Great Alpine Road · part 2

Waypoint introductions and full write-ups

1. 1. Omeo

   Omeo sits at the end of a long, empty road in the high country of Victoria, and for a long time it was a place people passed through on their way to somewhere else. In the 1850s, that somewhere else was gold. Prospectors poured in, and for a while Omeo was a rough, bustling frontier town, with a reputation for lawlessness that earned it the nickname of the Wild West of Victoria. Then the gold ran out, and the town settled into a quieter life as a service centre for cattle farmers and, later, for skiers heading for the mountains.

   Read the complete Omeo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Omeo is where the day begins. Next is Bairnsdale.

2. 2. Bairnsdale

   Bairnsdale is the gateway to East Gippsland, a handy market town of about eight thousand people on the Mitchell River flats, and it marks one end of the Great Alpine Road. That road climbs about three hundred kilometres from here to Wangaratta, crossing the Victorian Alps by way of Omeo and Mount Hotham, and in places it is spectacular. At Bairnsdale itself, the scenery is flat and the pace relaxed, so it makes sense as a place to refuel and rest before or after the mountains.

   Read the complete Bairnsdale write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   Bairnsdale comes up about 121 km into the recorded legs. Next is back through Omeo.

3. 3. back through Omeo

   Return visit. Read the place description above.

   Read the complete Omeo write-up.

   Recorded stop-planning note

   May refer to an earlier itinerary; verify against your selected route before riding.

   Planning note

   The route ends here after 241 km.