Accommodation Options
Note: The accomodation prices quoted are based on early 2008 prices and they will, in some (many?) instances, be increased for post Easter 2009 bookings.
Day One
Echuca Caravan Park
Powered site: $26
Cabin: $77.
ph 03 5480 1551
ph 1800 555 640
Crofton Street, Echuca.
Settlement Motor Inn
Motel room: $91
ph 03 5482 4777
ph 1800 813 742
405 High Street, Echuca.
Riverboat Lodge Motor Inn
Motel room: $89
ph 03 5482 5777
ph 1800 033 134
476 High Street , Echuca.
Day Two
Colac Colac Caravan Park
Powered site: $22
Cabin: $55 to $72.
ph 02 6076 1520
Murray Valley Highway, Corryong.
Corryong Hotel Motel
Motel room + continental breakfast (2): $70
ph 02 6076 1004
54 Towong Road, Corryong.
Mt Mittamatatite Caravan Park
Powered site: $20
Cabin: $58 to $65
Caravan: $28
ph 02 6076 1152
Murray Valley Highway, Corryong.
Pinnibar Motel
Motel room: $55
ph 02 6076 1766
74 Towong Road, Corryong.
Day Three
Bright Caravan Park
Powered site: $25
Cabin: $60 to $68.
ph 03 5755 1141
Cherry Avenue, Bright.
Bright Colonial Motor Inn
Motel room: $82
ph 03 5755 1633
ph 1800 815 814
54 Gavan Street, Bright.
Bright Pine Valley Tourist Park
Powered site: $27
Cabin: $72 to $104.
ph 03 5755 1010
ph 1800 069 091
7 Churchill Ave, Bright
Elm Lodge Holiday Motel
Motel room: $60
ph 03 5755 1144
ph 1800 245 845
2 Wood Street, Bright.
Day Four
Echo Beach Tourist Park
Powered site: $26
Cabin: $65.
ph 03 5155 2238
31 Roadknight Ave, Lakes Entrance.
Lakes Entrance RSL Glenara Motel
Motel room: $50 to $70
ph 03 5482 5777
476 High Street , Echuca.
Koonwarra Family Holiday Park
Powered site: $24, En-Suite $32
Cabin: $75.
ph 03 5155 1222
687 Esplanade, Lakes Entrance.
Tour Queries
Please contact John Stevens, Tour Organiser on 03 8684 6203BH or 03 9890 2548AH if you have any questions.
Sponsors
The VWCV would like to thank all the sponsors for there support of the 2009 Bug-In. view list
Bug-In Extended Tour
The Eastern Victorian VWCV Inc. Tour 2009 is a 5 day road trip that starts on Tuesday 14 April 2009, the day after the Bendigo Bug-In 2009 finishes. The Tour covers a distance of around 1460km and showcases the wonderful sights of four key geographic assets of Victoria, namely The Murray River, The Gold Fields, The High Country and The Tasman Sea.
The Tour will take us north from Bendigo to the mighty Murray River and through a number of its historic river trade towns, east to the Snowy River country so famous in Australian folklore, south-west to the northern Victorian goldfields where fortunes were won and lost so long ago, up and over Victoria's highest mountain and its premier snowfields, south to the East Gippsland ocean, sun and beaches then west to the Most Liveable City In The World, Melbourne.
Daily at-the-wheel driving times on the Tour are mostly between 3 to 4 hours to give time for browsing in towns, sampling of locally made produce, planned sightseeing at local attractions and just plain enjoyment of the diverse and wonderful Victorian countryside in the company of like minded VW companions. Morning tea, afternoon tea and lunch stops will be provided each day and accommodation options that are offered are a choice of either caravan parks or motels in each town.
Participants must make early contact with the accommodation establishments and arrange their own personal accommodation bookings for the whole trip. Suggested accommodation options are contained elsewhere in this itinerary. It is strongly suggested that all accommodation requirements will need to be booked by participants ASAP as many of the towns are very popular and the Tour is in school holiday time.
Participants are, of course, free to make alternative bookings at any other accommodation venue should they wish to do so. There are a number of optional evening dinners that will be arranged and participants will be able to join in, or not, as they wish. Each car is encouraged to have on board a 40 channel UHF radio for on road communication and safety purposes.
Participants are also encouraged to take out full comprehensive roadside assistance such as RACV Total Care should the worst happen and either they or their trusty VW become unable to complete the Tour.
What you need to do now
Register for this event online or, alternatively, download and complete the entry form (Pdf 92Kb), and post it to the address provided. A Tour participation fee of $15 per head will need to be paid at the time of registration. This fee will assist the VWCV Inc. to cover the costs involved in putting on the Tour and providing some morning/afternoon teas, at least one BBQ Dinner, trip presentation awards and the printing of the Tour Guide, name tags etc.
Make your own trip accommodation bookings ASAP (detailed accommodation options are listed in the left column of this page).
What happens next?
Comprehensive Tour details relating to meeting points, maps, morning tea, lunch and re-fuelling stops and times, local highlights, event and dinner booking requirements, times etc will be forwarded directly to all registered Tour participants in a much more detailed Guide by 10 March 2009.
Day One
Tuesday 14 April 2009.
Bendigo to Echuca. Distance is 226km. view map
After an 8.30am start our VWs will take us north-west on the Loddon Valley Highway through Serpentine, Durham Ox, and Cohuna (+150km) for morning tea. After that it is east along the Murray River to Gunbower and then Echuca (+226km) where we will arrive for lunch and settling in to our overnight accommodation.
In the afternoon we have a choice of visiting many places of interest in Echuca including the wonderful Port of Echuca precinct with its wide range of displays, shops and attractions. Those that choose the Port of Echuca option can also take a river cruise on board an historical Murray River paddle steamer, complete with afternoon tea.
Optional evening dinner at the Echuca Workers and Services Club Ltd in Annersley Street, Echuca.
Day Two
Wednesday 15 April 2009
Echuca to Corryong. Distance is 351km (the longest day). view map
We leave Echuca at 8am and travel east on the Murray Valley Highway through Cobram, Yarrawonga and on to Rutherglen (+195km) where we will arrive and have morning tea at one of the premium wineries in the area. While we are there some of our crew will most certainly pick up a few take-away souvenirs as area is world famous for its very fine tokays and muscats.
After morning tea we continue to head east through the southern outskirts of Wodonga, then to Bandiana (+243km) where we will stop for lunch and an escorted tour of the Australian Army Museum, the largest and most diversified military museum in Australia. After the tour it is on to Tangambalanga (try and say that when you have had a few sherbets), Tallangatta, Koetong, Berringama, Colac Colac (not a misprint) and on to Corryong (+351km) which is our overnight stop.
Our accommodation tonight is fairly close to the Corryong Pub where we may, if our luck is in, bump into some descendants of Jack Riley who it is now accepted was the inspiration for Banjo Patterson's monumental poem The Man from Snowy River. This epic poem was written in 1890 after Patterson is said to have met Riley on a camping trip in the area.
After a few lemonades in the Pub perhaps someone in our group may be inspired to provide a heartfelt rendition of this famous poem. For those who are interested Jack Riley's grave is within easy walking distance of the town centre. Banjo's grave is a little bit further away in a cemetery in Box Hill which is a suburb of Melbourne.
Day Three
Thursday 16 April 2009.
Corryong to Bright. Distance is 327kms. view map
After a few Alka Selzers to settle the stomachs after last nights cultural festivities we leave Corryong at 8.30am and travel north then west along the Victorian side of the Murray River and through Towong, Tintaldra and Walwa. We will then meander along the southern side of Lake Hume to Bellbridge (+148km) where we will stop for a well deserved morning tea.
From there we will be continuing west to Bonegilla, Bandiana, south to Yackandandah and into Beechworth (+235km) for lunch. We plan a 2 hour break in Beechworth to explore this beautiful historic gold rush town that has more items of interest for the visitor than we will possibly be able to cover in the time that we will have available.
Word is already out that a few Tour participants may only be staying a short time in Beechworth and will be heading off on a slight diversion to Brown Brothers Winery at Milawa which is 29kms from Beechworth. If you choose to tag along on this little adventure it will only add a total of 48 extra kms to the day's overall km tally but for a few bottles of choice world class red it will be well worth the effort.
For those not interested in the expedition to Milawa we will re-group, heavily laden with souvenirs and bargains, and leave Beechworth late afternoon to travel the remaining 60 kms to Bright, our final destination for this day. We will re-unite with the Milawa Mob at Bright.
Free VWCV provided BBQ dinner at a nominated caravan park, details will be provided later.
Day Four
Friday 17 April 2009
Bright to Lakes Entrance via Mount Hotham and the Great Alpine Road. Distance is 249kms. view map
A day for the true mountain climbers. After meeting at 8am we will head off on the picturesque and very famous Great Alpine Road where we will pass through Smoko which, I kid you not, is the true name of the town, and then on to Harrietville (+39km). After leaving Harrietville it will be 3rd gear stuff all the way to the top of Mount Hotham (+55km) at 1861metres.
After a self catered thermos-based morning tea at Hotham Heights (all shops will be closed in the off-season) and a few puffs of oxygen it's all down hill, with smoking discs and brake drums, from there to historic Omeo (+111km) for a relaxed lunch and a well earned browse through the town shops. Anyone with a passion for cuckoo clocks will be very interested in one particular shop in the main street. This is also a great opportunity to allow our VW brakes to cool a bit.
Suitably refreshed its then on to Swifts Creek, Ensay, Bruthen, Nowa Nowa and Lakes Entrance (+249km).
The final night's dinner and presentation of trip awards is planned at the Lakes Entrance RSL where great value accommodation is available within a strategically placed short distance of the dinner table. An optional dress up theme is planned for this night. More about that later.
Day Five
Saturday 18 April 2009.
Lakes Entrance to Melbourne. Distance is 311kms. view map
Some of our northern based trip friends may choose to leave for home from Lakes Entrance so some goodbyes may occur before we leave at 8.30am.
The remaining travellers will head west on the Princes Highway through the picturesque and very peaceful East Gippsland farming countryside, and towns such as Bairnsdale, Stratford and Sale, until we will stop for morning tea at Traralgon (+ 122kms).
From there is a straight run along Highway 1 which becomes a freeway after Traralgon. The freeway now by-passes many towns west of Traralgon so we plan to briefly leave the freeway at Beaconsfield (+235km) where we will have lunch and our final stop at the Central Hotel.
After lunch and being suitably refreshed it is time to say goodbye, get back into all our trusty VWs and head for home, wherever that may be.
Those heading into Melbourne can expect to be able to pass through Melbourne on the Eastern Freeway (a continuation of the freeway we will be back on from Beaconsfield) and then the CitiLink tunnel around 2.30pm. Traffic should not be bad at that time.
The Volkswagen Club of Victoria Inc. thanks you very much for participating in this event. We feel sure that you will have had a really bonzer time.