Victoria Trip 2016 Part 1.

Victoria here we come! It has been a while since we spent time in Victoria, and decided Spring would be a good time to visit some old favourites, as well as some new places. Heading straight down the Hume Hwy is boring, so we sought a scenic route, and there is nothing more scenic than a trip through the wonderful High Country of NSW & Victoria. This is one of our very favourite regions. The scenery is spectacular.

Tumbarumba Creek.

First stop along the way, was to be lunch at one of Carolyn's top spots, The Long Track Pantry at Jugiong. As we approached the turnoff, there was a huge groan. We had both read the sign at the same time, "Long Track Pantry Closed Tuesdays". Yep, you guessed it, today was Tuesday. Our waistlines were probably the better for it! We continued on down the highway, until Gundagai, where we turned off and took the scenic road through Tumut and Batlow to Tumbarumba. The scenery of rolling hills and grazing country full of fat cattle & sheep, giving way to the vast forests of radiata pine, and then around Batlow it is just acres of apples. Everything looked a picture.

A quiet time in Tumbarumba.

We arrived in Tumbarumba, which was wrapped in orange and black bunting! Seemed that the proposed merging of various NSW councils, was not going down too well in Tumbarumba! We drove into the caravan park which hadn't changed at all. In the office, the familiar face of Malcolm welcomed us, despite it being over three years since we were last in town. The fruit picking season was almost over, so the caravan park was quite empty. We picked out our site, and settled in for a few days. That evening it was lovely to have Mary Ann, the other half of the management team, call by to see us. She remembered us well, and we spent a considerable time catching up. We heard all about the proposed council merger which was being vehemently opposed by the locals. Seems the Tumbarumba Shire passed all the independence tests, but may still be forced to merge with the larger Tumut Shire,which failed the independence tests!! We wish them success with their future fight.


Not a lot has changed in Tumbarumba. It remains a bright friendly town. The main street looks a picture, with beds of petunias in full bloom. Our favourite old haunt, The 4 Bears Café, has just changed hands. The old owner, Anthony, was about as Aussie as you could get, whilst the new owners are Indian Sikhs. The ambience has somewhat changed!!! Mary Ann had told us that the best coffee was at The Nest, also the local theatre, and that proved to be great advice. We did the long walk along the river at the back of town, and took in the small changes that had taken place since we last were here. Generally, we just lazed around under the big trees in the caravan park, reading our books, in the most gorgeous weather. 

New Visitor Centre Corryong.

Leaving Tumbarumba, we headed south along the mountain range, past the Southern Cross Memorial, remembering where the famous old plane wreck happened so long ago, headed for the Murray River, passing the tiny towns of Tooma & Towong, en route to our lunch stop in Corryong. This is a lovely country town, steeped in High Country tradition. Jack Riley, the real Man From Snowy River, is buried in the local cemetery, and each year the town hosts The Man From Snowy River Festival, which we attended a number of years back. If you are ever looking for a true Aussie experience around March/April, it is fantastic, complete with bush poetry and a rodeo, and of course, a reenactment of that famous ride! We found a lovely café, Black Sheep, just opposite the new Information Centre, and enjoyed excellent coffee and huge country style sandwiches!

Ovens River near Bright.

Funny barns near Myrtleford.

From Corryong, we headed down the Murray Valley Hwy, turning off just past Tallangatta, which is famous as a town that was relocated in 1951, due to the construction of the Hume Weir at Albury. There isn't a lot in Tallangatta!! We didn't stop, but continued on our way to the beautiful Victorian town of Bright. The short, but very steep road from near Mt Beauty across to Bright, was much steeper and much narrower than it looked on the map!! As well, the battery that powers the BreakSafe system on our caravan, decided this was a good time to go flat. This wasn't a major safety concern. Just a constant loud pitched scream coming from the monitor we have installed  in the car, to warn us that the battery is low. You can't turn it off or turn it down. If you can imagine someone blowing a whistle in your ear for 20 minutes, you will have some idea of how our heads were ringing!!!

The Swimming hole in Bright.

Bright's riverside beach.

At Bright, we stayed at The Big4 Caravan Park, right on the edge of town, and alongside the river. It is a lovely walk along the river into town, just 5 minutes away. Lots and lots of trees, and the way we parked the caravan, so we could get a satellite signal, had others in the caravan park completely confused and convinced we just couldn't reverse park!! Still, we had TV and most others didn't!! Bright is a beautiful town, famous for its trees and gardens, which are a blaze of colour in spring and autumn. So many huge deciduous trees line all the streets. The town itself is a favourite getaway all year round. Cyclists and hikers come all year round, to use the Rail Trails that wind along the Ovens River between here and nearby Porepunkah and Myrtleford. In winter, the skiers come to the Victorian Ski Fields of Mt.Buffalo and Mt.Hotham.

Dinner at Ginger Bakers.

Bright markets.

The town is chock full of cafes and shops, and we visited most! There was a very nice market on Saturday, with lots of local produce, and locally made goodies. Stone fruit and apples are in season and we stocked up. Being fresh, they last more than two days!!! The Bright Brewery is popular, not just for their local brews, but as a good place to eat. Our favourite spot though is Ginger Bakers, a Tapas restaurant that spills out into a huge lawn area with rustic tables and chairs. With daylight saving meaning it is light until 8.30pm, we had a lovely Saturday evening under the stars, dining on great food and local wine, before slowly wandering home along the river.

Canyon walk in Bright.

Along the canyon walk.

The weather was wonderful while we were in Bright. On the Sunday we did the Canyon walk along the Ovens River, which starts in town and follows the river towards Myrtleford, before crossing a suspension bridge and heading back to Bright. The walk is through an area full of the gold mining history of the region dating back to the 1880's. It was well signposted and had lots of story boards recounting the history. The hardship these early miners endured must have been incredible. The amount of earth and rock excavated by hand was incredible. The scenery along the river was lovely, and even though we didn't see a platypus, they call this area home.

Main street of Beechworth.

Sampling Bridge Rd Brewery
 Beechworth

Monday, we took a drive over to nearby Beechworth, another favourite town. In fact we usually stay here when we visit this area, but this time decided to give Bright a go, which we didn't regret at all. There haven't been many changes in Beechworth since our last visit to the area. The famous Bakery is till churning out millions of pastries, pies and coffees, and the Bridge Road Brewery is still making some great brews. This is one of the few Boutique Breweries that works for me. In our opinion, the famous bakery is the last place to go for a great coffee, but there are lots of other good choices, even though the coffee roaster we frequented last time was closed for renovations.

Next stop after Bright, was the big smoke of Melbourne. Carolyn's trip to watch the tennis had whetted her appetite for a Melbourne fix of shows and fancy food. We love the cosmopolitan buzz of Melbourne. We checked in at the Big4 Melbourne in Coburg, which to our surprise, had undergone a facelift, with lots of new double slab sites, and new amenities. We set up alongside John & Val from the Gold Coast, who were such a lovely couple. Next morning, while we were enjoying a quiet time in our hectic Melbourne schedule, we could hear the strains of music coming from what appeared to be a piano, next door. Turns out, Val had been a concert pianist before retiring, but still brought a keyboard with her on every trip and practiced every day. It was simply beautiful. She played every day for an hour or more. Another of the amazing people we meet on our journey.

Melbourne Caravan Show.

Our week in Melbourne was very busy indeed! First was a visit to the Melbourne Caravan & Camping Show. This is the biggest show of its kind in Australia, and we have never been, but always wanted to go. New caravans & accessories galore. We spent a whole day drooling over the latest and greatest in designs from every conceivable maker. It is quite amazing what has happened in the three years since we bought our caravan. Almost all manufacturers now have models with slide outs. We brought some new little gadgets, and replaced a couple of others that had worn out. We escaped without buying a new caravan!!

Lunch with Angela at South Wharf.

A catch up with Angela is always on our agenda in Melbourne. This girl knows her way around the Melbourne food scene! She is so bright and full of fun. This time it was a long lunch at the reasonably new South Wharf part of Melbourne. This area near the Melbourne Convention Centre & Hilton Hotel, has become a hub for dining and shopping options. Angela had chosen a place called the Meat Market, right beside the Yarra. Food was excellent, and we spent the entire afternoon comparing stories of the past, present and future. What a lovely way to spend a Saturday afternoon.

A Show at Her Majesty's Theatre.

Sunday we went to a show. We saw Georgy Girl, the story of the Seekers. It was fantastic hearing all those old songs. The cast was excellent and you would swear it was the original Seekers up there on stage. Though, I am so used to seeing Ian Stenlake on TV, cast as a cop, that I was waiting for him to cuff someone or pull out a gun!!! We went to a matinee, and afterwards wandered down into Chinatown where our car was parked, and decided Chinese would be good for dinner. We saw a longish queue outside the Shanghai something Dumpling & Noodle House, and joined the line. A waitress came up and asked how many in our party, then promptly gave us menus and said "you order now, then food ready when you are!!" Hard to argue with that logic!! It was only ten minutes and we were inside with the noisy throng of mostly Chinese, and our plates of steaming dumplings arrived. They were fantastic, and we had ordered too much, so we had take away as well!!

Warnie!

The Don, Greatest of
them all.

On our last day in town, we took ourselves off to the MCG to see the National Sports Museum. For sports nuts, like me, this is a wonderful experience, and I was grateful to Carolyn for reminding me, as we usually leave Melbourne regretting we missed it!! The main emphasis is on cricket and AFL, but the 1956 Olympics, Horse Racing and most other sports are represented. The room with the hologram of Warnie in the dressing room was well done, and the MCC (Melbourne Cricket Club) museum, was packed with so much cricket memorabilia and history. There was an 84 year old volunteer there, dressed in his MCC Blazer, who grabbed us and took us around the main exhibits. He was so passionate and knowledgeable. There are the Cricket & AFL Halls of Fame, as well as the Australian Sporting Hall of Fame. It was a fantastic few hours.

Dinner at Chin Chin.

Carol & Leia at Chin Chin.

After that, we caught up with Leia, Bev & Fred's daughter, and had dinner at one of Melbourne's happening restaurants. We love catching up with Leia, as she is such good company. We had heard so much about ChinChin, where you can't book, and thought Monday would be a quiet night. Wrong!!! There are no quiet nights at ChinChin!! After 45 minutes in the bar, we were shown to our table. The food is Asian inspired, and our gay little Chinese waiter was just delightful. As first timers, he suggested we try the "Feed Me" option, where he picked some of the best loved dishes and some of his own favourites. With assurances that his favourites did not include things like Monkey brains, we let him loose. The food was excellent, and all designed to share. The most incredible Asian flavours. The sticky pork ribs were to die for, as was a salmon dish, and the Massaman Curry was the best we've ever eaten. We finally said "enough food!!", and out came dessert which was equally as great. The bill would have run a small African nation for a week or two, but hey, what an experience of wonderful food.

So our little visit to Melbourne was at an end. Nothing like a Melbourne fix!!