JARVIS CREEK REGIONAL PARK
(www.northeastvictoria.online)
Jarvis Creek Regional Park protects some of the high country that forms the upper catchments of Jarvis Creek and Georges Creek, both of which flow into Lake Hume. The Park covers about 2 500ha of rolling hill country surrounding an area known as The Plateau. Visitors to the Park can take a scenic drive over the plateau, starting out from the logically named Plateau Road.
The start of this great drive involves taking the Murray Valley Highway east from Tallangatta, and turning north (left) just after passing the Old Tallangatta Lookout (see above). Set the tripmeter to zero at this point, and follow the causeway, over the waters of Lake Hume, to East Tallangatta.
Just over the causeway, you need to make a right turn, followed by a left at an off-set y-junction (ignoring Georges Creek Road going off to the right). This roadway now starts to climb up to some local high country, with some great views of Lake Hume, and Tallangatta township, down below. There are no official pull-ins on this section of road, but there are a few reasonably wide sections where it is possible to park vehicles, and have a quick look at the panorama below.
Plateau Road (a right turn) is encountered at about 4.5km from the Murray Valley Highway, and is an awkward turn that is not suitable for long vehicles, including those towing a trailer or caravan. As well, the signpost for this turn-off is poorly placed, so you will need to be going quite slowly to spot the turn. However, once on Plateau Road, the bitumen is left behind, and there are about 13km of gravel in front of you. Fortunately the road surface is quite good, but being unsealed this is probably not the best place to be in wet conditions.
Plateau Road now scales a ridge system that provides great views to left and right, with the main picnic area of the Park being about seven kilometres away. This is a very scenic location, with plenty of room to spread out and occupy a table setting, amongst some excellent eucalyptus woodlands.
Continuing on, the roadway now starts to descend towards Georges Creek Road, arriving at a small t-junction about 17.5km from the Murray Valley Highway (about six kilometres from the picnic area).
Turning right at this point will take you along the scenic Georges Creek Valley, all the way to the y-junction mentioned at the beginning of this description, a little over 10km away, giving a tour length of about 28km from Tallangatta.
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