Myrtleford

Variety is certainly the spice of life in and around the Great Alpine Road town of Myrtleford in the foothills of the Mt Buffalo Range. Nourished by three waterways - the Ovens River and Happy Valley and Barwidgee creeks - the region is a major supplier of hops, tobacco and walnuts, while the mix of farmers also produce asparagus, mint, chestnuts and eminently quaffable wine.

The Old School Museum boasts an extraordinarily diverse collection which includes a typical 1920s kitchen, a barber's tobacco shop and early gold mining equipment. Guarding the eastern entrance to town, the Phoenix Tree has been carved out of the trunk and roots of a red gum by sculptor Hans Knorr.

The delightfully named Snow Lion Red Deer Stud and Emu Farm is open daily from 10am to 4pm when visitors are invited to wander among the dee, emu, ostrich and other assorted animals before recharging on the local restaurant fare. The gateway to the Victorian snowfields. Myrtleford is 304km north-east of Melbourne.