A Tourist Drive from Mt Beauty – Falls Creek – Wallaces Hut – Bogong High Plains – Dinner Plain – Mt Hotham.
The Grand Circle – Places of interest: Falls Creek, Wallace’s Hut, Bogong High Plains, Dinner Plain, Mt. Hotham
Highlights: Historic cattlemen’s huts, alpine flora & fauna & views.
Duration: ½ – 1 day
Drivers Advisory: The Bogong High Plains Rd is closed during winter. No petrol is available between Mt Beauty & Omeo. The Hotham to Harrietville road can be windy, & care must be taken.
Head up Bogong High Plains Rd (watching out for lyrebirds, wallabies & wombats at the side of the road) past Bogong Village, through Falls Creek, & out over Rocky Valley Dam wall into the Alpine National Park. Items of interest as you follow the road include the Langfords Gap Aqueduct, the quarry at Basalt Hill, Wallace’s Hut (a short walk from the road, & the oldest existing cattleman’s hut in Australia), Cope Hut a little further on, the Strawberry Saddle picnic area, &, on entering the tree line on the other side of the high plains, keep a look out for emus & kangaroos. Continue down to Shannonvale, turning right onto the Omeo Hwy, & follow it in to Omeo. Turn right in Omeo township & follow the signs to Mt Hotham along the Great Alpine Road, via the resort of Dinner Plain. It is worth stopping at Dinner Plain to view the interesting architecture. This is Australia’s highest freehold land. It’s then on to Hotham Heights where the view of Mt. Feathertop & the Australian Alps are breathtaking. Continue downhill to the historic township of Harrietville & through Smoko, turning right at the Germantown intersection just out of Bright. This road takes you over the Tawonga Gap with its magnificent views of Mt. Bogong & the Mt. Beauty township. Then, it’s down the hill to Mt Beauty & home.