It’s a clear indigo blue Wednesday morning as I cycle out of Footscray for Southern Cross Station in Melbourne. I board the 7.07am limited express train  to Wangaratta, my starting point for a few days cycle touring the rail trails and country towns of North East Victoria .

Exiting Wangaratta Station there’s well signposted directions for the Murray to Mountains Rail Trail (M2M) with a variety of cycling options available. 

A hot blustery north wind, made for a testing climb up over Taylor’s Gap, before the moderate downhill run through a mix of bush vineyards and farmland to the valley town of Myrtleford. The trail surface is excellent while the bucolic country views are breathtaking. I shared the ride with native wildlife; An Echidna, Koalas, beautiful Yellow Tailed Black Cockatoos and Kangaroos.

In the evening I set up my small tent on a shady grassy pitch in the Myrtleford Caravan Park. I was woken at 3am by a Boobook Owl calling into the night and I took the opportunity to enjoy a stellar view of a brilliant southern night sky counting constellations and marvelling at the Milky Way. 

The next morning, I decided to double back and take the trail to the  beautiful historic goldfields town of Beechworth. King Parrots, Gang Gang Cockatoos and Backfaced Cuckoo Shrikes accompanied me on the steady climb to Beechworth where I  headed to the Bakery for a tasty bee sting, a sweet honey bun, and good coffee. 

On a near perfect cycling day, I decided to push on to Yackandanda (Yack). On the way I took the trail extension downhill to Woogeere, which proved to be an exhilarating, heart pumping mix of loose gravel, paved road and hard compacted rail trail surface that was strewn with fallen tree branches. It was both exciting and slightly dangerous. From Woogeere it was a ‘lumpy‘ roller coaster ride to the Yack Caravan Park and a fresh patch of grass for the evening. Yack is a hip, progressive little town with a friendly vibe and is full of its fair share of eccentrics too. 

Waking up refreshed in Yack, I opted to leave the trail for a while to take a backroads tour of Chilton via the Beechworth/Chilton Road which runs beside Mount Pilot National Park. I rode in search of Victoria’s Avian emblem, the critically endangered Regent Honeyeater. A simply stunning ride with a multitude of birds, but not the elusive Regent Honeyeater. I liked Chilton it’s both “Bike and Bird” friendly, with a funky 1950’s rock and roll cafe, my kind of people. 

I enjoy cycling quiet country backroads, so took the Chilton/Rutherglen Road to the outskirts of Rutherglen, before rejoining the M2M trail through the prosperous town of Rutherglen where  I pushed on to Wahgunyah. I then crossed the mighty Murray River into Corowa NSW.  I considered taking the Corowa to Mulwala Cycle Trail (45 kms) and crossing into Victoria again at Yarrawonga, but it was late in the afternoon with rain settling in. I cycled back to Rutherglen, setting up camp in the Rutherglen Caravan Park by Lake King, which is ringed with ancient river red gums.

The rains brought out the large Red Gum Ghost Moths  (aka Bardi Grub) in great numbers. I saw them swarming around the walls of the amenities block where they were easily picked off by Magpies and Brush-tailed Possums. In Rutherglen I shared morning coffee at ‘Caffeine n Machine’ with a few members of the outlaw styled ‘God Squad’ motorcycle gang. In pouring rain I took the Rutherglen to Springhurst Road that runs alongside a disused train line. On the outskirts of Springhurst I found  Railway Road, a 20km gravel road that runs parallel to the Hume Highway and took me back to Bowser in North Wangaratta, where I rejoined the M2M once more for the cycle back into Wangaratta.

My mini tour was an absolute blast. Go out and get yourself some  of that country air, it’s a cracker!