Australian Adventure Travel Film Festival – Bright (Vic)

I found out about the “Australian Adventure Travel Film Festival ” via their Facebook page, and was then kindly invited along by organiser Rupert Shaw.

And I didn’t even think twice about going … why? Well, any excuse to ride through one of my favourite places in Oz … the Snowy Mountains, as well as, finally, through the Victorian High Country.  And it didn’t take much to convince my riding buddy Greame to come along – he’s always down for a ride!

Mysterious Mountains

First stop was Araluen , at a free camping spot next to the creek. Once there, we spotted a super-long sheltered picnic table made out of a single, giant tree log – long enough to fit two mattresses – we both nodded to each other and thought ‘that will do for the night’!

The rest of the trip to Bright, which took a bit over a day, was a bit of a challenge – muddy dirt tracks, mist, more mud, steep rocky hills, sharp cornering through heavy fog – and more mud. A real adventure! I’d imagine that the ride thorough the Great Alpine Way, during perfect weather conditions, would be amazing and scenic … but we did it in a mysterious fog and rain, which had its own creepy, if not magical vibe.

Bright Lights

And we finally made it! Soaked to the bone, but excited about being able to have hot showers, we set up our tents at the caravan park next to the Ovens River.

The Adventure Festival was held in 4 venues all within walking distance of each other, and at the end of the day the ‘feature event’ Starlight Screening was held at Howitt Park, where we were treated to 10 great movies and a host of talks. Great atmosphere, great people!

On Sunday morning we joined the adventure ride organised by Alpine Adventure Bike Tours, which saw a good turn-out of thirty bikes. This was my first adventure group ride, and it’s a different experience to the relaxed pace of solo riding … gee some of those guys were real fast!

The rocky climb to Mt Porpunkah was definitely worth it, with the bumpy ride giving way to an amazing view at the top.

And, on the way down, I must admit, one of those rare occasions occurred which saw me come ‘off her bike’ and at a sharp corner at that, due to my camera charger getting stuck in between the handlebars and the frame … some lessons are learnt the hard way!

Afterwards, Greame and I grabbed some breakfast, went back to check out a few more films at the festival, and packed up for the morning trip home.

All in all, the festival was well organised and definitely worth the trip if you can make it down. Check out their website here: Australian Adventure Travel Film Festival

In Numbers:

Duration: 4.5 days

Total km’s: 2250km

Fuel cost: $113

Accommodation: camping for 2 nights free, camping at the caravan park in Bright $43/2 nights