After a few weeks in and around Melbourne, we decided to play hooky from Werribee and head off for a few days. Actually, the idea was first to visit a caravan manufacturer to see how their 5th wheeler stacked up against others that we had seen. Further, if we did the round trip we could also visit an American Vehicle importer to view Chevrolet Silverado utilities.
We headed off (sans caravan) via the freeways, Western and Northern Ring Roads, nothing free in the flow of traffic around these roads, three lanes chockers with the majority being trucks.
We turned up the Hume Freeway as far as Wallan for morning tea. Travelling along this highway is a breeze once you have left the city suburbs and the traffic spreads out, cruise control rules. Wallan has a major service centre and at 11:00am it was very busy. Trucks, campers, cars, caravans and many a businessman would have been, like us, ready for a short break after the tensions of the city sprawl.
On to Wangaratta, we booked into a motel and went on to our appointment at the manufacturers. It was worth the trip to Wangaratta, a pleasant city we thought where everyone seemed less stressed and cheerful. Hellos and smiles from people in the street, very friendly staff in the Information Centre, they didn’t have to do much to convince us that a trip along the Great Alpine Way would be a memorable experience.
From Wangaratta, the Great Alpine Way heads south to cross the Victorian side of the Australian Alpine Region. As the name suggests, the Alpine region is a winter playground with several popular snow-fields, hiking trails and a photographer’s heaven. The road follows the Ovens River valley and the several small towns along the way look very “liveable”.
The highway runs from Wangaratta to Bairnsdale, near the coast. Then back to Melbourne via the Pacific Highway making for a pleasant round trip with something for everyone at any time of the year.
Original pioneers found this way through the mountains by following the trails that had been used for many thousands of years by the regions Aboriginal groups. White settlers went into the hills in search of gold. Loggers went for the hardwood timber and sometimes, others just went to hide from authority. Famous Bushrangers are historically linked with the old gold-mining settlements that made up the Alpine Region Populace.
The road south is now well made and for the stretch to Bright, flat enough to be a popular cycle track, “River to the Sea Train Trail”. The cycle track has been formed along an old railway track, and on the days that we were there, very busy with family cyclists and enthusiasts alike. Very colourful in their various cycle clobber, dad pulling baby in a small trailer, mum shepherding the rest of the kids from behind. After the hustle and bustle of Melbourne, a great experience to behold. For those who prefer the motorised type of bike, the Great Alpine Way is billed as one of the great motor-cycle rides in the world. They should sell stickers, “I rode the Great Alpine Way”
Mount Buffalo National Park is a side trail climbing up to about 1700+ metres to an old chalet that is celebrating 100 years of accommodating the landed gentry of Melbourne. Though not open that day, I understand that there is some moves to get it operating again. Buffalo is popular not just for the lovely views from the escarpment, but also for Para-Gliding, Abseiling, Hiking and just for the beauty and fresh air. We spotted people filling water containers from pipes driven into the hill-sides above the lovely river; Fresh Mountain Spring Water not from a bottle!
Onto Bright, a most delightful but busy town on the banks of the Ovens River. Flanked by the foothills and the beginning of the Alpine Region, we were very lucky in that the weather prediction was for perfect autumn splendour. The deciduous trees were all in their glory of autumn colours, the air was crisp and clean and the bustle of cyclists, walkers and locals, made for a completely different kind of Australia for us to visit. Vicki took loads of pictures of trees and views.
We stayed over at Bright as it would have been a shame to rush over the mountains in just one day. Stop to smell the roses we thought. The walk along the river to the town centre was sheer delight, spotting fish, (Trout?) a variety of birds and autumn insects flittering across the water, a fly-fishers heaven.
From Bright, we continued on to Harrietville, another town with a gold mining history, named after one of the first white women in the region, there was once along this valley, a large Chinese contingent of miners that, different to the Ballarat gold fields, were reported to have got along well with the other nationalities that panned the creeks to seek their fortune. Harrietville is right on the edge of the Alpine Region, immediately you leave the town, the road does a hard left and the climb to Mount Hotham starts in earnest.
The road well made and sealed, twists and turns around the ridges until you eventually burst through the forests and come out above the snow-line. Again, we were lucky that the air was clear, the views across Mt Feathertop to the Alps of the NSW regions was very spectacular after the dusty plains encountered on our previous trips. Mount Hotham Alpine Village was very busy with travellers. The chalets, chairlifts and trails had workmen everywhere, preparing for the snow, which one said, “could come at anytime now”. It was 15 degrees according to the digital thermometer but also already, had a chill factor of minus 14 I thought. Hotham Village is about 1752 metres above sea level; it was interesting to view the ski-field maps in the information centre, the grading of the ski-trails and the various lifts. Looking over the hills, it was very hard for us to imagine it all covered with snow.
We stayed one more night in a motel, at Omeo, one more night than we were originally expecting but the drive down the mountain was as interesting as the climb up but not as steep. We mused that the several caravanners that we saw at Hotham would have thought that the road was easy. Descending to Harrietville would have been a reality check.
The road from Omeo follows another beautiful river valley that for 35 kilometres snakes its way through the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and we couldn’t help but be awed by the thought of the pioneers that wended their way to the mountains. There are several hamlets along the way to Bruthen from where there are glimpses of the waters of the Lower Gippsland Lakes Region and towards the sea at Lakes Entrance.
The Great Alpine Road ends at Bairnsdale where it joins the Pacific Highway, a couple of hundred or so kilometres from Melbourne, it was just a taster. A most definite “must go back there” as there is much to see and do around this beautiful region of Eastern Victoria.
.jpg)
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/108879761974384702036/GreatAlpineRoad?feat=directlink
We headed off (sans caravan) via the freeways, Western and Northern Ring Roads, nothing free in the flow of traffic around these roads, three lanes chockers with the majority being trucks.
We turned up the Hume Freeway as far as Wallan for morning tea. Travelling along this highway is a breeze once you have left the city suburbs and the traffic spreads out, cruise control rules. Wallan has a major service centre and at 11:00am it was very busy. Trucks, campers, cars, caravans and many a businessman would have been, like us, ready for a short break after the tensions of the city sprawl.
On to Wangaratta, we booked into a motel and went on to our appointment at the manufacturers. It was worth the trip to Wangaratta, a pleasant city we thought where everyone seemed less stressed and cheerful. Hellos and smiles from people in the street, very friendly staff in the Information Centre, they didn’t have to do much to convince us that a trip along the Great Alpine Way would be a memorable experience.
From Wangaratta, the Great Alpine Way heads south to cross the Victorian side of the Australian Alpine Region. As the name suggests, the Alpine region is a winter playground with several popular snow-fields, hiking trails and a photographer’s heaven. The road follows the Ovens River valley and the several small towns along the way look very “liveable”.
The highway runs from Wangaratta to Bairnsdale, near the coast. Then back to Melbourne via the Pacific Highway making for a pleasant round trip with something for everyone at any time of the year.
Original pioneers found this way through the mountains by following the trails that had been used for many thousands of years by the regions Aboriginal groups. White settlers went into the hills in search of gold. Loggers went for the hardwood timber and sometimes, others just went to hide from authority. Famous Bushrangers are historically linked with the old gold-mining settlements that made up the Alpine Region Populace.
The road south is now well made and for the stretch to Bright, flat enough to be a popular cycle track, “River to the Sea Train Trail”. The cycle track has been formed along an old railway track, and on the days that we were there, very busy with family cyclists and enthusiasts alike. Very colourful in their various cycle clobber, dad pulling baby in a small trailer, mum shepherding the rest of the kids from behind. After the hustle and bustle of Melbourne, a great experience to behold. For those who prefer the motorised type of bike, the Great Alpine Way is billed as one of the great motor-cycle rides in the world. They should sell stickers, “I rode the Great Alpine Way”
Mount Buffalo National Park is a side trail climbing up to about 1700+ metres to an old chalet that is celebrating 100 years of accommodating the landed gentry of Melbourne. Though not open that day, I understand that there is some moves to get it operating again. Buffalo is popular not just for the lovely views from the escarpment, but also for Para-Gliding, Abseiling, Hiking and just for the beauty and fresh air. We spotted people filling water containers from pipes driven into the hill-sides above the lovely river; Fresh Mountain Spring Water not from a bottle!
Onto Bright, a most delightful but busy town on the banks of the Ovens River. Flanked by the foothills and the beginning of the Alpine Region, we were very lucky in that the weather prediction was for perfect autumn splendour. The deciduous trees were all in their glory of autumn colours, the air was crisp and clean and the bustle of cyclists, walkers and locals, made for a completely different kind of Australia for us to visit. Vicki took loads of pictures of trees and views.
We stayed over at Bright as it would have been a shame to rush over the mountains in just one day. Stop to smell the roses we thought. The walk along the river to the town centre was sheer delight, spotting fish, (Trout?) a variety of birds and autumn insects flittering across the water, a fly-fishers heaven.
From Bright, we continued on to Harrietville, another town with a gold mining history, named after one of the first white women in the region, there was once along this valley, a large Chinese contingent of miners that, different to the Ballarat gold fields, were reported to have got along well with the other nationalities that panned the creeks to seek their fortune. Harrietville is right on the edge of the Alpine Region, immediately you leave the town, the road does a hard left and the climb to Mount Hotham starts in earnest.
The road well made and sealed, twists and turns around the ridges until you eventually burst through the forests and come out above the snow-line. Again, we were lucky that the air was clear, the views across Mt Feathertop to the Alps of the NSW regions was very spectacular after the dusty plains encountered on our previous trips. Mount Hotham Alpine Village was very busy with travellers. The chalets, chairlifts and trails had workmen everywhere, preparing for the snow, which one said, “could come at anytime now”. It was 15 degrees according to the digital thermometer but also already, had a chill factor of minus 14 I thought. Hotham Village is about 1752 metres above sea level; it was interesting to view the ski-field maps in the information centre, the grading of the ski-trails and the various lifts. Looking over the hills, it was very hard for us to imagine it all covered with snow.
We stayed one more night in a motel, at Omeo, one more night than we were originally expecting but the drive down the mountain was as interesting as the climb up but not as steep. We mused that the several caravanners that we saw at Hotham would have thought that the road was easy. Descending to Harrietville would have been a reality check.
The road from Omeo follows another beautiful river valley that for 35 kilometres snakes its way through the mountains of the Great Dividing Range and we couldn’t help but be awed by the thought of the pioneers that wended their way to the mountains. There are several hamlets along the way to Bruthen from where there are glimpses of the waters of the Lower Gippsland Lakes Region and towards the sea at Lakes Entrance.
The Great Alpine Road ends at Bairnsdale where it joins the Pacific Highway, a couple of hundred or so kilometres from Melbourne, it was just a taster. A most definite “must go back there” as there is much to see and do around this beautiful region of Eastern Victoria.
ps We have ordered our new 5th wheeler & hopefully we'll get it by Christmas.
Click on the link below the picture to view some photos
.jpg)
http://picasaweb.google.com.au/108879761974384702036/GreatAlpineRoad?feat=directlink
