A spontaneous decision to visit Victoria’s High Country and it blew me away!

As we say goodbye to 2017 and welcome in 2018, I reminisce back to all my incredible travel adventures I've had the to opportunity to see. Owning a travel business certainly has its perks and I love the exciting feeling of hopping on a plane that’s taking me to my next destination.

Normally around the December break I’ll map out a mini break and off I’ll go. But, this time after a couple of full on months leading up to Christmas, I decided to just chill and bum around the house..

I rang in the New Year with all the usual festivities and afterwards the weather in Melbourne was fabulous and I was feeling extremely energized to take on the world. I received a phone call from the bestie (in Canberra) who I hadn't seen in ages, she’d been invited to a work function in Albury and thought it the perfect meeting point for both of us to catch up.

ALBURY! I replied (happy to be her plus one) GREAT I love a good road trip!

Packed an overnight bag, 3.5 Hours full of singalong tunes and off I went from Melbourne straight up the National Highway.

Albury was a blast, met some incredible people and spent some much needed quality time with my bestie. Monday morning we said our goodbyes packed the bag and off I went again back to Melbourne. An hour into the drive I realised I’d never really stopped to explore Victoria's high country which is CRAZY given its in my own backyard!

I saw the turn off sign to Glenrowan (in the heart of Ned Kelly Country), how cool I was now making a spontaneous pitstop as I had always wanted to check out the museum and wander around.

Not knowing what to expect and within the blink of an eye I was in the main street, I parked the car and entered Kates Cottage Gifts & Souvenir Shop. The lady at the counter was friendly and had a wealth of fascinating knowledge about the history of Ned Kelly.

AUD $7.00 for an adult ticket and off I went to explore the highly recommended Ned Kelly Museum.The Museum has an extensive range of the Kelly’s memorabilia (photos and documents). You could easily spend an hour looking through it.

Then just when you think it's finished, you are greeted by a heavy old door and when you go through it you come out to an authentic replica of the Kelly Homestead and Blacksmith shed.

Wow what an eye opener…

It was fascinating to see the harsh conditions that our early settlers really had to endure, none of the modern comforts that we take for granted today, walls lined with newspaper, 2-3 sharing one bed, it really gives you an insight into how tough it really was and how one could easily lead to a life of crime.

What I’ve learnt from exploring Victoria's high country is, sometimes we need to step back and appreciate our own backyard, Australia is a country rich in beauty, unique characteristics and history we should never take it for granted and ALWAYS take that spontaneous opportunity to explore your own backyard!