F N.C.V. Trip to Mt. Beauty 

 26 December 1969 - 4 January 1970 



by .If AN /iKKll.K 



When Wi kft Melbourne at 9 fStSL 

 trciihel conditions wart \cry much 

 | in our favuui and were to remain 

 fd ihioughoui our ,r, P 1nL " ,lr>l 

 important Mop was for lunch at Lake 

 Mll.liLUOtic, a new reservoir thai 

 v; iw< water lo the Broken River val- 

 in vVe ir.i veiled on through Ben- 

 ,|, Ulenrowaii and Mtlawa (where 

 the vincvaids and winery were not 

 jiurariccjf), and along the Ovens 

 V.illcS through Mynleford. Here we 

 p;i\sed hv near farms growing tobacco 

 ind hops, then on to Bright for a 

 icst stop aiul walk among thv lovely 

 Hccs that characterize this pretiy 

 township. Passing by walnut orchards 

 wc made our way up to Tawonga 

 G.ip. where the expansive view com- 

 pels a stop: but here we had more 

 ihiiii the scenery to force a temporaiy 

 May. for while we all took in I he 

 wonders of the valley Irom this van- 

 tage point and filled our lungs with 

 the dew mountain air our driver. 

 Ray Hicks, discovered thai there was 

 trouble lurking in our brand-new 

 coach Me SOOIl diagnosed the trouble. 

 <W) W reached Mount Beauty I bale) 

 he made ar-angemenls for a 

 t coach to be sent up to 

 Uiiro«. from whete he would collect 



K 



Our schedule lor Saturday was up 

 £1. hut in this magnificent country 

 dot I "ever put out: there it idwtiys 

 50 much in see The morning was 

 Irrc, s<> 4S -l-ielJ Nuts" wt'ie lei 

 IOi>se over Mi Beauty township and 

 Miirnundtnu areas.. Some round much 



Vleasurc and intetesl ill watchinp 



birds in great numbers in the town 

 square, with Noisy l : rinr-birds feed- 

 ing in the Silky Oaks (Gnvtlleti roh- 

 n\i,i). Pied C'urrawongs ami several 

 species of honeyealers; oihers by 

 walking along the track up the nearby 

 mountain. A picnic lunch on the 

 spacious lawus at the Chalet was all 

 the more enjoyable because of the 

 company pf Blue Wrens and more 

 honey-eaters. 



Viturd.iy allernonn was spenl in 

 goi.d company loo — thai Of Mt. Max 

 Howell, of Sh.C. loiirist Informa- 

 tion Office, a local naturalist who 

 proved an excellent guide. First he 

 allowed us to browse around the 

 Administrative Building, where an 

 interesting display enabled us to gain 

 a splendid understanding ul what we 

 were Inter to see of Ihe actual Kiewa 

 Scheme, with die help of fascinating 

 relief map models. Max also made 

 informative comments on exhibits, 

 including specimens of rock cones, 

 floia and entomology- Hie sunound- 

 nigs of these administrative buildings 

 hAVe been attractively planted with a 

 variety of native shruhs and trues, 

 including Eutafyphti puuiitlom (a 

 Snow Gum that had been trans- 

 planted about 25 vears ago), cam- 

 pHOfttt t' vi>tun<t!>s. K hhmtala. and 

 h. rliupMitniana, all uativc to the 

 region, the last >pecics named com- 

 parative) V recently uftcr Brigadier 

 Chapman .aid represented iff Ma.a- 

 001 Gardens: it is known as the 

 Bogong Gum from the place of its 

 di-wovery dnnny the time ol Kicwa 

 ^ , .i, .i t ' ii. non work. Most helpful were. 



September, |97l 



