We arrived at Bright armed with raincoats and our colourful range of umbrellas only to put them back into the boot because the sun decided to come out from behind the clouds giving us a perfect day for walking. We all enjoyed the change of weather as we were now kitted out with hats and sunscreen.
The first part of the walk was the Canyon (3 km). It was, as usual, picturesque with the Autumn leaves just starting to ’turn’. The Ovens River was clear and flowing well. We admired the rock formations which looked stunning in the sunlight. On returning to the car park, we stopped for an early lunch and walk around the shops. Coffee and ice creams were the popular choices of the day before setting off on the Cherry Walk of 5 km. A short way into the walk Bev kindly led us on a small detour so that we could admire the bitumen road before we turned onto the ‘real’ track to continue our journey. During our walk we crossed some swing bridges. John, however, had trouble containing his boyish behaviour and just couldn’t resist jumping on the bridges to upset the other walkers - there’s always one in a group!
Along this section, we admired the abundant birdlife and the carpets of beautiful autumn leaves with strong colours of purples and yellows.
Back at the car park, we enjoyed sharing our usual afternoon tea goodies before setting off for the drive home. We were surprised at the number of families enjoying the area. There were children, dogs, bike riders, campers (bush walkers), and day-trippers all out and about in the Autumn weather.
Thank you, Bev, for leading this lovely walk.
Eileen Skelton