At Treadlie we love our arvo cuppa, so when invited to High Altitude, High Tea as part of Victoria’s High Country Harvest we jumped at the chance, packed our picnic rug and escaped the big smoke pre-dawn.
Victoria’s North Eastern valleys and mountains are enjoying a mini boom as bike riders of all genres thrive on the existing and recently added facilities. We rose out of the Ovens Valley morning mist and were soon heading out in clear skies around a shimmering Rocky Valley Dam at the back of Falls Creek ski resort.
It’s a cruisey ride out to Wallace’s Hut and the mountain gods were smiling as the Indian summer rolled on. Lisa from Diana Lodge had prepared a lavish high tea and more. Walnut salads in practical jars, followed by a range of delectable savouries were washed down with Sam Miranda proseco and finished with Lisa’s tangy lime curd hazlenut tart and scrumptious quince and rosewater cheesecakes and tea.
Sunday morning was another cracker and once fuelled with Honeybird caffeine we made the summit as the early rays lit up the Bogong High Plains. Xena, our warrior guide, led us to the head of the High Voltage single track and then it was on, rock n roll on our Giant steeds all the way to the Gully Chairlift bottom station. There are many more MTB trails to check out in the Falls Creek Mount Bike Park but these could wait for another visit.
Tasting time was tempting us and we descended back to Mt Beauty and headed over the Tawonga Gap to catch up with Leigh from Bright Electric Bikes. We rolled off on Kalkhoff e-bikes through town as Bright Brewery geared up for another busy Sunday afternoon of live music and headed downstream on the Rail Trail to Porepunkah. Just beyond the town is the pretty Ringer Reef winery run by seasoned winemakers Bruce and Annie Holm. This ten acre patch grows an eclectic range of Italian style grapes and all the wine is hand made and bottled on site.
Before hitting the Hume we lunched at the Rail Trail Café and mapped out our next visit to this spectacular region. Stay tuned for news on Summer Sombrero evenings later in 2016, a joint endeavour from Bright Electric Bikes and the Rail Trail Café.
Further Information:
www.victoriashighcountry.com.au/food-wine-beer/high-country-harvest
www.dianalodge.com www.brightelectricbikes.com.au www.railtrailcafe.com.au