The Great Valley Trail: Bright to Harrietville

Victoria’s most iconic cycling route, the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail, has finally reached the mountains, and in the great tradition of these things, they’ve left the best to last.

The 27-kilometre section between the beautiful town of Bright and the quirky village of Harrietville at the foot of the Australian Alps has been sealed, signposted and delivered. It shadows the Great Alpine Road, which winds and climbs through spectacular countryside in the leg between Myrtleford and Dinner Plain, but on the trail you’re more often in touch with Ovens River, meandering through and around forests and farms.

This leg is called the Great Valley Trail , and that’s a clue to its benevolent nature. Mountains may surround you but the rises on this track aren’t even molehills, and you’ll barely raise a sweat on the ‘uphill’ leg towards Harrietville.

Great Valley Road, VIC, Australia — The iconic Great Alpine Road now has an equally iconic bike trail.

Today we’re taking the cushier option. Having arranged a shuttle to take us to Harrietville, we get fitted out with wonders of modern cycling at Bright Electric Bikes . Simple to master and easy to ride, e-bike hire starts from $55 for a half-day, which means we’ve got oodles of time to stop and admire these great outdoors.

Manager Chris Hall says it takes around 90 minutes to do the trail but we reckon we’ll need double that, because from the starting point at Tavare Park we grab a coffee from Dolly’s caravan across the road, then take Chris’s suggestion of a short detour to the Tronoh Dredge Hole . This was the biggest bucket-dredge gold mine in the southern hemisphere in the 1940s and ’50s, but is now a spectacular swimming hole surrounded by forest and mountains – both are reflected in the cool water – with a shady picnic area and a 20-minute walking loop.

Dolly's Caravan, Great Valley Trail, VIC, Australia — Stopover at Dolly’s caravan across the road.

Early stages of the Great Valley Trail

For the first few kilometres, the trail shadows the Great Alpine Road, but with the river never far away we have cause to give way to ducks at one point. Then we navigate away from the road, crossing Ovens River, and we’re in farmland. Several magpies perched on a fence watch us scoot past, and a tiny robin swoops across the track. Later, we’re serenaded by a kookaburra.

Great Valley Trail, Cycling Path, VIC, Australia — Wind your way through forests along Ovens River on the Great Valley Trail.

If you’ve packed a cooler bag, you might pick up some fresh or smoked fish from Mountain Fresh Trout and Salmon Farm ; otherwise, you can drop in when you’re back in the car for the Great Alpine Road drive. Soon we spot a pair of anglers in waders in the middle of the river, trying to catch their own. We also vow to check out Gunnadoo Berries on our return drive.

It’s a warm morning, but thankfully our motion produces a cooling breeze and we’re never far from a shady section. Eventually, we realise no one else is going our way, as every other cyclist is heading towards Harrietville. We had no idea this ride is easy in either direction, and the option of a full day’s trip to go both ways is recorded for next time.

Berries, Alpine Shire Council, Great Valley Road, VIC, Australia — Enjoy the local produce.

Halfway on the Great Valley Trail

At Tom Bibby Bridge – one of the four new crossings built specifically for the trail – six alpacas and a donkey are munching on grass in a field, while an emu strolls around a neighbouring paddock.

Everything seems to grow well in this valley, and it’s one of the best places for chestnuts in Victoria. They hang distinctively in a grove at a point marked B11 – every kilometre has a post showing the distance to the trail’s respective start/finish points, so we know we’re more than halfway to Bright.

Cycling in the forest, Great Valley Road, Alpine Shire Council, VIC, Australia — You have plenty of time to stop and admire the great outdoors.

Just past Discovery Parks Bright, a series of tight bends through the forest adds a bit of frisson to the ride, and we need to be alert to the possibility of other cyclists around blind corners. There are no other hazards to speak of, bar a few low-hanging branches to brush tall riders’ helmets, or the occasional blackberry thorn poking out. Even a red-bellied black snake – not an aggressive species – taking the sun beside the track pays us no heed as we glide past.

With the dredge hole detour and stops for water and photos, we’ve taken three hours to make it back to Bright.

All things Bright

A sophisticated centrepoint for a Great Alpine Road experience, Bright is where the mountains start closing in on Ovens Valley, and you feel you can reach out and touch them from almost anywhere in town. You’d think the town got its name from the spectacular arboreal colour it displays every autumn, but it was in fact named for John Bright, a notable 19th-century British orator – he’s said to have popularised the phrase “to flog a dead horse" – who never visited the place.

Bright in Autumn, VIC, Australia — Bright is a sophisticated centrepoint for a Great Alpine Road experience.

It’s here, on the morning of our ride, that we fuel up with a heroic breakfast at Ginger Baker Cafe . Its Big Brekky is a sturdy assembly that will set you up for the day, although the lighter option of their house-roasted muesli with magnificent local berries is just as good. We decline the suggestion of a prosecco mimosa as a fortifier for the day ahead; our preferred drink is the excellent coffee, produced by another local hero, Sixpence Coffee . It shares a large retail space just off the main street with Reed & Co Distillery, and this is where we come for afternoon post-ride flights of their six unique spirits: two classic gins made with botanicals from the local valleys, a pair of fascinating wine/gin blends, and blackberry and coffee-flavoured gin-based liqueurs.

Sixpence Coffee, Bright, VIC, Australia — Our preferred drink is the excellent coffee, produced by another local hero, Sixpence Coffee.

Celebrate with steak

After working up a healthy appetite, there are many restaurants in Bright to choose from. The triumph of completing the Great Valley Trail is to be celebrated with a hearty dinner at Sir Loin’s Bar & Grill , a basement bar and restaurant where, no surprise, steak is the star. Eye fillet, porterhouse, scotch fillet and wagyu sirloin – or even the giant 1kg King Island Tomahawk (for two) – can be ordered with any of seven sauces.

While there are plenty of things to do in Bright, we take a short walk back to our accommodation at The Glass Pinnacle , a large, luxurious two-bedroom apartment with decks on three sides from which we can soak up the mountain air and dwell on a trail well ridden.

Great Valley Trail, VIC, Australia — The triumph of completing the Great Valley Trail needs to be celebrated.

Back on the road

Serious road cyclists would make mincemeat of the Great Alpine Road as they access its other pretty towns and villages, but it’s not known as one of Victoria’s best scenic drives for nothing. When heading up the valley from the Hume Freeway, Myrtleford is a beautiful place to rest a while. You immediately get a sense of Italian heritage, born of the immigrant families who settled here after the Second World War to grow tobacco. Now the locals have pivoted to wine, hops, berries, nuts and pumpkin seeds, making Myrtleford a convivial and family-focused place. Stop and discover the 70 tiny colourful artworks on the town’s Mosaic Trail, which follows Ovens River for a few kilometres.

Mosaic Art, Myrtleford, VIC, Australia — Discover the 70 tiny colourful artworks on the town’s Mosaic Trail.

Besides bicycles, Harrietville is often peppered with packs and poles of hikers ready to tackle a strenuous day’s walk up to the fabled Mt Feathertop. There are also plenty of gentle short walks around the village, or you can simply do your forest bathing with a latte or lager from the verandahs of the pubs and cafes.

True to its name, the Great Alpine Road will get you to Victoria’s highest spots, and from Harrietville it rises steeply to the Mt Hotham ski resort. But no matter what the season, the experience of being in nearby Dinner Plain , a modern village right in the heart of Alpine National Park, takes some beating. It has a range of hotel, chalet, B&B and apartment accommodation, plus a great assortment of hiking, riding and biking adventures.

Biking at the Great Valley Trail, VIC, Australia — Take in views of the rolling mountains at every turn.

Mount Beauty, a side trip off the Great Alpine Road – through the Tawonga Gap, with its spectacular lookout over the Kiewa Valley – sits at the base of Victoria’s highest peak, Mt Bogong. It has some rewarding bush trails, from the short loop track linking a pair of swimming holes known as Mermaid Beach and Rockpool, to the Mount Beauty Gorge Walk, which may involve some wading across the shallow river to reach an impressive canyon. But four legs can be better than two, so a day-long or multi-day horse trek is a great alternative .

Kiewa Point, Great Valley Road, VIC, Australia — Descent into the Kiewa Valley.

Plan your trip to Bright

There are so many more experiences, walks, rides, gourmet food, wine and spirit offerings, as well as incredible accommodation options and things to do in Bright and beyond. Read our travel guide to Bright and start planning your High Country escape.

The Great Ocean Road has captured the hearts of Australians with its astounding scenery since 1932, but going off-course can enrich your experience with untouched nature, foodie delights and charming towns.

It’s a chilly 16 degrees. My husband pulls on a steamer and jogs – as all seasoned surfers do – into the water. We’re at Bells Beach , the legendary break on Victoria’s Surf Coast that’s home to the Rip Curl Pro, the world’s longest-running event in competitive surfing. Each year, over the Easter long weekend, up to 40,000 people descend on the region for the event. Today, though, we have the beach almost to ourselves, and the less-than-favourable temperature doesn’t deter my husband from surfing this famous break.

Torquay to Anglesea and Aireys Inlet

The red dome of Split Point Lighthouse in Aireys Inlet. (Image: Tourism Australia)

The nearby surf town of Torquay marks the starting point for the Great Ocean Road . Unfolding our map, which we have marked out with a highlighted route for our children to follow, we set off for lesser-known Anglesea, a chilled-out town 20 minutes south of here. Its wide, sandy beach is a gentler swimming option for our young family. Groms can learn to surf here with Go Ride a Wave, which also runs stand-up paddle boarding on the Anglesea River.

Split point lookout — The lighthouse overlooks the Shipwreck Coast. (Image: Tourism Australia)

After a couple of nights in Anglesea, we hit the road again, first stopping at Aireys Inlet. Here we stretch our legs at Split Point Lighthouse, which was made famous by the 1990s television series Round the Twist, before driving under the Memorial Arch that welcomes us, officially, to the Great Ocean Road.

This 243-kilometre coastal road was built by returned First World War servicemen and serves as a permanent memorial to those who fought and died during the war. Carved into rock using hand tools and horse-drawn carts, it was a huge engineering feat and provided much-needed access to isolated coastal communities.

Lorne to Birregurra

Lorne is a delightful beachside stop for lunch and browsing boutique stores. It’s also the gateway to Great Otway National Park , which comprises a varied landscape of old-growth forests, cool-temperate rainforests, heathy woodlands and rugged coast. With the highest rainfall in Victoria, the region is home to many waterfalls – 10 of which are within 10 kilometres of Lorne.

Turning slightly off the main drag, we wind along a gum-shaded road to Erskine Falls. Here, our son leads the way through the hyper-green rainforest and down 200-plus stairs to the cascade that drops 30 metres into a lush fern gully. We hop over large boulders to get closer to the falls, enjoying the entire place to ourselves; it’s worth the return climb.

From Sheoak Falls Picnic Area, there are walking trails to Henderson Falls, Phantom Falls, Won Wondah Falls and Kalimna Falls, some of which follow an old timber tramway from forest-logging days, which only came to an end in 2008.

You can follow your appetite north to the town of Birregurra, which is part of the Otway Harvest Trail that connects farm gates, markets, wineries, breweries and distilleries. It’s home to three-hatted modern Australian restaurant Brae , helmed by celebrated chef Dan Hunter, set among native gardens and an organic farm, and Otways Distillery, which produces small-batch spirits using local produce and botanicals.

Brae restaurant — Brae is a three-hatted restaurant in Birregurra. (Image: Tourism Australia)

Apollo Bay to The Otways

Back on track, the cliff-hugging stretch between Lorne and Apollo Bay is breathtaking. At Teddys Lookout, we overlook the winding road ahead and St George River spilling into the ocean. We spend languid days in Apollo Bay, a buzzy seaside town that boasts a three-kilometre-long, crescent-shaped beach with a backdrop of rolling green hills. One evening, as the sun sets, we take the steep 10-minute walk to Marriners Lookout, which affords panoramic views of the ocean, hinterland and town.

A 15-minute drive along the road, Maits Rest is a lush rainforest gully that has been protected since the early 20th century. Wandering along the 800-metre boardwalk, we inspect the delicate moss-covered forest floor and the gnarled roots of 300-year-old myrtle beech trees, then crane our necks to see their canopies, some 50 metres above us. It’s therapy in nature.

Cape Otway to the Twelve Apostles

The southernmost tip of Cape Otway is a delightful detour, home to the 1848-built Cape Otway Lightstation, the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia. We climb the narrow winding staircase to the gallery deck, explore the keepers’ quarters and telegraph station, and enjoy a coffee and some ‘famous’ scones at the charming onsite cafe.

It’s a pinch-me moment to finally see the Twelve Apostles in person. This unmistakable cluster of limestone stacks rising abruptly from the sea were never 12, however. When coined this in the 1890s as a marketing ploy, there were only nine; today, only seven remain after two collapsed in 2005 and 2009. We admire these Aussie icons from the viewing platform, in awe of Mother Nature’s ever-evolving artwork.

The Grotto is another natural attraction within Port Campbell National Park. (Image: Carmen Zammit)

Edging the wild Southern Ocean, this part of the coast – dubbed Shipwreck Coast – is made up of many sea-carved natural wonders including London Bridge, The Grotto and Gibson Steps. After exploring the lookout trails of Loch Ard Gorge/Poombeeyt Kontapool – its English name taken from the site of the 1878 shipwreck – we nestle into the sandy beach encircled by towering sandstone cliffs, as our children splash about on the water’s edge, and soak it all in.

Port Campbell to Timboon

Timboon Fine Ice Cream is part of a regional foodie trail. (Image: C McConville)

Just north of Port Campbell National Park, the region of Timboon is part of the 12 Apostles Food Artisans Trail, filled with purveyors of delicious foodstuffs such as Timboon Fine Ice Cream , Timboon Railway Shed Distillery and Apostle Whey Cheese. As an antidote to the indulgence, the 20-kilometre Poorpa Yanyeen Meerreeng Trail is a self-guided ride or walk between Port Campbell and Timboon through tall forests, over historic bridges and past sparkling lakes and farmland with grazing cattle.

Warrnambool to Port Fairy

Warrnambool building — A 19th-century building in Warrnambool. (Image: Peter Foster)

In Warrnambool, a town rich in maritime history, we take the four-kilometre Thunder Point Walk that traces the coast. The kids squeal when an echidna shuffles out from beneath the wooden boardwalk, and we stop to admire a seal lazing on a rock at the port.

Further along, the streets of quaint fishing village Port Fairy are lined with 19th-century cottages, old stone churches and Norfolk pines. Follow the historic walking trail to see some of the 60-plus National Trust buildings. Port Fairy is also home to Port Fairy Folk Festival (6-9 March), one of the country’s longest-running music and cultural festivals. You could time your road trip with the event for a fittingly celebratory end to any journey.

The Great Ocean Road can easily be done in three days, but we’ve spent a week on the road. The highlighted line on our now creased and well-worn map doesn’t follow the famous route precisely. It has sprouted branches in many directions, leading us to untouched rainforest and charming rural towns filled with culinary delights, and where we experienced some of our most memorable moments on the Great Ocean Road.

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

The Monty is a highly anticipated, newly refurbished motel with a chic Palm Springs-inspired aesthetic set across the road from the Anglesea River. Basalt Winery in Port Fairy grows cool-climate wines such as pinot noir and Riesling in rich volcanic soil. Stay among the vines in its tiny home, complete with a kitchen, lounge area and outdoor firepit.

The Oak & Anchor Hotel has been a Port Fairy institution since 1857. Cosy up by the bar in winter or bask in the sunshine of the Lawn Bar in summer. The rooms are beautifully boutique with considered details, such as luxe baths for sinking into post-road trip.

Eating there

The Coast in Anglesea is a modern Australian restaurant focused on local ingredients. Grand Pacific Hotel has been a local landmark in Lorne since 1879 and recently underwent a restoration. It serves a mix of traditional pub and Italian fare alongside ocean views.

Graze is a cosy 40-seat dining room in Apollo Bay with a modern Australian menu complemented by regional wines. Apollo Bay Distillery offers tasting flights, a gin blending masterclass and serves woodfired pizzas.

Great Valley Trail: the Great Alpine Road’s equally great bike trail