Weekend Off

[mxysxy]

Hi All,
I had a great last weekend with my FTO & gf, and wanted to share with you.
We were trying to plan something for the Valentines day, so, instead of having dinner I come up with the idea to go to Bright.
It is about 330kms from Melbourne. Normally driving on the Highway till Wangaratta, then taking the Great Alpine Road to Bright. I have done this trip before, and found it kinda boring due to the long hours on the Highway.
So, I change the route, and here is what I did.
- Melbourne
- Yea
- Alexandra
- Mansfield
- Whitfield
- Cheshunt
- Dandongadale
- Merriang
- Bright
- Freeburgh

First, I just took the Plenty Road from home and went to Yea. Nice little town to have a coffee. Nice drive too, out of the boring Highways.
Then to Alexandra. Good place to have lunch, or you can try Mansfield.
Then ot Mansfield. Everybody knows probably that Mansfield is like the base camp for Mount Buller.
Of to Whitfield next. Great wineries around this are, but be careful still a long way to drive to Bright. Not to mention that especially after mansfield the scenery gets fantastic. Winding roads everywhere, beautiful country side.
There is a nice pub in Cheshunt, good for a quick snack. There are berry farms all the way around this area. Make sure you get some, cant get any fresher.
Finally my favorite place Dandongadale. I used to camp up here and fly-fished the river few times. You guys have to be careful with the car here, cause there is no sealed road between Cheshunt and Dandongadale. It is about 30kms, unsealed and winding. No need for a 4WD though. My car handled it allright, bit dusty, thats all. Drive slowly.
Between Dandongadale adn Merriang, OMG!!!. I reckon this was the best part of the trip. You go pass Lake Buffallo here, it is just incredible. Mountains with snowy peaks at the background. You need to stop, have a look around and spend at least half an hour there. It is like been in heaven.
We are on the sealed country roads again now, and off to Merriang.
Then to Bright. Bright is a beautiful touristic town with lots of walks and paragliding and all sorts of good to see stuff.
I stayed overnight in Freeburgh Caravan Park, stayed in a beautiful cabin with spa & all the goodies, and it was just about 50 mts away from Ovens River. BBQ, walks, spa and fly-fished the river in the morning, got 3 nice rainbows.
I spend the next day travelling around Bright.
On the way back dont forget to go to famous Beechworth Bakery at Beechworth.

Overall, it was great to get out and see the country. I am sure anybody can enjoy this trip, and it could even be a great idea for FTO Group Trip.