dotheyarravalley.com.au

If you love all things 4WD, then Wandin is the place to be!  Especially on the 21st of February!

The Victorian 4WD show is an annual event that has been running for 32 years.  According to Dennis, the shows Media Co-ordinator, “it is the largest outdoor 4WD show in Victoria and possibly Australia”. The show provides a great opportunity to experience the latest accessories, motor vehicles, campers and modifications available to 4WDrivers.  There’s a large contingent of local 4WD Clubs to answer questions and provide information about what the clubs have on offer.

Watch our Web Video to get a taste of this years show.

For those new to 4WDriving sit in the grandstand at the main display arena and watch the experienced LROCV 4WDrivers show their approach to various 4WD situations: winching, specific driving techniques (ditch crossing, ridge crossing etc.).

There are lots of activities for children, including free train rides leaving from the Main Station. In addition, expect to see the Jumping Castle and Rock Climbing Wall where your children can participate in a controlled and supervised environment. Best of all these activities are FREE!

And of course there is the crowd favourite – the 4WD Adventure Track where you can see Standard and modified vehicles being used across a variety of terrain. Some of their antics are amazing!

Special thanks to:

Allan Spencer & Jade Olney from the Central Victoria Axemens Association.
Eddie, Nick and Lucy for appearing in the Web Video.

If you want to relax and enjoy the best the Yarra Valley has to offer without worrying about getting lost, finding the best wineries, or worrying about drinking and driving then Driven Indulgence is the perfect solution.

Driven Indulgence is the brain child of Sandy Bogusis. Sandy developed Driven Indulgence to cater for those who don’t like bus tours and would prefer something more personal. The concept is simple. You hire Sandy for the day, she will drive your own car or pick you up in a luxury sedan or limousine, and take you wherever you want in the Valley. If you don’t know where you want to go it’s even better. Sandy knows the best places to visit, large and small, well known and hidden.  What’s really nice about having your own personal guide is the way you are welcomed by the people you visit. No one enjoys the awkward first meeting at a cellar door.  With Sandy as your guide it feels more like the comfortable feeling of visiting old friends.

If you are an International visitor we highly recommend a personal tour with Driven Indulgence. There is no better way to visit the Yarra Valley and see the things you want to see at your own pace.

Here are some of the packages Sandy offers:

Driven Indulgence’s Cheap ‘n’ Cheerful Stay in the Heart of Spectacular Wine Country, Healesville

A cheerfully cheap – yet indulgent! – escape to include in your winter plans. Take your mind and body away to relax and enjoy the beautiful Yarra Valley. It is now very affordable to indulge and delight all of your senses.

Enjoy what we have included with local wine or beer tasting (whichever you prefer), a relaxing massage in a serene rainforest and a delightful lunch at Bella Vedere where the food is fresh, local and straight from their own kitchen garden. Your own driver will guide you through the amazing Yarra Valley and give you plenty of stories – meet the locals and experience all there is to do and see.

Driven Indulgence invites you to take the Wine Connoisseurs’ Indulgent Tour of the Yarra Valley

An exclusive weekend of pure indulgence for four, complete with a chauffeur-driven luxury vehicle at your disposal for the entire weekend. Price is all-inclusive.

• Pick-up from and return to home or accommodation in Melbourne
• Luxury accommodation for two nights in Healesville
• Meals included – some of the finest dining the Yarra Valley has to offer
• A scenic flight over the Yarra Valley, Melbourne and Port Phillip Bay (weather permitting)
• Guided tour of Healesville’s best boutique retail experiences
• Luxurious hot stone massage and rainforest spa

For more information and prices call Sandy on 0408 244 531
or visit her website.

Just Cycle Yarra Valley is a new recreational cycling event which will take place in Victoria’s beautiful Yarra Valley on Sunday 11th April 2010.

The event features two courses, a 45km recreational ride highlighting the picturesque Yarra Valley and a 120km Nemisis challenge featuring Mount Donna Buang.

More than just another recreational ride, Just Cycle Yarra Valley offers a complete entertainment experience for cycling enthusiasts, friends and family with a day of fun activities and live music amongst the vines of Yarra Valley’s Rochford Wines.

The ride is expected to attract around 2000 riders, with an additional 2000 people expected for the post-ride festivities at Rochford Wines. Three times Olympic Gold Medalist, Drew Ginn the event Ambassador is looking forward to the event and is expecting to see a fantastic turnout.

For  more information visit justcycle.com.au

If you’ve never tried traditional Polish food, then your life is not complete. We recommend you take a trip to Warburton and discover one of the hidden treats of the Yarra Valley – The Polish Jester.

Now there are many things that make the Polish Jester unique, there’s the location, a stones throw from the Yarra river. Then there’s the delicious variety of Polish food that’s on offer. To cap it off, the owner, Kristof Kaczmarek, just happens to be an actor of some note. Now you may not recognise the name, but if you think his face looks a little familiar, then you have probably seen him in one of his many TV performances. He has appeared in such shows as, City Homicide, Stingers, Blue Heelers, The Genie from Downunder, to mention a few. His feature films include a leading role in The Sound of One Hand Clapping, First Strike and A Fortunate Life. Kristof graduated in 1977 with a Master of Arts from the National Academy of Film, TV and Theatre in Lodz, Poland, so when it comes to performing he knows what he’s doing. He also knows a lot about Polish food and that’s good news for food lovers!

The Polish Jester offers the best in traditional Polish dishes including, Bigos -the hunters stew, Zurek, Golabki (Stuffed Cabbage), and a variety of Polish dumplings. Kristof’s wife Beata does the majority of the cooking and says, she has developed her recipes, “on a mixture of childhood memories and the quest for the perfect flavour.” Beata has generously shared her recipe for Bigos – download it here and try it for yourself.

	For bookings call (03) 5966 9339
	The Polish Jester is open: Thursday & Friday 5pm till late. Saturday & Sunday – midday till late.
	3416 Warburton Highway Warburton VIC 3799

That’s right. All you had to do was be the 1000′th visitor to the recently opened Alowyn Gardens and you could have won FREE admission and a special gardening gift pack.

All you needed to do to win was visit the gardens sometime on Saturday the 13th of February. But it’s too late it’s over – the happy winners are pictured above. Now you will have to wait and be the 2000th visitor!

Alowyn Gardens opened late 2009 and is a superb example of what can be done with 4 acres of flat ground.

The purpose of the gardens at “Alowyn” is to provide an informative and educational experience for anyone interested not only in gardening, but also the enjoyment of a beautiful garden. It has been designed with shade and comfort in mind. Plants are being named and labeled to educate and inform the visitors about the gardens.

The gardens have been developed into six distinct areas all leading from one magnificent 100-metre long wisteria and rose covered arbor.

Read our full story on Alowyn Gardens here.

Adolescence is often filled with tales of woe. I can remember sitting in the Hoyts Midcity Cinema in the early 1980’s with tears welling up in my eyes as Sigrid Thornton played, or pretended to play, Jessica’s theme in The Man From Snowy River. Weeping in a movie was highly unusual for a boy in his late teens, especially when it was just a person playing a piano that caused such an emotional response.  The humiliation of a row of high school students jeering, ‘look at him! He’s crying’, stays with you for some time.

Who would have imagined, some 30 years later, I would again shed a tear induced by the very same piece of music, this time however, played not by an actor, but by the composer himself…Bruce Rowland! The tears were the same. The humiliation I felt as a high school student was replaced with elation and an overwhelming sense that I was privileged to be in the presence of genius.

I am sure Bruce would be the first to say that ‘genius’ is a bit over the top. However, when you consider his body of work over the years, I can’t think of another word that does him justice.

The music Bruce composed (in only three weeks!) for The Man From Snowy River is so timeless in its appeal and has become so strongly etched in our musical psyche that there is a tendency to forget that this is now a thirty year old work and was, in fact Bruce’s first score for a feature film. Ask Bruce what he’s most proud of and he’ll tell you, “it’s not the Man From Snowy River, it’s my most recent work.”

At the risk of appearing to be clinging to the past, we couldn’t resist asking Bruce to play Jessica’s theme. Bruce graciously agreed and given that every budding pianist at some time plays Jessica’s theme (there are countless versions on YouTube) you simply can’t beat seeing and hearing it played by the person who created it! Watch the video below and hear Bruce describe how he composed Jessica’s Theme.

Bruce and his wife Maria have lived in the Yarra Valley for thirty nine years. Due to work commitments in the United States Bruce also spends time in Los Angeles where he has a house and studio.

Bruce and Maria enjoy many of the restaurants and wineries in the Yarra Valley. If you would like Bruce’s recommendations for his Top 3 places to visit – here they are…

Some of Bruce’s awards include:

• AFI Award – Best Score:  The Man From Snowy River (1982)
• AFI Award – Best Score:  Phar Lap (1983)
• AFI Award – Best Score:  Rebel (1985)
• APRA Award – Best Score: The Man From Snowy River (1984)
• APRA Award – Best Score: Phar Lap (1985)
• APRA Award – Best Score: Return to Snowy River (1989)
• APRA Award – Best Score: The Mysterious Geographic Explorations of Jasper Morello (2005)
• APRA Award – International Achievement Award (2005)
• ARIA Award – The Man From Snowy River Arena Spectacular (2003)

With the opening of Lake Mountain’s Granite Grind Loop the Resort is set to become Victoria’s New Mountain Biking destination of choice in 2010.

To celebrate the completion of the new 9km intermediate trail the Resort is hosting it’s first ever Mountain Biking event – The Granite Grind on February 20th 2010.

Download the 2010 results [here]

If you love mountain biking, road cycling or just want to show your support for the local community that was devastated by the 2009 fires, then I strongly recommend you head to Lake Mountain Resort on Saturday 20th February 2010.

Please check out the images taken at the trail building working bee held by the resort on the 30th January 2010.

If you are a bike rider you may also enjoy the following stories:

Warburton Rail TrailO’Shannassy TrailThe Cog Bike Cafe

If you have ridden the famous Warburton Rail Trail and thought you could tick off cycling in the Yarra Valley, then I’m afraid you have to pencil in an O’Shannassy Trail ride.

What’s so amazing about the O’Shannassy trail is that it’s remained relatively unknown and unused. Yet this is a trail, which in terms of showing off the beauty of the region feels like a natural extension of the Warburton Rail Trail. Where the Warburton trail provides the gorgeous views of the Yarra Ranges National Park, it’s the O’Shannassy trail that allows you to experience the raw beauty of a Mountain Ash forest that has been protected for nearly 100 years.

Like the Warburton Trail, the O’Shannassy trail too has it’s own unique story to tell. The trail follows the old maintenance road of the O’Shannassy Aqueduct, which was built, between 1911 & 1914. An added benefit of the trail following the Aqueduct, is that the ride is almost entirely flat which increases its appeal for users of all ages and abilities.

In 1997 management of the trail was handed over to Parks Victoria and since then the trail has been progressively opened up to trail users. To date five car parks have been built along the route to make the trail more accessible and user friendly.

Depending on how far you want to ride, there are a few options for riders, however my picks are:

Short Ride Tip

Park at the Yuonga Road and ride the 6.8km to the Dee Road Car Park and enjoy a rest and a bite to eat with a sublime view of the valley below. From here you can either ride back to Yuonga Road or ride down Dee Road and reconnect with the Warburton Trail for an easy ride back into Warburton. Once in Warburton, enjoy a break at Three Sugars Café before tackling the steep climb up to the Yuonga Road Carpark.

Total Distance – Approximately 16km

Long Ride Trip

Park at the designated car park on Ewarts Road. A sign on the trail gate says the 200m section of the trail is closed between Ewarts & Don Rd, however with no parking on Don Road, its best to ignore this sign and use the trail. From Don Road there is a short steep climb and then it’s flat riding all the way to the Yuonga Road Carpark. Currently the section between Yuonga Road and the Acheron Way is under construction, so riders will need to ride down Yuonga Road and turn left at the Acheron Way. Approximately 1.5km up the Acheron Way the trail rejoins on the right hand side at the first left hairpin. From here the trail follows a short series of descending switchbacks before flattening out again. The views of the valley are particularly stunning here and it’s a great way to finish up before riding back along the Warburton Highway to Warburton. Once in Warburton take a break before tackling the 1.5km long gradual climb up Dee Road and then turn left onto the trail for the last 5.5km back to your car.

Total Distance – approximately 41 kilometres

If you like your Mountain Bike rides served with a touch of style and adventure then you will want to read about the Granite Grand at Lake Mountain.