The Nomadic Explorers | Australian Travel Blog

Australia doesn’t do autumn. Not really. But happily there are a few lovely cool climate towns where deciduous trees come out to play and paint the town red, orange and yellow. So what is the best place to see the bright colours of autumn? Of course it is Bright! :)

Bright is a town in the High Country of Northeast Victoria. The town is close to the Victorian Alps, and various alpine national parks including the Mount Buffalo National Park. It is famous with its European trees planted in the area and a major cultural event - the Bright Autumn Festival.

This year we spent two days (25-26 of April) there, exploring this beautiful town and were stunned by the beauty of those tree foliages that had changed their colours.

Wandiligong is a quiet community 6 km south of Bright. Its population is about 250 people who work in the apple orchards and small holdings, its cottage industries and in the neighbouring districts. Established in the 1850s during the Victorian gold rush, it was at one stage home to over 1000 people with schools, public library, churches, shops and hotels. Several trails lead down to the diggings turned over in search of gold, which ran out by the end of the century.  The whole town is now registered with the National Trust as a historic landscape and features historical buildings such as the Manchester Unity Public Hall (built in 1874), the general store, several churches and a number of quaint cottages.

Main attractions of Wandiligong are Australia’s largest living hedge maze, the largest apple orchard in the southern hemisphere, historic buildings and the Alpine Park, and The Wandiligong Nut Festival. There are several walks as well including the Wandi Wander, Royal Bridge Walk and The Diggings Walk with its Chinese Swing Bridge giving a hint to some of the locals of old.

We visited Wandiligong Maze, walked the Diggins Walk on the first day of your visit and went to the Wandiligong Nut Festival next day.

We went back to Melbourne from Jindabyne by Alpine Way. This way is known as one of the best drives in Australia. Well, it might be, but since it was once a cattle trail the road is very narrow in many areas and skirts many high cliffs that has probably done away with many an inattentive driver over the years. Luckily for drivers the road has a number of scenic lookouts and rest areas.

We stayed in Jindabyne during our visit to Kosciuszko National Park. 

Jindabyne is a small town with a population no more than 2000 people. It is a service town for Australia's highest ski resorts: Perisher, Thredbo and Charlotte Pass. In summer most of the shops in the town are closed and it is very quiet. But do not be shy and plan your summer visit - the area offers relaxing things to do, such as fishing for trout or meandering bushwalks around the water's edge. You can also jump on your bike and ride around the the lake to find beautiful views as you head north on the Kosciuszko Rd.

If you came to explore the Kosciuszko National Park, you can stay in Thredbo Village as well. It is located not far away from Jindabyne. Unfortunately there was an annual motorcycle event (Snowy Ride) in Thredbo on these days (3-5Nov), so it was tricky to find a good affordable place to stay.

We spent three lovely days exploring the Kosciuszko National Park. We went to the Mt Kosciuszko and Yarrangobilly Caves, walked a lot around the Jindabyne Lake. Wish next time we will have more time to stay.

Next day, after we did the "Main Range Walk – Charlotte Pass to Mount Kosciuszko" trail, we went to the Yarrangobilly Caves -a treasure hidden in the valley in the northern part of the  Kosciusko National Park.

Although the caves are located only in 2 hours drive from Jindabyne, it is hard to find any information about them (I am not taking into account National Parks NSW and Wikipedia websites). Moreover, there is no mobile reception in that area, so if you struggle to be offline for a day and be not be able to update your instagram status immediately, then do not go there! :) Last sentence was a was a joke. The truth is that we were very happy to visit the Yarrangobilly Caves, as this visit was much more interesting rather than our trip to the Jenolan Caves in the Blue Mountains :)

Please note that Google doesn't know how to navigate to the caves, so follow the information signs on the B72 (Snowy Mountains Hwy).

Once upon a time there was a girl who lived in the city near the mountains. She loved to look at them and she knew all their names by her heart: Ile Alatau (which is a part of Northern Tian Shan mountain system), Talgar peak, Big Almaty Peak and Big Almaty Lake, Abai Peak, Issyk Lake, Medeo..... All these names were not just sounds - they were something bigger for the girl, as she spent most of her weekends somewhere there. The girl moved from one city to another, then even moved to another country. She missed her mountains. Finally, she decided to reach the summit of the highest peak of her new homeland. 

Do you know who was that girl? That was me :) 

In November 2013 we went to Kosciuszko National Park, NSW to reach the summit of the Mt Kosciuszko (only 2228m above the sea level, but who cares?). We did the "Main Range Walk – Charlotte Pass to Mount Kosciuszko" trail.

It was a pleasant sunny spring day when we went to the Australian Garden in Cranbourne. It is a place of beauty, enjoyment and education that can be appreciated at several levels – as a celebration of the diversity of Australian plants, as a source of knowledge about our environment and its management, and as a demonstration of sustainable practices for home gardeners. This project for the Royal Botanic Gardens showcases more than 100,000 plants including 1,000 trees, 160 native bird species, 20 native mammal species, 18 native reptile species, 11 native amphibian species over 11 hectares. It is a new Botanical Garden - first section was opened in 2008 and the second one in 2011.

We spent almost a day there exploring heathlands, wetlands and woodlands, reading ALL information signs and discussing them with our son. Absolutelly must visit place for those who enjoys Australian flora and walks.

Last spring we went for a short 2h walk to the Cape Schank in Mornington Peninsula National Park. The location was named in 1800 after Captain John Schank, R.N. by Lieutenant James Grant sailing on the Lady Nelson. As you might remember, we visited the Lady Nelson Information Centre in Mount Gambier, where we learned more about the ship and James Grant's journey.

The cliffs at Cape Schanck rise 80 metres above the ocean and the lighthouse rises another 21 metres. From the Cape Schank Light House, there is a board-walk leading down to ocean and a number of walking trails thru parkland to beaches.

We arrived at Cape Schank at 5pm, the lighthouse was already closed, so we went for a walk.

Long time ago when I was spending my weekends with my grand-mum, I loved to read a book about roses. Actually, I loved to look at the pictures of these beautiful flowers, imagine myself being a princess somewhere in England. I grew up and my wish came true: we went to the real rose garden with LOTS of flowers. We spend a half of the day in the Victoria State Rose Garden, Werribee in November 2013 and I was sooooooooo happy to be there!

I posted some photos of roses which I took there. Please note that the best time to visit the garden is November and March-April, so do not be late!