MELBOURNE TO WANGARATTA

Welcome to our tour through the beautiful Victorian High Country. With chauffeured pickup from home, we are transferred to meet our O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours coach and crew. Heading off, we travel to Alowyn Gardens which started life as a blackberry infested paddock. Designed with shade and comfort in mind, it’s been developed into six distinct areas and for those who love a beautiful garden, it will bring enjoyment as well as an educational experience. We will wander through the gardens before enjoying lunch. Afterwards we make our way to Wangaratta and settle into our hotel for the next four nights.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, WANGARATTA

BRIGHT AND SURROUNDS

Following breakfast, we travel along the Great Alpine Road to Bright. Greeting our local guide here, we come to realise that Bright has managed to retain its character and charm, thanks to its old-fashioned guesthouses and historical buildings. After our tour we’ll have time at leisure to wander the beautiful township. Meeting up again we bid farewell to Bright and head to Whorouly, stopping along the way to see the Phoenix Tree in Myrtleford – this sculpture was carved out of the trunk and roots of a huge river red gum tree by Hans Knorr. Now in Whorouly, we have a delicious lunch planned at Remel 185. The ‘tobacco shed’ which once stored dried tobacco piled to the ceiling and bales ready for ‘sale day’ has been transformed into a Dining Area, the ‘grading shed’ where many hours were once spent sorting those golden coloured leaves, is now the Kitchen, where again many hours are spent, but now to produce an array of wonderful foods, and the ‘kilns’ have remained in their original form and are well used as storage space. This afternoon we stop at the Milawa Cheese Company which is located in the historic Murray Goulburn Butter Factory, for a talk and sit-down tasting. After an enjoyable day, we meander back to our hotel.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, WANGARATTA

SUN COUNTRY

Today we head up to Yarrawonga, located on Lake Mulwala in a region of the Murray often referred to as “Sun Country”. It is one of the Murray River’s most beautiful stretches with towering River Red Gums and dozens of sandy beaches features of the area. Here we join the Paradise Queen for a morning tea cruise on Lake Mulwala. The lake was developed in 1939 by the completion of the Yarrawonga Weir, which was part of the massive Lake Hume project to harness the waters of the Murray for irrigation purposes. The Lake is home to hundreds of thousands of ghostly dead gums, tall grey sentinels that remain as a reminder of the past when they drowned with the filling of the Lake. Back on dry land, we drive east towards Rutherglen. Near here is Buller Wines where we’ll enjoy a delicious lunch and a glass of wine at the Pavilion Restaurant set within the beautiful grounds. This afternoon, we cross the river into NSW and visit the Federation Museum in Corowa to see the collection of material relating to the Federation of Australia and the part Corowa played in its development. Following our tour, we return to Wangaratta with some time to freshen up before dinner.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, WANGARATTA

GOURMET DELIGHTS

Our touring today takes us to Beechworth where we will be joined on the coach by our local guide. This imposing historical town will remind us of those exciting gold rush years, with many landmarks still surviving. Next up is a tour of the historic Courthouse. Built in 1858 and in continuous service for 131 years, the Beechworth Courthouse retains its original furniture and fittings. It has been the setting of some of the most fascinating court cases in Victoria’s history. It was here that Australia’s most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly, was committed to stand trial for murder. His mother Ellen, brothers Dan and Jim and Uncle Jim Kelly also faced charges in this courtroom. Our next stop is in Eurobin where we visit the Red Stag Deer Farm. This is our lunch venue and our hosts will give us a talk about the farm and there’ll be an opportunity to hand feed the animals. We now start making our way back through what is known as the “gourmet food area of north-east Victoria”. Keeping with the fabulous food theme of the region next up is Milawa Mustards. Housed in the beautiful “Old Butcher Shop” in Milawa, Milawa Mustard produces a range of 12 seeded mustards ranging from Mild Honey mustard to Hot Chilli mustard. All of Milawa Mustards products are handmade on the premises, thus preserving the quality of this authentic cottage industry. Afterwards we will return to our hotel in Wangaratta.

OVERNIGHT: Quality Hotel Wangaratta Gateway, WANGARATTA

WANGARATTA TO MELBOURNE

Unfortunately, our holiday is coming to an end. We say farewell to our hosts this morning and travel via Moyhu to Whitfield, a very pretty and very small town situated in a dairying and tobacco growing district in the highly scenic King River Valley. We’ll pass lush river flats surrounded by some magnificent high country. We continue onto Mansfield which has a colourful history of squatters, selectors, bushrangers, gold miners, packers, coachbuilders etc. It is famous for its magnificent scenery, farms, cattle, horses and hospitality. We have time to take a wander along the main street before lunch. This afternoon, we pass by Bonnie Doon on the edge of Lake Eildon and travel via Yea to join the Melba Highway into the outskirts of Melbourne. As always, our chauffeur service will drop us to our very door – all part of the O’Shannessy’s Quality Tours superior service!