Third leg – Bright via Mansfield, Yea to Melbourne (Glen Waverly) to our home away from home the Novotel for some more chill time before heading home.

Outward leg, straight down the highway to Pakenham then struck out through Cockatoo, Yellingbo, Woori Yallock, Healesville, St Fillans, Buxton, Taggerty, Acheron, Alexandra, Yarck, Merton, Woodfield, Bonnie Doon, Mansfield, Tolmie, Whitfield, Moyhu, Docker, Oxley, Milawa, Myrtleford, Eurobin, Porepunkah to Bright.



A couple of good looking bikes which were a lot cleaner here than when they got home

We had fine but cold weather as we headed out then struck rain which made for some slippery corners through some hilly sections before lunch at Healesville and for a bit afterwards but it fined up and the ride through the King Valley was just beautiful with lovely sweeping corners and splashes of autumn crimson and gold to accompany us on the trip and the closer we got to Bright the better the colours became. It was like the countryside was dressed up in its finest for the occasion. Beautiful!



A splash of olour - our caravan park, not as spectacular as in Bright but we were a fir bit out of town

One regret, group ride so no opportunity to stop for photos ..…. Norm forgot his camera and my phone was buried where gloved fingers could not retrieve it. I have made use of some pics taken by other riders. Thanks guys! We will definitely do an autumn ride again by ourselves and stop for many pics to capture the colour of the autumn changes as well as the clarity of the views of hills.

Return leg, Germantown, Freeburgh, Harrietville, Hotham Heights, Dinner Plain, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Doctors Flat, Ensay, Tambo Crossing, Bruthen, Sarsfield, Lucknow, Bairnsdale, Stratford, Maffra, Tinamba, Heyfield, Cowwarr, Toongabbie, Glengarry and home.



Again in the caravan park and needless to say the pool didn't attract any swimmers

After consultation with the local Bright Police who assured us the road over Mt Hotham was clear we headed off for a shorter and in theory more comfortable ride. Nice theory…and some of it was true. The ride was spectacular with autumn colours on steroids between Bright and Harrietville and then increasing fog as we climbed the mountain which somehow softened the surrounding devastation of summer fires on the bush.

We encountered (and survived) some seriously muddy slushy roadwork’s (thankfully there were traffic lights so we could use whichever part of the road we needed to) and ultimately snow, slush and ice on the road we had to ride through as we approached Mt Hotham and saw heaps more snow (thankfully on the side of the road) which looked impressive though somewhat daunting.



Pulling over to check how everyone was travelling after riding through the ice and snow. You will notice there is still much fog about as well as ice on the road.

From here we headed for Dinner Plain and arrived in the sunshine and no snow and had a welcome coffee before heading for lunch at Bruthen then home. One of our members who had a temperature gauge on his bike told us the temperature had dropped to minus 1 degree centigrade over the top of the mountain and I’m happy to say we felt comfortable in our gear.



The snow across the road from where we parked up near the top of Mt Hotham.....and it increased in depth and coverage from here on up and down a considerable distance on the other side. Awesome!

The day remained dry from here until about 10 minutes from Traralgon. I swear Murphy never rests!

Today – every bit of me that could feel tender and complain that it has worked hard on the weekend is doing so!

For road conditions on this ride you can scroll back through other entries over the same territory.

Traralgon to Seymour (via) Tyers, Yallourn North, Neerim South, Neerim, Neerim Junction, (lunch at Powelltown), Yarra Junction, Launching Place, Healesville, Kinglake, (a cold drink and ice cream at Strath Creek), & returned via Yea, Glenburn, Yarra Glen, into the burbs down the Mountain Highway to Glen Waverly (for a well-earned cold shower, meal and sleep)then off to zig zag through the Dandenong Ranges (lunch at Olinda – yum) and again back through Powelltown, (a cold drink at Noojee), Hill End, Willowgrove, Yallourn North, Tyers and home.

After seeing that a Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk had been officially opened on Saturday and having all the servicing done we decided to ‘get out of dodge’ and climbed on the bikes on Sunday and headed for Seymour.

We were very impressed with the Memorial. It was tastefully done and in the time we were there (late in the day) there was a constant stream of people coming quietly through.



Vietnam Veterans Commemorative Walk (double sided) amongst a planting of several hundred Rubber trees which will one day form a dense leafy canopy which will be reminiscent of the jungle no doubt.

To say the weather was brutally hot would be a gross understatement. The ride along the river valley to Powelltown was a welcome break of comfortable to deliciously cool moist air and our lunch at the Powelly Pub (Powelltown) delicious as always. A good spot this, warm welcome, great coffee spot, lovely veranda amongst magnificent ferns and really generous and yummy pub meals as well as snacks. Definitely worth a look.

The only photos I have taken were at the Memorial as it was just way too hot to consider stopping and spending time we didn’t have to but I will definitely come this way again in cooler weather to take some pics of what the areas we passed through have to offer.



The Listing of those who didn’t return

We were well and truly overheated by the time we got to the Novotel Hotel at Glen Waverly which is one of our homes away from home. They are undergoing a big refurbishment program and we had one of the new rooms which was lovely. The food is always good and the bed magnificent ….. until 12.20am when the fire alarm went off. Bottom line we didn’t have to evacuate, there was a Wedding on and this was reminiscent of another occasion a lot of years ago when the same thing happened. That time a party reveller had broken a fire alarm box, don’t know this time. Happy to report we both slept well when we got to return to bed.



A Plaque which is self-explanatory.

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

The roads we travelled on were in good condition and very little traffic (on all the roads we were on) we assume the rising cost of fuel is biting into people’s budgets. The road surface, camber and alignment was overall good and roads well signed where there was anything out of the ordinary. A nice comfortable ride all round.

Services available:

Large towns:
Fuel: Multiple choices including Premium Unleaded, most BH but also some 24hr
Accommodation: Hotel, Motel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options and maybe some Serviced Apartments
Food: Multiple choices from small cafes to bistro’s bars and fine restaurants
General Store / Supermarket: Multiple choices, small to large

Small towns:
Fuel: Limited and often BH only if any at all
Accommodation: Limited Hotel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Limited and not necessarily open on weekends

Small isolated Localities:
Fuel: Not likely
Accommodation: If you’re lucky and have done your research
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Unlikely so bring your own

Traralgon to Shepparton (via) Morwell, Moe, Trafalgar, Yarragon, Warragul, Drouin, through the burbs via the Monash Freeway through the tunnel over the Bolte Bridge, around the Ring Road and up the Hume Freeway to the Goulburn Valley Highway and headed for Shepparton through Nagambie & returned via Euroa to Merton, (a coffee at Yarck), Alexander, Marysville, Lake Mountain, (lunch at Warburton), Yarra Junction, Powelltown , (Neerim Junction for fuel), Neerim South, Nilma, (cold drink and nap at Yarragon), Trafalgar, Moe, Morwell and home

We headed off to Shepparton to attend a nephews Wedding and had a great ride there and back though it was very hot hence the photos are limited (to the extreme) so will return at a future date when the weather is cooler to take some pics of some of the sights to be enjoyed along the way.

On our way home we investigated Euroa and were delighted by the number of old and quirky buildings and will definitely come back to explore this area in the future.



The third National Bank built (in Euroa we assume) which is National Trust listed and believed to be the best example of a Queen Anne style building in Victoria



The Euroa Hotel a stately old building. To the right side of the building is the Soldiers memorial Hall unfortunately abandoned and falling into disrepair and across the street another intriguing building which was the one we spotted from the highway which prompted us to explore the town.

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:
The roads we travelled on were cambered well and good surface overall and well signed with targeted advisory speed signs. Lots of long straight stretches and very little traffic. Lots of nice curves and climbs as we headed through the ranges.

Services available:

Large towns:
Fuel: Multiple choices including Premium Unleaded, most BH but also some 24hr
Accommodation: Hotel, Motel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options and maybe some Serviced Apartments
Food: Multiple choices from small cafes to bistro’s bars and fine restaurants
General Store / Supermarket: Multiple choices, small to large

Small towns:
Fuel: Limited and often BH only if any at all
Accommodation: Limited Hotel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Limited and not necessarily open on weekends

Small isolated Localities:
Fuel: Not likely
Accommodation: If you’re lucky and have done your research
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Unlikely so bring your own

Travelling (via Morwell, Moe, Trafalgar, Yarragon, Nilma, Crossover, Neerim South, Neerim, Neerim Junction, Powelltown, Three Bridges, Gladysdale, Yarra Junction, Launching Place, Badger Creek Healesville, Buxton, Taggerty, Acheron, Alexandra, Yarck, Kanumbra, Merton, Bonnie Doon, Maindample, Mansfield, Whitfield, Tolmie, Moyhu, Docker, Oxley, Milawa, Markwood, Myrtleford, Porepunkah, Bright, Germantown, Tawonga South) & return (via Bogong, Falls Creek, Anglers Rest, Omeo, Swifts Creek, Ensay, Tambo Crossing, Bruthen, Sarsfield, Bairnsdale, Bengworden, Perry Bridge, Clydebank, Wurruk, Rosedale



Meeting in Maca’s car park before we headed off on our trip



The Powelly Pub at Powelltown of course for coffee which they do well, also meals though we didn’t have one today

Well we had a great ride this weekend with the Traralgon Easyriders. To a large degree we retraced the trip we had done into the high country after Christmas but it was still great. Initially we were to return home from Mount Beauty via Mount Hotham but with fires in the Harrietville and Hotham Heights area we stayed well away. On our way from Falls Creek to Omeo this morning we encountered some rain so I hope they got that on the fires. We had a great time and travelled on some road from Bairnsdale towards Sale I hadn’t travelled on before so enjoyed that and I loved the long stretches when all the bikes could travel together in formation it looked awesome! I also realised that I am a lot more comfortable riding in a group than I was on our first ride…it’s a lot different riding in a group than just the two of us, soooo many more factors to slot into the awareness level. There were 12 bikes with 5 carrying pillion passengers as well and we had a lovely relaxed night at Mount Beauty.



The lovely leafy main street of Mansfield which was our lunch stop



The bikes were a magnet for the locals in front of the pub at lunchtime

The group worked well together with ride leaders, Ken to Mount Beauty and Graham home and tail end Charlie being Tombo with a number of corner markers it ran like a well-oiled machine and it is good to report that the emergency back up in the ute plus bike trailer with Polly and Karen was not needed (must have been a long drive for them both) so well done to the whole crew for safeguarding their own safety. Thanks also to the Bruthen Pub who kept the cook back to cook our late lunch and I enjoyed the best steak sandwich I’ve ever had which was great following on from a delicious egg and bacon roll in Mount Beauty for breakfast.







A welcome break on the top of the Tawonga Gap

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

The roads we travelled on were cambered well and good surface overall and well signed with targeted advisory speed signs. The exception with the advisory signs is from Falls Creek to the Omeo Highway being a reasonably minor road so ride accordingly but overall it was a good road and surface, just had to watch for a bit of gravel washed onto the road at some corners…as you do.



A glorious fresh morning at the Motel in Mount Beauty as we got ourselves together to head off for breakfast.



A break for a stretch in Falls Creek and to compare notes about a lovely ride through some truly spectacular country!

Services available:
Large towns:

Fuel: Multiple choices including Premium Unleaded, most BH but also some 24hr
Accommodation: Hotel, Motel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options and maybe some Serviced Apartments
Food: Multiple choices from small cafes to bistro’s bars and fine restaurants
General Store / Supermarket: Multiple choices, small to large

Small towns:

Fuel: Limited and often BH only if any at all
Accommodation: Limited Hotel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Limited and not necessarily open on weekends

Small isolated Localities:

Fuel: Not likely
Accommodation: If you’re lucky and have done your research
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Unlikely so bring your own

We managed to combine an opportunity to catch up with a number of intrastate and interstate family in Wantirna South, chilling for a couple of nights on a houseboat with friends on Lake Eildon, and celebrating the New Year with our regular travelling companions (Sharen & Ken) before we struck out to again catch up with family in Tawonga South and Falls Creek on our way through to Omeo. Stayed on the tarmac all the way so a good thing for the cruisers. A great trip all round. Lots of photos below.



An example of rationalisation of services in regional areas. The mail boxes on Buttercup Road between Mansfield and Merrijig – 25 in all including the one laying on the ground.

Tips to remember for the roads we covered:

We travelled over a lot of Alpine roads which for the most part had a good surface and were well signed re suggested speeds for corners and rock fall areas requiring caution. There were few advisory signs from Falls Creek on the Bogong High Plains Road to the Omeo Highway so exercise caution. Having said that it was a beautiful ride with good to reasonable camber and corners from big sweeping corners to tight steep and switchback and every possible variation in between so a great ride.

Riding the Bogong High Plains Road on the way from Falls Creek to Anglers Rest around the Basalt Hill area which gives a good example of the terrain and foliage as well as vision of the silver spars which remain post 2003 fires and the recovery - http://youtu.be/RP4O8nLzP_c



One of Norm's favourite shots of me rounding a corner on the Omeo Highway (also my new screensaver on my phone)

Services are few and far between (e.g. No fuel from Mount Beauty to Omeo) so you need to be self-sufficient and given that weather and temperatures can change rapidly in Alpine areas you need to be prepared. It goes without saying that there are little or no shoulders beyond the fog line (if there is a fog line) before precipitous drops to who knows where so ride accordingly. Also remember there are other travellers (including log trucks) on the roads so don’t expect them to be on their own side of the road and you should be right.

Bonuses of travelling through the summer in Alpine areas are that you will encounter fewer people, you can find some excellent accommodation deals and the temperature will be a lot more friendly.

On the way to Mt Buller, a small waterfall near a ‘rock fall area, and of course the inevitable motorbike http://youtu.be/7t-UCt637Xc

First leg: Traralgon straight down the highway to Wantirna South (Melbourne Suburb) and up the route known as ‘The Slide’ along the Maroondah Highway through Lilydale, Coldstream, Healesville, Narbethong, St Fillans, Buxton, Taggerty, Thornton, Eildon to Lake Eildon.

We felt good to be out on the road and breathing in our surrounds from the lush ferns and foliage of Black Spur to the vast river valleys and plains as we headed north. We had a restful couple of days with Ian (Mac) & Annie, Ian (Nico) & Margaret on a houseboat moored on the bank of Lake Eildon and in spite of pretty hot weather the breeze off the water made for a comfortable temperature. A couple of jaunts across the Lake in the run-around showed the Lake (now near enough to full) to be a staggering size with tentacles of water snaking in all directions.



The Black Spur Inn which we have travelled past in trucks for years. It has been in existence since the early 1800’s and in the late 1800’s sported a separate building on the left hand side called the Narbethong Hotel / House since women were not allowed into Public Bars. It had an adjoining door and by the 1930’s it was all one building for all patrons. Not sure if women were better behaved by then, or if the old boys club couldn’t put up with the complaints or they all just got practical.

Second leg: Lake Eildon, Eildon, Thornton, Alexandra, Koriella, Woodford, Bonnie Doon, Mansfield to Merrijig

We headed off after yet another sleep-in and then decided coffee in Eildon was in order…as you do! From here we continued to enjoy the beautiful riding through great sweeping river valleys enjoying the massive river red gums and vast paddocks climbing up into the hills and beyond. We got into Merrijig late in the afternoon and were glad to get into a cool building.



A view up the hill from our accommodation towards Mt Buller, typically lovely

We were impressed with the Mercure Pinnacle Valley Resort where we stayed in a 2 bedroom chalet which was great. We had our own space but had access to the restaurant where we had dinner on 2 nights and it was excellent. Guest facilities were extensive and lots of variety for children of all ages. We also shared the site with upwards to 60 (at least) all sized grey kangaroos once dusk settled in and the morning we departed we were actually up early enough to see the stragglers before they headed back to the cover of the bush. The third night we travelled a few hundred meters towards Mt Buller to the Mill Inn where we had a delicious dinner of their homemade pasta. Yum.



Some of the kangaroos before they retreated to the bush

Side trip: Merrijig, Sawmill Settlement, Mirrimbah, Mt Buller & return – 180kms



Mt Buller Chalet and a couple of good looking bikes.

On our 2008 High Country trip we stayed a couple of nights in the Mt Buller Chalet and decided to ride up and see what (if anything) had changed. They have a new resort centre which looked good and there were heaps of people and pushbikes about. They had a mountain bike challenge of some sort on. I felt like a wimp looking at all the huffing and puffing and being grateful for my motor!



The Resort Management Centre from the steps of the Mt Buller Chalet

Side trip: Merrijig, Howqua, Jamieson, Kevington & return – 200kms

We decided to head out to have a look at Jamieson never having been there before and had been told there was a great old Pub at Kevington so decided that would be the spot for lunch. The ride out was beautiful. We travelled along the valley and often close beside the Delatite River and the glimpses of river and rocks and lush shady patches along the way were beautiful.



The Jamieson Public Hall, a lovely old building

Jameson had been a grand town at some stage but barely surviving now with a lot of homes looking like they are holiday ones though the local café was doing a good trade with holiday makers. Between there and Kevington we were staggered by the number of camp sites (formal and not) and people and boats and people fishing and holidaying and the Kevington Pub established in the early 1800’s was not a letdown. The food was plentiful and good and the place was all kinds of quirky right on the banks of the river. Their busy season is apparently from Christmas to the June long weekend so good to see it being patronised.

The area was established by the timber trade as well as mining though most batteries were abandoned by the Second World War and apparently Sims Metals came and retrieved them to melt down and use in the manufacture of warships or so the publican told us.



The name on the roof is self-explanatory.

Third leg: Merrijig, Mansfield, Tolmie, Whitfield, King Valley, Edi, Docker, Oxley, Milawa, Markwood, Myrtleford, Eurobin, Porepunkah, Bright, Germantown, Tawonga South, Mount Beauty, Bogong, Falls Creek, Anglers Rest to Omeo.



View from the top of Tawonga Gap – a very nice ride up and down.

We enjoyed our ride through the King Valley, Milawa and Alpine Valleys wine regions with the spectacle of the contrast between yellow paddocks of dry grass beside lush grapevines as well as many tobacco drying chimneys (or whatever they're called) along the valley from a bygone era.

We stopped in Myrtleford for a coffee and picked the busiest shop available apparently so lost a lot of time there then headed for Bright and the Tawonga Gap road which is a beautiful and satisfying ride.

From there we moved on to catch up with family in Tawonga South and it was great to see them in their own space. We haven’t managed to catch up much since they moved there. We had a good chin wag and lunch then headed off for Falls Creek to catch up with the other half of the relationship which was great. I was surprised to hear that Falls Creek has the greatest skiable area of all our Alpine Resorts and was impressed with the development which has taken place since 2008.



A couple of old bikers in front of the Information Centre / Resort Management Office at Falls Creek looking out to the silver spars of trees burnt in the 2003 fires. As the sign behind says it is 31kms back to Mount Beauty and 77kms to Omeo from this point.

The afternoon was moving on and we wanted to get into Omeo before the kangaroos decided to start venturing out for their evening meal. We thankfully didn’t encounter any.



A nice cool lemon lime and bitters was in order when we got to the Blue Duck Inn at Anglers Rest.

It was good to get off the bike in Omeo where we stayed at the Colonial Motel just down the hill from the Post Office. Unfortunately it has changed hands. The previous owners ran a killer restaurant across the street which is now a café and not open for dinner. Boo hoo. So, we walked to the Golden Age Hotel for a nice meal instead.

Home leg: Omeo, Swifts Creek, The Walnuts, Doctors Flat, Ensay, Wattle Creek, Tambo Crossing, Bruthen, Sarsfield, Bairnsdale, Stratford, Maffra, Tinamba, Heyfield, Cowwarr, Toongabbie, Glengarry to Traralgon



A shot I got as we arrived in town last night down the main street of Omeo with the iconic Post Office on the left and the mountain in the distance

The morning started with breakfast at Twinkles Café and fuel for the bikes as well as some air (20lbs) in my tyre which had gotten quite flat overnight (glad I have tubeless tyres as regular tyre services / garages don’t provide service for motorcycle tyres).. After breakfast and loading our gear we pumped another 20lbs into the tyre since 20lbs leaked out in around 30 minutes and we headed for Swifts Creek (me very tentatively) and pumped another 20lbs into it there (apparently riding didn't increae the loss of air...phew). It didn't feel good to hear Bruthen was around 50 minutes away. Norm decided to ride my bike in and I rode the Rocket. Thankfully it got there and Norm added another 20lbs and we had a coffee by which time we did it again and headed for Bairnsdale 15 minutes away and to a bike shop for assistance.



A couple of tourist attractions side by side in Bairnsdale – St Mary’s Cathedral known for the striking painted ceiling and McDonalds known for their yummy coffee and easy parking. Ha ha.

It was a hot ride from Bairnsdale to Stratford with close to bumper to bumper traffic and boats and caravans and campers and no one in too much of a rush to get anywhere so we decided to stop in Stratford for a cold drink and head for home along the back road off the highway through Maffra and it was a good choice. For the rest of the trip we were able to maintain a constant speed and the temperature was cooler likely a combination of that, a smaller surface area of road tarmac to reflect the heat, fewer vehicles giving off heat, travelling a good part of the trip beside irrigation channels and paddocks which had been irrigated so probably a moister atmosphere and an occasional bit of shade from an overhanging canopy of trees.

Side trip: Bairnsdale to Paynesville & return – 40kms



A view across the inlet from Paynesville to Raymond Island with the ferry in the background and the Rocket in the foreground

Since the temperature was hot and we had at least 45 minutes to wait for the tyre to be replaced we decided to head for Paynesville on the Rocket to have lunch. Neither of us had been there for quite a few years and were a bit surprised that suburbia has crept out as far as the cemetery. In any case it was a nice ride along the river and we found a handy café (one of many now) and had a delicious lunch and watched with amusement (me) / tremendous pride (Norm) at the amount of interest the Rocket caused the passing public.

A short section of typical road and the Rocket III from Anglers Rest heading for Omeo http://youtu.be/PQlHyq8i2Ik

Services available:
Large towns:
Fuel: Multiple choices including Premium Unleaded, most BH but also some 24hr
Accommodation: Hotel, Motel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options and maybe some Serviced Apartments
Food: Multiple choices from small cafes to bistro’s bars and fine restaurants
General Store / Supermarket: Multiple choices, small to large

Small towns:
Fuel: Limited and often BH only if any at all
Accommodation: Limited Hotel, B&B and Caravan Park and Camping options
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Limited and not necessarily open on weekends

Small isolated Localities:
Fuel: Not likely
Accommodation: If you’re lucky and have done your research
Food and General Store / Supermarket: Unlikely so bring your own

We headed for Tullamarine Airport with forecasts of pretty unfriendly weather but even though the sky was overcast it was dry, then as we crossed the Bolte Bridge we spotted a cloud burst off to the west…..with the airport control tower in its midst. Thankfully we got to the parking area with only a few spots of rain so we managed to stow our gear dry and with confidence that it wouldn’t be green and hairy on our return from our break in Tasmania with our precious friends Harry and Lorraine.

We had a great break in Tassie, catching up with Gerry and Mary as well and exploring Bruny Island which we had never visited before. What a treat! We were impressed with the efficiency of the ferry service.



Our accommodation ‘The Lodge Adventure Bay Retreat’ on Bruny Island, a lovely restful spot complete with grazing wallabies (28 the most at any one count around us) including a number of albino ones which we had never seen before. www.brunyislandaccommodation.com.au

We also enjoyed a Pennicott Wilderness Journey three hour eco cruise along the south east Bruny coast the day we arrived which was a great experience (the pick of the days we were there as it turned out) and appreciated the spectacular views of the coastline, the varying colours of the ocean, the gannets and albatross and the whole experience. The staff were great and had a good awareness of how people were travelling and the commentary was informative and enjoyable. A very good experience all round. www.brunycruises.com.au



One of the many spectacular sights down the east coast of Bruny Island to the Great Southern Ocean

Our trip from the Tullamarine Airport to Echuca was a lovely comfortable ride. I enjoyed seeing the open paddocks giving way to the rocky hills as we headed for Heathcote and the wine country.



Street view in Lancefield. Good to see the local War Memorial still displaying floral tributes so close to Anzac Day (April 25th)

The hills eventually gave way to open fields with a good amount of irrigation activity, cropping and more wine country with a collection of attractive little towns and villages and an interesting assortment of country pubs.



Street view in Rochester. Shamrock Hotel in foreground and the Shire Hall in the distance (LHS). A really pretty town.

We had a beautifully comfortable stay in Moama at the ‘Deeluxe Riverspa Apartments’ with a group of friends and loved every minute of it, and no that is not a spelling error on the ‘Deeluxe’. www.riverspa.com.au The girls managed to squeeze in a visit to the Madison Day Spa which was enjoyable and being part of a motel / conference complex there was much activity with two weddings for the day. www.madisonspa.com.au



The Emmylou approaching our paddlesteamer as we were rounding a corner in the Mighty Murray and approaching a dock where a number of hire boats are docked. A lot of dollars tied up there!

The following day we headed off on a customised tour which was a treat. We were treated to several wine tastings from a variety of wineries as well as having a delicious lunch and visited the Great Aussie Beer Shed which was a very quirky but enjoyable experience. Would recommend the whole experience. www.echucamoamawinetours.com.au

From there we headed home via Murchison, Yea, Healesville and Powelltown and just lapped up the picturesque scenery with the occasional splash of autumnal colour. A great ride. Good training for our upcoming OS adventure.



Murchison – three of the many quirky painted cows to ponder on in the park in the main street beside the river where we enjoyed our hot coffee…..be nice I’m referring to the three four legged cows in the shot!