Bright, Victoria: it’s an adventure playground

This holiday town in the High Country has the lot: a beautiful river to play in, mountains to climb, and great cycling routes.

Beautiful: the Ovens River, Bright. Picture: Rob Blackburn

The Ovens River tells the mood of every season in Bright. In winter it swells to a torrent, surging through the mountain hamlet of Harrietville at the base of Mt Hotham and pummelling the narrow gorge walls tucked behind Bright’s compact town centre. In autumn it puts on a show, ablaze with colour from the fallen leaves of the European trees that line its banks. Spring sees mountain streams swell with snowmelt, feeding the river as it flows the length of the Ovens Valley, eventually meeting the Murray River near Yarrawonga.

It’s a great base for hiking. Picture: David Kirkland / Tourism NE

This is truly a town for all seasons. The warmer months are particularly special, when Bright takes on the air of a childhood summer camp. Paraglider pilots take off from the summit of Mystic Mountain, as mountain bikers tear down the pine tree-lined trails. The town is awash with Lycra-clad road cyclists sipping coffee in the sun at local roasters Sixpence Coffee, or popping into Dumu Balcony Café (a social enterprise that brings indigenous youth to the High Country to train them in hospitality), or grabbing a sneaky burger and cocktail from the all-too-tempting Tomahawks (one Tiki Sour is probably the limit for safe riding). Cycling is to the summer in Bright what skiing is to winter in Whistler. The super-keen can tackle the thigh-busting climb up Mt Hotham, while the more leisurely set their sights on Wangaratta, part of the 83km Murray to Mountains Rail Trail.

Bright’s river pool. Picture: Ricky French

But if you’re not on two wheels, you’re likely to be in the water. A lifeguard watches over the lawn-fronted river pool, where kids bounce off a diving board and shoot down waterslides, or have epic water fights at the adjacent splash park, complete with fountains and bubblers, water webs and a gold mining-style dumper bucket that periodically unleashes a torrent on the shrieking masses below.

Feeling adventurous? Spend a day floating down the river to Porepunkah on tubes or inflatable mattresses – a rite of passage for locals – riding rapids and drifting past sprawling backyards (watch out for the kids jumping off the Old Porepunkah Bridge as you pass underneath). Along the river, billowing elm trees shade tranquil caravan parks, soft grass sloping into side streams, where kids build dams out of rocks, adults lounge on camp chairs and dogs sleep under utes.

Swimming at Rollasons Falls. Picture: Tourism NE

The incredible granite-faced hulk of Mount Buffalo (1723m) offers not just a jaw-dropping view of the Australian Alps, from Kosciuszko to Mount Buller, but enchanted waterfalls and swimming holes. Ladies Bath Falls is the easiest to access but Rollasons Falls the most thrilling, a deep canyon-like hole framed by lush native bush.

Hedonistic Hiking run a guided “Buffalo & Bubbles” walking tour of the mountain’s boulder-strewn plateau culminating in sunset canapes and drinks, or if you’re after something a little more vigorous Alpine Nature Experience will guide you along the classic Falls Creek to Mt Hotham Crossing, spending two nights eco-glamping among the snow gums suspended from treetop tents.

A room at Art House Townhouses

We’re staying somewhere more roof-oriented, in one of five Art House Townhouses in the centre of Bright. The two or three-bedroom apartments, each named after an Australian artist, feature limited edition prints that bring personality and warmth to the generous modern living spaces with immaculately polished floorboards and all mod cons including well-equipped kitchens. We skip across the road for dinner at the classy, brushed concrete surrounds of Reed & Co, which marries a sophisticated kitchen with a slick bar, including gin distilled from local botanicals.

Reed & Co

An afternoon diversion takes us to Ringer Reef Winery for a cellar door lunch and a tasting on the terrace gardens above the valley. The Ovens Valley was once a tobacco-growing region before the crops were converted to vineyards and the boutique wine industry took off. Hops have always had a strong presence too, reflected in the many different brews flowing from the taps of Bright Brewery (try the Staircase Porter, named after the spur leading to the top of nearby Mount Bogong, Victoria’s highest peak).

In any season, thunderstorms can funnel up the valley, bruise-coloured clouds converging on your picnic by the river, turning day into night as fat drops plop into your lap. We scoop up our rug and picnic paraphernalia and scurry into the undercover haven of the brewery beer garden like bedraggled refugees. It feels like it happens every time I visit, but it’s great fun. As everything is in this high-country holiday camp masquerading as an unassuming mountain town.

• Perfect for: Families, mountain enthusiasts, bike riders and foodies.

• Must do: Take a morning stroll along Canyon Walk, a 5km riverside trail that showcases remnants of the gold mining days, accompanied by birdsong.

• Dining: Food Wine Friends cafe is the go-to spot for breakfast (try the zucchini fritters piled high with bacon, salad and avocado). Grab a top pub meal at the historic Happy Valley Hotel (known to locals as the Ovens Pub), on the mountains side of Myrtleford. At the other end of the valley Harrietville’s Snowline Motel offers causal gastro-pub dining, local beer and live music on weekends. Don Mungo’s for the best pizza in the heart of town.

• Getting there: Bright is just over an hour’s drive from Albury, NSW (nearest airport), or 3 hours 40 minutes’ drive from Melbourne.

• Bottom line: Art House Town Houses from $500 per night(2 bedroom); Olsen penthouse (3 bedroom) from $750pn.

arthousebright.com.au; victoriashighcountry.com.au