North East Victoria's
top four scenic drives
- a local expert's view
NORTH East Victoria and the South East Riverina region of New South Wales boast some of the best driving roads in the country, each taking you on an adventure through breathtaking scenery and diverse landscapes that showcase the very best of the four seasons.
Australia's premier inland playground is bursting with activities for indoor and outdoor enthusiasts alike and, with hundreds of kilometres of fascinating highways and interesting back roads to explore you, too, will be tempted to 'take the long way home.'
So, what are you waiting for? Fill your tank/charge your battery and hit the road.
Photo: Great Alpine Road - Victoria High Country
But first . . . Bits & pieces | Historic Winton | Back words
THIS year’s 49th Historic Winton will be held at Winton Motor Raceway on May 30/31.
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Presented by the Austin 7 Club, club member and event coordinator, John Kessner, said the 49th running of the event will be another full weekend of historic car racing, fantastic displays, an automotive market, food and beverages.
“We are working hard to encourage even more displays through providing free display passes (driver and one passenger per car) for anniversary marques and invited clubs,” he said.​
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“Once again, spectators will have access to the competition paddock where they can view the race cars up close and meet the drivers, who just love chatting about their race cars.”
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Historic Winton is renowned for its unique camaraderie where likeminded enthusiasts meet from all over Australia.
“Competitors and their teams have a great time socially as well as on the track. The buzz is just great but as soon as the helmet is on and the car revs, each driver means business and its ‘game on’.”
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A full race program with some new features will be announced in due course.
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Early Bird tickets are on sale with Early Bird ticket holders going into the draw for a chance to win a ride in one of the spectacular parades.
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The winner will participate in the parade in his or her own approved classic, vintage or veteran vehicle, or a ride will be for two people in an Austin 7s.
Kessner said that sadly, no solution has yet been found to the exclusion of motorcycle racing on the Winton track, which became an issue for the previous event.
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However, the organisers are investigating more involvement of motorcycles.
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“The Vintage Motorcycle Club will display some amazing motorbikes, and some other ideas are being explored. Motorcycles are historically important to the event, and we are taking the feedback of disappointment very seriously,” Kessner said. - Photo: Geoff Colson
From small things
IT seems hard to credit today, but Honda’s first international success on four wheels was with the tiny S600 on the 14.2-mile (22.9km) Nürburgring in 1964.
It was just five weeks after the first Honda Formula 1 car had debuted on the same circuit in the German Grand Prix.
The 630cc 74bhp sports car (production models were 606cc and 57hp) was entered by the Brabham Racing Organisation and driven by Denny Hulme (the race clashed with the Italian Grand Prix at Monza, so Jack Brabham delegated the drive to Hulme). Jack Brabham had tried the S600 over 100 laps on the Suzuka (Japan) test track. “The car is quite fabulous,” he wrote.
“It has a gem of an engine with twin overhead camshafts and an output of roughly 60 horsepower. It sings along happily with 10,000rpm showing on the clock. It’s like a little sewing machine to drive, with a nice steady push from the engine throughout the range.” Hulme raced against Alfa Romeos, Abarths and Austin-Healey Sprites in the sub-one litre class. With a starting grid of 140 cars, the Honda won its class, despite it being the first time Hulme had ever seen the track.
My Top 4 greatest regional drives
​VETERAN Albury-Wodonga based motoring/lifestyle writer Darryl Starr has been driving the roads of North East Victoria in a professional capacity for over 60 years and has handpicked four driving gems for you to explore at your own pace.
1: Great Alpine Road - Photo: Josie Withers
ONE of the great road trips in Australia for your travel bucket list must be the Great Alpine Road.
It is up there with the best of them. In our eyes, it is the best of them, as it is a driver’s road that ‘comes with the lot’.
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For the greater part of its 186 kilometres from Wangaratta to Omeo, the Great Alpine Road snakes across the top of Victoria’s High Country and through the picturesque Alpine National Park, rising in parts to 1840 metres above sea level, making it Australia’s highest year-round accessible sealed road.
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Mount Hotham Alpine Village - which it passes through - is the second highest village in the country.
State route B500 follows the course of the Ovens River from Wangaratta to Harrietville, before climbing out of the picturesque Ovens Valley, crossing the high plains, then dropping from Omeo to Bairnsdale, gateway to The Lakes National Park.
An extraordinary drive at any time of the year, the Great Alpine Road packs a powerful punch as far as scenery goes, as not only does it pass through Victoria’s largest national park - which boasts 10 of the 11 highest mountains in the state - it also traverses through valleys and forests, past fast-flowing rivers and crystal clear streams, and through quaint historic villages.
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The drive from Albury-Wodonga to Omeo can be driven in three hours but take your time and soak in everything this beautiful corner of the world has to offer.
The Great Alpine Road, which has existed in some form or another since colonial times, was completed with the sealing of the section between Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain in 1998.
From its northern end at Wangaratta, the GAR travels through Tarrawingee, Everton and Gapsted to Myrtleford.
From Myrtleford the road passes along the Ovens Valley through Ovens, Eurobin, Porepunkah, the popular tourist destination of Bright, Freeburgh, Smoko and Harrietville, before you start the steep and windy climb to the alpine resort of Mount Hotham, 32 kilometres further up the Great Dividing Range.
The 55 kilometres of road from Mount Hotham through Dinner Plain and Cobungra to Omeo is surprisingly flat.
Through the ‘off' seasons, services at Mount Hotham and Dinner Plain are limited, but in winter these villages turn into mini cities.
The mountains also take on a completely different hue, changing from browns and greens to nothing but white.
From Omeo - a great base from which to explore the national parks and alpine surrounds - the GAR turns south, following the course of the Tambo River through the settlements of Tongio, Swifts Creek, Doctors Flat, Ensay, and Bruthen, before meeting the Princes Highway (A1) at Bairnsdale.
Caravanners do use the road but be aware that between Harrietville and Hotham Heights it is steep, narrow, and windy, with many hairpin bends. Chains must be carried in winter and must be fitted where directed.
Sections of the road are subject to closure during winter, and bushfires can close it in summer.
Fuel is not available between Bright and Omeo, and only limited supplies are available between Omeo and Bruthen.
Meals, accommodation, and shopping is available in Omeo, with the towns of Swifts Creek and Bruthen also offering meals and accommodation.
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Distance Wangaratta to Bairnsdale: 304 kilometres
2: Great River Road - Photo: Destination NSW
C546, or the Great River Road, is one of Australia’s great drivers' and riders’ roads. It is a cracker.
It snakes its way almost its entire 156-kilometre length from Albury-Wodonga to Corryong, following the course of the Murray River which separates the states of New South Wales and Victoria.
As the course of the river meanders through the Upper Murray, so too does the Great (formerly Murray) River Road, with plenty of slow in, fast out corners, winding bends, tight curves, crests, flat straights, and several causeways.
There are not many hilly sections, but there are some blind corners and in sections, especially where the road runs adjacent to the Mount Lawson State Park, it becomes narrow, with a drop to the river on one side and rock face on the other.
From Albury-Wodonga you follow the Riverina Highway to the Bethanga Bridge which spans Lake Hume. and, once across the bridge, the road veers left and it becomes windy for about 15 kilometres.
Just east of this section is the Wymah ferry which takes vehicular traffic across the Murray arm of the lake to the NSW side.
The Great River Road continues through picturesque farming countryside and the rural communities of Burrowye, and Guys Forest to the Jingellic turnoff.
The small village of Jingellic, on the New South Wales side of the river, has a general store, a camping ground and the historic Bridge Hotel, a popular stopover for those touring the Upper Murray.
Walwa, the main town on the road before you reach Corryong, is close to Pine Mountain, the largest monolith in the southern hemisphere at 1.5 times the size of Uluru (Ayres Rock).
A further 29 kilometres is the historic township of Tintaldra where you can glean some amazing views of the distant Snowy Mountains.
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Before your drive (or ride) ends at Corryong, you pass through Towong, the western gateway to the Kosciusko National Park.
From Towong the Murray Valley Highway takes you to Corryong, the heart of The Man from Snowy River country.
The Great River Road is sealed for its entire length, does become narrow in parts, and is caravan friendly.
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Distance Albury to Corryong: 156 kilometres
3: Snowy Valleys Way - Photo: Darryl Starr
IF you are travelling between Melbourne and Sydney - or vice versa - and you are not in a rush, there is an alternate route between Wangaratta and Gundagai - or again, vice versa - than heading straight along the Hume Freeway.
It is called the Snowy Valleys Way, another local rival to the Great Ocean Road.
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A magnificent drive any time of the year, the Snowy Valleys Way is not route numbered as it is made up of many different roads and highways, but it does pass through towns that are etched in our history, such as the gold rush towns of Beechworth and Yackandandah, Tallangatta, the town that moved, and the Man from Snowy River town of Corryong.
The Snowy Valleys Way starts at historic Gundagai in New South Wales to the north and ends in Beechworth to the southwest (turn off the Hume Freeway at Wangaratta if travelling north from Melbourne).
This alternate, slow-paced network of roads allows the tourist or day tripper the opportunity to take in some of the country’s most breathtaking scenery, explore the many small towns, villages and hamlets along the way and sample country cuisine at the many hotels, cafes, bakeries and restaurants and sample delicate cool-climate wines at the many boutique wineries that are dotted along - and off - the route.
From Wangaratta you travel along the Ovens Highway to Tarrawingee, then the Wangaratta-Beechworth Road to Beechworth,, then through Wooragee to Yackandandah.
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Next stop are the twin towns of Kiewa-Tangambalanga, which sit either side of the Kiewa River which rises in the Victorian High Country.
After crossing the Sandy Creek arm of Lake Hume, the route - now the Murray Valley Highway - takes you to Tallangatta, the ‘Town That Moved’ in 1956, continues through Bullioh, Koetong, Shelley and Colac Colac, before coming (almost) to its end at Corryong.
You cross the Murray River at Towong and head to the farming community of Tooma, which is 35 kilometres from Tumbarumba.
​Must stops along this section of road include the Southern Cloud aircraft disaster memorial, and Paddy River Falls.
Tumbarumba is known as a timber town owing to its heavy dependence on logging, and particularly its softwood timber processing.
The road then heads to Batlow, a town famous for its apple orchards, Apple Blossom Festival and many roadside produce stalls, while Tumut, which sits on the Snowy Mountains Highway, is the northern gateway to the magnificent Snowy Mountains.
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The Gocup Road leads out of Tumut to your destination of Gundagai, famous for the Dog on the Tuckerbox monument
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The entire length of the Snowy Valleys Way is sealed and is caravan friendly but, remember, it is not signposted. For route maps, visit www.snowyvalleysway.com.au
Most of the roads are wide, but some of the interconnecting roads are narrow and some care needs to be taken.
​Distance Gundagai to Wangaratta: 363.6 kilometres
4: Alpine Way - Photo: Destination NSW
ANOTHER regional road to add to your bucket list is the Alpine Way, a 121-kilometre, all-weather, fully sealed road located in the southeastern corner of the Southern Riverina.
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Built in the 1950s as an access road for the construction of the Snowy Mountains Hydro Electric Scheme, the road connects the alpine town of Jindabyne in the east, to the New South Wales/Victorian border at Bringenbrong (near Khancoban) in the west, skirting the southern and western slopes of the Kosciuszko National Park.
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As the road passes through a national park, fees and other conditions apply, so before heading off, best you call into either the Khancoban or Jindabyne Visitor Information Centres (depending on direction of travel) to check road conditions, buy a pass, and ask the friendly staff about camping grounds, where to take some magnificent walks, the various ski resorts, or even where to capture that perfect photograph of Australia’s highest mountain – Mount Kosciuzsko (2228m).
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The road is also a somewhat slower-paced alternative route from North East Victoria to the NSW snowfields of Thredbo, Charlotte Pass, Perisher, Smiggin Holes, Crackenback and Guthega.
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The Alpine Way terminates three kilometres west of Jindabyne.
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From Jindabyne, the Kosciuszko Road traverses rolling countryside before joining the Snowy Mountains Highway just west of Cooma.
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Whether you are driving or riding a motorcycle along the Alpine Way, the drive allows you to soak in the spectacular mountain views, but as the road is steep, narrow, and winding between Khancoban and Thredbo, and subject to rock falls, it is not recommended for vehicles towing large caravans.
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Winding through tall mountain forests and past the dramatic western fall of the Main Range, snow-capped peaks can be seen from winter through to spring.
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The Alpine Way crests the Great Dividing Range at Dead Horse Gap at an altitude of 1580m.
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Most of the road, which is sealed all the way and has no major intersections, is contained within the Kosciuszko National Park.
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Road restrictions in the region require all vehicles to carry snow chains between June and October but, due to sudden weather changes, be prepared at any time of the year.
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And that includes dressing appropriately.
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Distance Khancoban to Jindabyne - 121 kilometres
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