High Country Hijinx
21 January 2024 / Story by Anda Clayton & Bryan Shedden, Photos by Anda Clayton, Bryan Shedden, Fiona Shedden,
Wednesday 10 January – Calderwood to Bright
Our first multiday club run of the year to beautiful Bright. Meeting up at Calderwood's Bean Roasted Espresso Bar - a lovely location with great coffee, after an hour and a half's drive this morning for some of us to the start of the run.
Today's temperatures reached 36°C maximum on our drive which was a bit toasty but sunscreen, hats and air con in a tops down sports car saved the day.
The first leg ended with a morning tea stop at Goulburn's Trapper's Bakery, where we met up with Phil, Bob & Linda, and Ron & Chris.
The second leg took us to Jugiong for a delicious lunch at the wonderful Sir George Hotel. Rod & Maryanne met us there, completing our group with 21 members in 9 MX-5s, a Ford Everest (Andy & Vicki), and a VW Passat (Hella & Mark). Even though this trip was organised by Illawarra Chapter, it was wonderful to note that Illawarra, Sydney, South Coast, Canberra, and BreakFast Club were all represented.
The third leg brought us to Holbrook for a quick stop to admire the town's submarine HMAS Otway.
Finally, we left the Hume Motorway behind at Wodonga and enjoyed some lovely C-roads through Yackandandah and Mudgegonga, then finally our destination ... Bright in Victoria's magnificent High Country.
Thank you to Bryan for leading us safely to our destination for the next four nights.
Our motel, Riverbank Park Motel, is situated on the banks of the Ovens River. On arrival, we seized the opportunity to stretch our legs on a walk along the riverbank track, watching families enjoy the clear gurgling water, drifting down the river on lilos of various shapes and sizes.
Looking forward to what tomorrow may bring ... perhaps a platypus sighting, as Bryan and Fiona did tonight?
Thursday 11 January – Mt Buffalo, Cider Tasting and Trout Fishing
A lazy morning was spent exploring the walking tracks and cafes of Bright and stocking up on supplies at Woolies.
A late start on another hot 34°C day today. No more "ho hum" motorway driving today as we scooted up the mountain to Mt Buffalo. Enjoyed or not, depending on who's in the passenger seat, some fun "twisties" along the way.
Our picnic lunch stop at Lake Catani was pretty and entertaining as we watched numerous SUPs make their way across the alpine lake. Ducks, ducks and more ducks also made their presence known. It was over 10°C cooler on top of the mountain too, which was a lovely relief from the heat below. The repeat run in reverse down the mountain revealed magical views of the mountains and valley below.
Next stop, Nightingale Bros at Wandiligong, where we enjoyed a cider tasting and purchases of cider, slurpees (yes, alcoholic too), and fresh fruit from its shop.
Our dinner tonight was BBQ trout on the back lawn of our motel ... and we needed to catch it ourselves! A visit to Harrietville Fish Farm proved very successful for some. Fortunately, Bryan and Fiona helped me out with my catch ... a bargain at $8 per trout, and so fresh and delicious. Yummo!
A most enjoyable relaxing night, a great way to wind up another good day with our MX-5 friends.
Friday 12 January – The Alpine Drive Circuit
A driving day today along some twisty challenging roads - a 260km loop to Mt Hotham (group photo opportunity at Danny's Lookout), Omeo (early lunch), Falls Creek, Mt Beauty (afternoon tea) and back to Bright. Some fabulous MX-5 friendly roads! This was Brian's and my first experience of a waypoint run - it worked well, an appropriate choice for today's roads.
Still hot weather, so a swim was very welcome at the end of the day, some of us in the motel pool, others had a go at floating down the river on a lilo. Fun!
A beer, cider and G&T tasting at Bright Brewery was the place to be before a pizza dinner at Don Mungos. Birthday girl of the day received a rendition of Happy Birthday accompanied by tonight's singer/guitarist and a birthday cake with 5 candles ... so thoughtful, especially the 5, not 7 candles ... someone knows how to make a girl feel special.
An icecream at Bright Ice Creamery, then a walk home along the riverbank finished the day, complete with a platypus sighting and a serenade from Rod.
Saturday 13 January – The Gourmet Trail
A lovely drive via Myrtleford took us to a cheese tasting and a coffee at Milawa Cheese Company. A little spare time allowed us to make to quick stop at Mountain View Hotel Whitfield to sample the local beers from King River Brewing. A superb lunch was enjoyed at Chrismont Winery with breathtaking views of the vines and King Valley.
Afternoon tea and a stroll at Beechworth. Rod managed to sneak in a craft beer tasting at Bridge Road Brewers and stocked up on some roadies. The return trip to Bright was improved by a suggestion from Rod to drive via Stanley, which included some lovely twisty roads and orchards.
Now it's time for another swim in the river, then DIY antipasto for dinner on the motel lawn.
What a great day, a true culinary adventure!
Thanks Bryan and Fiona for planning and leading an excellent fun adventure! We all had a fantastic time - great roads, itinerary, accommodation, location and food, glorious food! I think it was "decided" tonight that this run be a candidate for an annual event!
Sunday 14 January – The trip home
After saying our goodbyes, people made their own way home via various routes.
Bryan & Fiona stayed at Bright for another few nights. They visited the Sunday bush market at Harrietville, explored the Tronah dredgehole lake and goldfields of the East Ovens River, rented mountain bikes to ride the river trail, tried a spirit tasting at Reed & Co Distillery, and did a pack rafting tour of the Ovens River. Great fun!
Wes & Lena and Phil returned via Kiewa, Tallangatta, Jingellic, Tumbarumba, Batlow and Tumut to the Hume. Fabulous roads, beautiful scenery and an enjoyable run.
Tony & Jeanette opted for more driving and meandered home with overnight stops at Cowra and Blackheath.
Sadly, Brian & Anda suffered a sidewall puncture only a few kms out of Bright and had to stay another night. A pair of new tyres was eventually trucked from Wangaratta and they were finally on their way home at 4pm on Monday with a seven-hour trip ahead. Driving at night is risky with wildlife but was unavoidable as they expected visitors the next day. They missed the wombat on the Kings Highway but clobbered a rabbit, causing a surprising amount of damage to the front bar of their ND. Such bad luck but at least they were safe and sound.
Photo Album by Anda Clayton - Day 1, Day 2, Day 3, Day 4
