In the first week of May 2023, we went to Bright for a little getaway to celebrate the end of my treatment for lung cancer – four rounds of chemotherapy the last of which was awful. I was a bit disappointed to find that I was still very tired and not up to much walking, or staying up late. But it was nice to get out of the house where we have been cloistered away all year. Here is our luxury accomodation, a little way out of Bright, near Porepunkah.
Small but lovely. Three rooms. A sitting / dining area where we sat and read in the evenings.
In front of this lovely wood fire which was supplemented by a reversal cycle air conditioner. All our evenings were warm and cosy despite the very cold temperatures outside. There was a bedroom taken up entirely by a very large bed that I struggled to get in and out of. But the most spectacular room was this one – we had a bath every night. There was a double shower as well.
The view out the back, from both the bedroom and bathroom was national park bushland through which kangaroos raced most afternoons between 4 and 5pm.
Too fast to capture on film during their afternoon gallop – I wondered what made them race. We saw them one morning on the adjoining property soaking up the sun. They moved rapidly away when I got closer.
The view out the front was of the farm that our hosts own and work along with the mountains in the distance.
The autumn festival was underway and the trees around the place were looking wonderful. Including along the drive to our unit.
And most days driving out we passed people photographing them. Worth a picture. There is a big campaign underway in the township of Bright to save the gateway trees, which are really spectacular. Apparently there is a proposal to cut them down to make the road safer for people exiting a planned development. Very shortsighted. Bright is known for the beautiful avenues of trees.
There were lots of vineyards on the area and nut plantations, especially chestnuts which were also sold in roadside stalls. This plantation was next to our turn off. We often saw people picking the chestnuts off the ground. When they left, they left their buckets all around.
Lots of mushrooms around – these are not for eating! But very pretty.
The brighter the colour the more deadly!
The mountains were a constant delight. I loved seeing how the mist flowed down into the valleys – reminding me of the Juliette Binoche, Kristen Stewart movie Clouds of Sils Maria.
I was disappointed there was no fine dining to be had in Bright although we had okay meals. Our culinary highlight was an afternoon tasting Billy Button wines and enjoying charcuterie and cheese. The name comes from the alpine flower. The chief winemaker and founder of the business is Jo Marsh. A team of winemakers source the grapes from local vineyards and the focus is on the grape varieties introduced by the many Italian growers. There are lots of unfamiliar ones. Each bottle notes where the grapes come from. We had these options for white wines.
Obviously too many to taste in one afternoon! But we gave it a go. Here are the red wines.
We bought a dozen which entitled us to another one, so came home with thirteen bottles. And have continued to enjoy them at home. Worth having a lock at the Billy Button website here. Afterwards we drove up to a high point overlooking the town. Great views – very steep road, not sure we should have been doing that after our louche afternoon!
We then had a walk around the river – lots of people enjoying the late afternoon, though you can’t see them here. The caravan park was on the right of this picture and seemed to be full.
Another beautiful tree shining in the dusk.
Another day we ventured up Mount Buffalo. We should have taken note of the cloud cover. This picture wasn’t actually taken on the same day but I’m sure the mountain looked like this.
All was fine and sunny on the early stage of our journey up the mountain. Here is a waterfall quite low down.
But when we got to the lookout up the top nothing could be seen!
Disappointing, although it made for some very evocative photos – very Caspar David Friedrich.
There was nothing to indicate what this building had been used for.
I liked this image, taken through one of its windows.
The lookout structure was impressive.
And a man told me that on a fine day the views are spectacular. But on our day it was not to be.
Here’s another art shot! I should mention that as well as not being able to see anything it was freezing up here!
Crossing the road to what was our real destination, the contrast was striking. Joe has wanted to see the Mt Buffalo Chalet since seeing it spruiked as a holiday destination on red rattler trains in his youth. So here we were.
It is in terrific condition on the outside at least. We understand it was renovated relatively recently – maybe under the Bracks Government. But since then an electrical fire, the result of a lightning strike, has made it unsafe.
It looks as though the bright young things from the 1950s and 60s have just stepped out of the ballroom. I should have taken a picture through the window. Big club armchairs are nestled in corners waiting for people to snuggle into them. Instead I was trying to capture the figure on the weather vane, which is, of course, a buffalo. The garden was also spectacular. There was a holly hedge. All in very good nick.
It’s a pity they cant open it up again. Probably too big to be a profitable venture for anyone.
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