HEAD FOR THE HILLS

The Victorian High Country Region dishes up spectacular views and amazing produce, its an RVers delight!

WORDS AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY DEB LIDBETTER

A trip to the Victorian High Country has always been alluring so when we got the chance to visit we jumped at it. Recently we joined eight other vans from the Sydney City Slickers branch of the Australian Caravan Club for a two week trip to the Victorian and NSW High Country and surrounding areas.

Converging at Jugiong Showground NSW, this free campsite is well worth the diversion off the Hume Highway. This large grassy area is dotted with shady trees and lies adjacent to the Murrumbidgee River. You’ll also find they’re dog friendly and have toilets and a dump point. Payment is a donation into the honesty box located next to the toilet block. At the entrance to the showground is the local community swimming pool with an entry fee of $4 per person. As the temperature was in the high 30s this was a welcoming sight. The pool amenity block also has hot showers. The town boasts a pub (currently closed for renovations), a boutique wine shop and the Long Track Pantry, an amazing café, which I can certainly recommend. Enjoy a meal or coffee, or browse through the shop where they sell a range of locally produced olive oils, salad dressings, chutneys, jams and other merchandise.

MANSFIELD

Our next destination was Mansfield, at the foot of Mt Buller. With our vans safely located at Mansfield Caravan Park we headed off in our 4WDs to visit Craig’s Hut. Heading up to Mt Stirling through the Mansfield State Forest, the Circuit Road is easily traversed. With exception of the last few kilometres, a 2WD vehicle could manage this road in dry weather, parking at the day visitor area and walking the last 1200m (a steep track). Craig’s Hut was first built in 1983 for the film, The Man from Snowy River, and was opened to visitors in 1993. It has been rebuilt twice after being destroyed by bushfires. The hut offers amazing views of the mountains and has toilet and picnic facilities. Standing under the snow gums you can almost hear the crack of whip and thunder of hooves.

MILAWA

Leaving Mansfield, we headed north, travelling through little country towns including Whitfield and Moyhu before arriving at Milawa. Here you will find an array of delights. The Milawa bakery, Mustard shop, Olive shop, Brown Brothers Wines and the Snow Road Produce shop which stocks local products such as wine, cheese, beef, butter and beer. Take time to visit the Milawa Cheese factory which hosts a restaurant, cheese shop, bakery and gift shop. After an amazing lunch at the bakery and loaded up with cheese we continued towards Bright.

Here we opted to stay at the Big 4 Porepunkah Caravan Park, only eight kilometres from Bright. This shady caravan park offers great facilities including a pool and is ideally located to explore the surrounding area. The owners of the park host a pizza night every Sunday night, but due to the large number in our group, they put one on just for us on Monday. The portable wood fired pizza ovens are transported on a box trailer, and the pizzas are cooked fresh. Everything is supplied, except drinks. We were amazed to arrive and see tables with white tablecloths set up under the trees, complete with candles. The night started with garlic pizza for entrée, followed by a huge variety of pizzas for the mains, followed up with apple and cinnamon pizza served with ice cream for dessert. Yum! We ate so much, most of us rolled back to our vans that night.

BRIGHT

Bright is a lovely area, situated in a valley surrounded by mountains. Popular in winter due to its close proximity to the Mt Hotham Snow Fields, autumn is a great time to visit with the avenues and streets dressed in beautiful colours of red and gold from the changing leaves of the trees. Following the Gourmet Food trail from Milawa this area boasts its own share of delights to tempt you. Plenty of wineries, Bright Brewery, Bright Berry farm, Mt Buffalo Olives, Bright Chocolate and various cafes, restaurants, pubs and bakeries can be found locally. The Red Stag Deer and Emu Farm at Eurobin has a licensed restaurant and gift shop. If fishing is your thing try the Mountain Fresh Trout and Salmon Farm located at Harrietville, where you can catch you own, or purchase from their shop.

After indulging on all these goodies there are plenty of treks and walks in the area to satisfy all fitness levels, ranging from easy half hour walks to difficult full day treks. The information centre can give you all the information regarding these walks and other attractions in the area. A visit to the Mount Buffalo National Park is a must. This sealed road weaves it way through the park with the thick bush soon giving way to alpine vegetation. Continuing past Lake Catani and the picnic grounds, you reach Mt Horn with simply stunning views. On the way back down turn off to the Mount Buffalo Chalet (unfortunately no longer operating) to access Bents lookout.

Another day and another 4WD adventure lay in store as we headed up towards Mt Hotham, taking a turn towards the Blue Rag Range track. This track is popular due to its stunning scenery. Engaging low gear, we snaked along the mountain ridge with the track finishing at a trig station 1718m above sea level. With 360° views it was the perfect spot for a picnic before heading home.

WALLACE HUT

With the vans hitched back on we began the long climb out of the valley towards Mt Beauty. Arriving at Falls Creek in the Alpine National Park, we were met by dense fog. The Gateway Café here is well known for its vanilla slices, which are so popular one of our group members ordered 20 the day before to ensure we didn’t miss out. Home made by the owner they were sumptuous. We continued on through the fog along the Bogong High Plains and arrived at our next campsite, Raspberry Hill campsite. The temperature had dropped to 10 degrees and was damp and cold. Waking up the next morning, the fog had lifted to reveal a magical campsite. We took time out to visit Wallace Hut, which is reached by an easy one and a half kilometre track. Built by the Wallace brothers in 1889, it is the oldest hut in the park and was used when grazing stock on the Bogong Plains. It gives a real insight into what life was like for these cattlemen of the high country.

OMEO

Next stop, Omeo, and a lovely caravan park. This original gold mining town was established in the mid-1800s. It seems an unusual location for a German Cuckoo clock shop, but it is full of authentic and beautifully crafted clocks. Owner Leonie has clocks and Christmas decorations brought over from Germany every year. A day visit to Dargo Pub was next on the agenda. We travelled through the State Forest, visiting Dogs Grave, the burial place of Boney the cattle dog who died in 1863. A tombstone was laid in 1975 as a tribute to the pioneering cattlemen and their dogs.

We had travelled to the southernmost point of our trip and it was time to head north again. That day’s travel included a 70km dirt road, and of course it rained. Not just rain, but a torrential storm with wind and driving rain. We were thankful to arrive safely back on the tar road again. We crossed back over the NSW border and up into the Kosciusko National Park to our campsite, Yarrangobilly Village, adjacent to Cotterill’s cottage built in 1890 and used by the Forestry Department from 1930-50. This magical campsite has a lovely stream, toilets and fireplaces.

Travelling back down to Tumut we passed Talbingo and Blowering reservoirs before continuing on to our last stop, Gunning. This small and popular free camp is alongside a small river and has toilets. The township is only a short walk, and a meal at the local pub was a great way to end a terrific trip.