VICTORIAN ALPS CYCLE TOUR - DAY 7

Mount Buffalo seen from the Ovens River Valley

Route: Myrtleford, Everton, Beechworth (side trip), Bowser, Wangaratta.
Distance: 53km (or 83km if the side trip to Beechworth is included)

With the high country in the distance, this final day is a relatively easy cycle and follows the rail trail all the way to Wangaratta. There are no shops along the way unless one makes the 1km detour into Everton (hotel, general store and caravan park with swimming pool). Water and toilets are available from two of the renovated railway stations (see the rail trail brochure for precise locations).

The side trip to Beechworth (see also here) is thoroughly recommended. It is a 30km return trip, climbing 300m up to Beechworth along an evenly graded rail trail (and reaping all the rewards of an effortless cycle on the way back). It is one of the best preserved gold rush towns in Australia and is steeped in history.


Historic Beechworth. The plaque on the right reads:

Erected in 1954 in memory and honour of the pioneers who founded this town,
and to commemorate the fact that Beechworth was once famous as a gold town.

Some historical dates

Feb. 1852 Gold discovered.
July 1853 Beechworth named and declared a township.
Sept. 1855 Famous golden horseshoes incident.
1852-1856 Gold returns totalled 3,121,918 ozs.
1856-1859 Robert O'Hara Bourke, Capt. Police at Beechworth.
Augt. 8^th 1880 Ned Kelly's trial begins in local court-house.

There are some excellent museums and the bakery is deservedly well-known. My only regret was that I didn't have a spare day to stay the night here.

The rest of the cycle to Wangaratta is very flat and, in one stretch, dead straight for 14km - a marked contrast to the rest of the tour.

Plains outside Wangaratta

Wangaratta is a regional centre of 15000 people and has a good shopping centre, bicycle shop and many accommodation options.

Ovens River at Wangaratta

The tour ends with a monument paying tribute to wine, jazz and (on the other side, where the light was not conducive for taking photographs) cyclists.