Clear Spot (Bright)

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These photos were taken on May 10, 2018. They show the scenery and environment along the road to  Clear Spot Lookout, which overlooks Bright, starting at Bakers Gully Rd. Much of the road is badly potholed, steep, with rocks and transverse run-off furrows, passing through pine plantations. Care is needed, and not suitable for 2WD vehicles with low ground clearance.

Bright in Early Summer

Views in Bright and from Huggin's Lookout on Decem er 2, 2016

Alpine peaks from Clear Spot Lookout, Bright

These pix were taken on September 15 2012 near Bright,  370 km NE of Melbourne.

They show the magnificent panoramas from the Clear Spot Lookout, altitude 647 m, 9 km along logging tracks from Bright, looking across to the snow-covered Victorian Alps.

A direction cairn and picnic table are located at the Lookout, adjacent to a communications tower.

See the complete set of Photos of our visit!

Superb Alps Panoramas from Bright

These pix were taken on September 10, 2011.

They show the superb panoramic views to the Victorian Alps and over the nearby valleys from the Lookouts at Clearspot and Mystic Mountain, which overlook the town of Bright, 375 km NE of Melbourne.

The signed unsealed roads to the Lookouts are logging tracks which pass through extensive pine plantations.

Clearspot is at 1004 m asl - there are two main access roads - one from Coronation Drive and up Huggins Rd to a turnoff near Huggins Lookout. The other is ftroma turnoff up Bakers Gully Rd.

Mystic Mountain is 708 m asl, and we reached this peak from Wandiligong Rd, then up Mystic Lane.

At the summit there is the Hang Gliding launch ramp.

Sections of these access roads are stony and steep, and fare is needed. AWD/4WD is strongly recommended!

Enterprising and energetic souls hike, mountain-bike, or trail-bike from Bright to these peaks, an increase of altitude of some 800 m. We drove!

The Waterwheel pictures were taken in Wandiligong, in a property on White Star Rd. The age of the wheel is unknown.

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Scenes around Bright, NE Victoria

These pictures show the scenery at Bright, a town 350 km NE of Melhourne, at the hase of the Victorian Alps.

Some public-domain archival historical images have been included, as well some vintage photos taken by myself in the years 1960 to 1976!

Notes of interest:

The Bright Railway opeated from 1890 until 1992. The alignment is now a Rail-Trail. The Heritage listed station and Reserve is now a Museum, managed by the Bright and District Historical Society.

Huggins Lookout – south - walking track starts at end of Deacon Ave, or from the town up the forestry road from Baker's Gully Rd. It is at 790 m above sea level.

Tower Hill Lookout – track starts at turn off on Gt Alpine Rd approximately 2 km from Bright centre on the Porepunkah side

Clearspot Lookout – a track leads to this lookout from Baker's Gully Road

Apex Hill is north of the town, reached from Quinn's Gap up Mt Porepunkah Rd, and the summit is the site of the communications towers and a good lookout.

The Alpine Hotel was built in the late 1880s, and still looks much the same today! The stopping point for V-Line and other coaches is outside the hotel.

The memorial clock tower was unveiled in 1929. It is located in the town centre in Mafeking Square which was named in memory of the Boer war siege of 1899 - 1900.

Pine plantations began soon after WW1.

Tobacco growing was phased out in 2006.

The area was first settled in 1824.

Gold was discovered in the 1850s.

A racing car circuit existed in the late 1950s until the early 1960s, now hidden under pine plantations just east of the town area off the Great Alpine Rd - its legacy survives as Racecourse Rd.

Several interesting walking tracks may be explored - details available from the Information Centre


See all of the Photos of our visit!

For comprehensive information about Bright and district, please visit

http://www.brightvictoria.com.au/?id=history

Wandiligong and Bright - early autumn

Wandiligong Diggings - Chinese Bridge

View across Bright from Huggin's Lookout

Wandiligong - Diggings Landscape

Bright is a town 350 km NE of Melbourne at the foothills of the Alps.

Abolut 6 km east of Bright is Wandiligong, the site of a small gold rush during the mid-1850s which saw the village's population climb to around 2,000. The whole village is now registered with the National Trust as a classified landscape and features historical buildings such as the Manchester Unity public hall (built in 1874), the general store, several churches and a number of quaint cottages.

The village itself is set in a picturesque valley surrounded by forests and mountain ranges.

Morses Creek runs through Wandiligong and features a walking track which follows the course of the river, extending all the way to the town of Bright.

Wandiligong's gold history can be explored at "The Diggings" which is accessed via Centenary Avenue. "The Diggings" was the site of extensive mining and has been beautified with walking tracks and footbridge across Morses Creek.

We visited Wandiligong on April 26, 2010, on a 3 km hike through the Diggings' Reserve, along the Diggings' Walking Trail and the adjacent Alpine Park.

This took us along Morse's Creek, passing the old Wooden Bridge, the modern Chinese Bridge, and the recently constructed Birdhide.

Sadly, we didn't find any nuggets!

We also visited the Bright Memorial Arboretum, and a visit to the Old Tobacco Sheds Museum which has a vast array of old wares for sale!

Our trip included a short drive to the Huggin's Lookout, south of Bright, which offered nice views to the mountains.

See all of the Photos of our visit!

Huggin's Lookout at Bright

On December 14, 2009, with friend Mick, the Huggin's Lookout, at Bright, was visited.

The township of Bright is 350 km NE of Melbourne, and known as the gateway to the Alps.

The Viewpoint overlooks the town towards Apex Hill and Mt Porepunkah.

My first visit to the Lookout was in December 1975!

Access is via Huggins Rd, about 5 km, starting at the main street of Bright, and signed.

An alternative route is via Brown Lane, at the eastern end of the town, starting at the Wandiligong Rd.

Energetic souls may wish to follow the signed foot-track, which starts at the end of Deacon Lane, near the Stadium.

Huggins Rd was constructed in the early 1920s, to support the pine plantation industry.

In 1961 I visited Bright, but didn't go to the Lookout. We went to the Bright Car Racing Track, just off the Great Alpine Rd, and watched the proceedings. The Racetrack is long gone, now buried in thick pine plantations. Its legacy lingers through Racecourse Rd, which is reached from the Great Alpine Rd, at the eastern end of the town.

See the full set of Photos of our visit, which include some historical images from various sources showing Bright from 1873, and some pix of the Lookout which I took in 1975, as well as one from my brother of 1960.! My photo of the Car Races of December 1961 is included - some good-looking cars there on that day!

Some pix of nearby Wandiligong have been included of Dec 14, 2009.

Apex Lookout - Bright

Apex Lookout overlooks the township of Bright, 350 km NE of Melbourne.

It is reached by ascending the Mt Porepunkah Rd, for about 2 km, starting at Bright township, where there is a small car park at the junction of Quins Gap Rd.

The signed 3 km (return) Lookout Walking Track starts further up, and winds its way through forest, with beautiful views to the Mt Buffalo Massif.

At the top, there are two view points - the actual Lookout, and the Bright Lookout nearby along a short track.

The views are magnificent, across Bright township, and to the mountains of the High Country, with Mts Feathertop and Hotham prominent.

There is a seat at the Lookout!

At the Lookout, there are communications towers, carrying TV, VHF radio, amateur radio repeater transmitters, and other services.

It is possible to drive from the Quins Gap Rd carpark to the Lookout up the maintenance track, but this is extremely steep and not suitable for conventional cars.

If time and energy permit, the trip can be undertaken entirely on foot, starting at Bright township and following the same route as for the drive, with a diversion around the pine plantations, which emerges at the Quin's Gap carpark.

Our summit hike was on March 9, 2009.

See the complete set of Photos of our trip!

Huggin's Lookout - Bright

Huggin's Lookout, altitude 487 m, overlooks the town of Bright, 335 km NE of Melbourne.

It is reached from the town centre along Baker's Gully Rd, then McFadyer's Rd, and along unsealed Huggin's Rd, a forest management road passing through plantations and crown land, starting near the town centre, or by a walking-track which starts near the Stadium. Huggin's Rd continues down the valley, ultimately reaching the town.

The views from the Lookout are superb, looking across Bright and the surrounding hills.

I drove up to this Lookout on July 28, 2008, with friend Mick, with whom I was staying for a few days in Bright at his new country home.

On July 29, 2008, I did a 3 km hike up an interesting foot-track near the Lookout, through bushland, with nice views across Bright to the hills beyond, passing a mob of kangaroos which were grazing in a nearby paddock!

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