The Victoria High Country,

in north-east Victoria, is a very special place.

In the High Country you'll find scenic alpine landscapes, gourmet food and wine and a fascinating history of bushrangers, horsemen and gold.

Victoria's High-Country consists of the hills and mountains of the Great Dividing Range which separates inland Australia from the greener coastal belt.

This mountain range runs from Queensland , through New South Wales , to just before Ballarat in Victoria where it drops away and reappears as the mountains of the Grampians, in the western part of the state.

This is the real “Man from Snowy River" country.

The area is a mixture a deep river valleys, high peaks and large areas of high plateau, and much of the region receives heavy winter snowfalls.

The High Country is also the home of the Victorian ski fields, based around Mount Buller, Mount Stirling, Falls Creek, Mount Buffalo, and Mount Hotham.

Apart from the excellent skiing the main attractions of the High Country are its natural features, which include moorland and typical mountainous alpine scenery.

It's also popular for other outdoor activities, including hiking, canoeing, white-water rafting, mountain-bike riding, and rock climbing.

If you plan to go walking here, make sure you have plenty of water and sunscreen, as well as a tent and a good-quality sleeping bag.

As in any alpine region, temperatures can plummet dramatically.

In summer, days can be very hot and nights very cold.

After a day in the High Country make your way to the valleys and sample some of the delicious local produce.

Set at the base of the High-Country in the Ovens Valley, Bright is one of the most beautiful, and one of my favourite towns in Australia.

Sheltered against mountain storms and winds it is renowned for its weather all year round.

Whatever the season, it will surprise you.

In autumn the colours that cloak the trees are spectacular and the town is framed in red and gold and russet.

In summer it is decked with soft cool greens and in spring blossom and flowers fill the gardens and parks.

Bright celebrates autumn and spring with festivals.

From Bright you can visit the Alpine and Mount Buffalo National Parks, go skiing at Falls Creek, Mount Hotham and Mount Buffalo, walk around the old gold fields, or fish the local rivers and streams.

Be sure to visit the Wandiligong Valley, now registered with the National Trust.

A number of historic buildings in the old mining town are preserved.

Fine wines, crisp apples and autumn nuts are regional specialties, put to good use in many local eateries.

This is High Country heartland.

High up in the Kiewa Valley, the town of Mount Beauty is tucked beneath Mount Bogong, the highest peak in the Victorian Alps, which, at just 1,988m (6,521 ft.), is minuscule by world mountain standards.

Flanked by national parks and alpine wilderness, Mount Beauty is set among rich valleys, snow-clad mountains, lakes and wild rivers full of fish.

It is a year round base for High Country exploration and central to some of the most exciting adventures Victoria has to offer, all within easy reach.

It exists for explorers, with special events, tournaments and festivals filling the calendar every month.

From here the choice is yours; you can walk or ride on horse or bicycle, you can motor or glide, take a canoe or a four wheel drive.

In winter you can ski for miles; in spring, the wildflowers will stop you in wonderment every few metres.

There are golf and garden festivals in season, car rallies and picnic races, cattle drives and Christmas feasting in December and one of Victoria's secrets, the November Festival of the Bogong Moth.

From the time of the Dreaming, the high country has been a meeting place of peace, feasting and good sport.

The Aborigines of the seven tribes of north east Victoria would congregate after the spring thaw on the banks of the Murray River at Mungabareena, or Albury.

Problems were sorted out, marriages confirmed and new plans made.

Spears were laid down and the tribe from Mt Beauty, the Ya-itma then, led the way to the high plains for the annual Bogong Moth feast.

The Aboriginal name for the moth is bogong and today the Bogong Moth Festival once more calls people together to celebrate peace and good living when spring transforms the Victorian high country into lush pastures of wildflowers and coursing mountain streams.

Discover the fascinating heritage of the region in historic towns and villages such as Beechworth where you can wander among the grand nineteenth century buildings that are a legacy of the heady gold rush days.

Visit historical sites and attractions in Glenrowan where Australia's most famous bushranger, Ned Kelly, made his last stand, or discover the proud and enduring spirit of the cattlemen and rugged adventurers in Mansfield.

Mansfield is the gateway to Melbourne's winter playground of Mount Buller.

A short two hour drive from the city and you're there.

Whenever you decide to go the town and its surrounding district offers you much to see and do.

You can stand in the main street and look towards the mountains; Mount Buller and Mount Stirling are immediately in front of you across the wide valley of the Delatite River.

Mansfield his always been the centre of Victorian grazing country.

Here you will find some of the great stories and the great story tellers for which Australia is famous.

The Great Alpine Road, one of Australia's great touring routes, winds through the region showcasing stunning alpine landscapes, heritage towns, and local food and wine between Wangaratta, Bairnsdale and the Gippsland Lakes.

The only freehold village in the Victorian Alps, Dinner Plain, is one of Victoria's most popular summer retreats, with great fishing, swimming and other activities.

The town celebrates its heritage of the High Country pioneers and their horses each Australia Day weekend with a bush meet that would do the Man from Snowy River proud.

Less experienced riders can take a more leisurely pace along old stock routes and, for those who prefer their own two legs there are numerous spectacular mountain walks.

The High Country is a delight to explore at any time of year.

The upper reaches of the river Murray, around the town of Corryong, is one of the most unspoiled places in Victoria.

This is picture postcard territory, a photographer's paradise.

It is where the mighty river Murray begins its 2000 kilometre journey to the sea.

Where it rises, high in the Alps, you can jump across the border of Victoria and New South Wales.

In the Corryong cemetery is the grave one of the most famous Australians, Jack Riley, believed by many to be the real Man from Snowy River.

At the time of his death Riley was manager of Tom Groggin Station in the foothills of the Kosciusko Ranges on the other side of the Murray.

(For those who don't know, in Australia a "station" is what the Americans call a "ranch", unless, of course, it has a train running through it, then it's a railway station, does that make sense...?)

Riley's Ride is now part of the annual Corryong High Country Festival which is held in March in celebration of such pioneers.

(If you happen to be a fisherman (or woman), Corryong means brown and rainbow trout).

The Man from Snowy River Folk Museum sheds some interesting insights into the life of the pioneers and their ingenuity and it has an extraordinary exhibition of old skiing equipment.

There is great fishing here with opportunities for everyone from the most experienced and skilled fly fisherman to the youngest amateur with a line and bait.

And all of this in the most beautiful countryside, teeming with bird and animal life.

If you’re a bushwalker you have the Burrowa-Pine National Park on the Victorian side of the border and Kosciusko National Park in New South Wales.

390km (242 miles) NE of Melbourne is the Snowy River National Park, with its lovely river scenery and magnificent gorges which protect Victoria's largest forest wilderness areas.

The place to get information on the Snowy River National Park and Alpine National Park is the Buchan Caves Information Centre, in the Buchan Caves complex.

It's open every day from 9am to 4pm except Christmas day, or call Parks Victoria (telephone: 13 19 63 if you’re in Victoria, or 03 5155 9264 from outside the state).

The Buchan Caves are in a scenic valley that is particularly beautiful in autumn, when all the European trees are losing their leaves.

Tourists can visit the Royal and Fairy caves (which are quite similar), with their world famous stalactites and stalagmites.

There are several tours daily: April to September at 11am, 1pm, and 3pm; October to March at 10 and 11:15am, 1, 2:15, and 3:30pm. Entry to one cave costs A$10 (US$8) for adults, A$5 (US$4) for children 5 to 16, and A$25 (US$20) for families of five.

(Please phone to confirm this information before you visit)

Yes indeed, the High Country in north-east Victoria is a very special place……enjoy.

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