Great Alpine Road Day 1

Ruby found a car hire office that was only 100m from our accommodation. It was a very quick and easy process to get our Mazda CX-5 rental from East Coast Car Hire. Getting out of Melbourne City was another matter. I was very trepidous but managed to successfully execute a first and only right hook turn, without being even beeped at.
Our first stop was for breakfast in Moonie Ponds at Gathered Cafe.
They served the best matcha latte with lovely art and an interesting Vietnamese breakfast of sizzling beef, pate, laughing cow cheese, eggs and a tiger crusty roll. The serve was enormous so we shared. Infact we have been sharing at every meal so far. Quite economical and waist trimming.
The drive to Milawa was very picturesque and 16 mins before the accommodation, Ruby found a short 6 km hike at the Warby Ovens National Park. It was a little undulating and rocky underfoot after the shit hill climb (actual hiking term coined by you-know-who) at the start. It was lovely to be amongst the tall grass trees and gums and views. Ruby commented that the under growth weren't as prickly as in West Australia. The highlight of the walk was finding 3 wild orchids.
As we skipped lunch after the big breakfast , we couldn't wait to get to dinner at Merlot. We were so famished we had an entree and main each without sharing.
Food was pricey but not as fine however the restaurant had nice ambience and a quiet dinner was rather special.
Much as we enjoyed Melbourne, it is nice to be out of the city.Read more