MEDIA RELEASE
June 2015
Feast your senses in North East Victoria: High Country Harvest 2016 dates announced
Hungry travellers are invited to feast their senses alongside North East Victoria’s top producers, chefs,
winemakers and craft brewers when HIGH COUNTRY HARVEST returns for its fifth year from 13 – 22 MAY 2016.
The region’s village streets, mountains and valleys will come alive with colour, as local producers harvest the
spoils of autumn, while chefs forage for mushrooms and other wild ingredients in nearby forests. Food lovers will
be able to choose from a program of 40 curated events over 10 days of harvest, including a focus on Village
Bonfires and Grow-Your-Own Adventures in 2016.
CURATED EVENTS
Showcasing the region’s spectacular landscapes, events range from picnics and edible gardening under big High
Country skies, to bike and horseback rides weaving to High Country feasts including the annual Rutherglen
Tweed Ride. At twilight, gather with the locals at twilight around one of our Village Bonfires to warm your toes
and celebrate the harvest. Mingle over fireside appetisers such as chilli hot chocolate, roasted chestnuts, mulled
wine or toasted home-made marshmallow s’mores, sure to fan your autumn glow.
THE HIGH COUNTRY FOODIE BUCKET LIST
Autumn is also an ideal time to eat your way through the region’s foodie bucket list! Dine at nine Age Good Food
Guide-rated restaurants including Beechworth’s two-hat Provenance Restaurant; be welcomed by warm
hospitality as you taste your way around the High Country Brewery Trail, King Valley’s Prosecco Road or
Rutherglen’s Muscat Trail; or get hands-on at Pizzini’s A tavola! Cooking School (King Valley) or Simone’s
Cooking School (Bright).
STAY
For your short break in North East Victoria, choose from romantic hideaways, boutique lodges, eco-friendly luxury
retreats. With crisp mornings and the scent of wood smoke dancing in the evening air, get swept away by the
High Country’s stunning alpine scenery, historic streetscapes and abundant valleys.
HIGH COUNTRY HARVEST 13 – 22 May 2016 | www.highcountryharvest.com.au
Media contact:
Sally Brown
Public Relations Manager, Tourism North East
Ph 03 5728 2773 | Mob 0410 635 680 | sally.brown@tourismnortheast.com.au
GETTING HERE
Victoria’s High Country is located approximately 3 hours north east of Melbourne, bordered by the
Australian Alps, Murray River and rolling river valleys to the south.
Travelling by car
The High Country region is easily accessible from both Melbourne and Sydney on the Hume Freeway
or the scenic Great Alpine Road, an iconic drive on the Sydney Melbourne Touring Route.
By Air
Albury Airport is the gateway to Victoria’s High Country by air. Only 40 minutes north of
Beechworth, Rutherglen, Mt Beauty and many key towns in the region, it is serviced by Virgin Blue,
Qantaslink and Rex with over 200 flights in and out per week. Car hire is available from service desks
at Albury Airport.
By Train
V/Line offers daily services from Southern Cross Station in Melbourne to Albury Wodonga, with
services stopping at Benalla, Wangaratta, Springhurst and Chiltern. The XPT train from Sydney runs
daily with stops in Albury and Wangaratta. Coach connections are also available to Beechworth,
Bright, Mt Beauty, Myrtleford and Rutherglen.
Train tickets can be purchased at vline.com.au or XPT via railaustralia.com.au
.
Media contact:
Sally Brown
Public Relations Manager, Tourism North East
Ph 03 5728 2773 | Mob 0410 635 680 | sally.brown@tourismnortheast.com.au