Bright in a van

Bright is a small country town in the snowy Alpine region of northeastern Victoria.

We’ve been to Bright on several occasions, and just keep coming back.

On this trip, we were in Bright for just a couple of nights with Attie the Van after PB had a camp for work.

Bright has lots to see.

It’s actually fun to just walk around and explore, like most country towns.

There are lots of places to windowshop, or actually buy something like a new T-shirt to replace the one with holes that someone has been wearing well past its expiry.

Luckily there are a lot of cafes to refuel, including a favourite the Wild Thyme Cafe in Ireland street. There are a couple of op shops on a main street as well to search for hidden treasures in the rough.

We brought Zeasar (our foster doggo) along with us. Zeasar is an old dog, so we worked the day according to his schedule and made sure he got his nap in!

The Pop-up Drive-in Cinema

On our first night, we found a pop-up cinema by chance. We just happened to see the flyer in a cafe window when we were walking through town that afternoon. So, we set up in the van and sat back to watch Grease!

Centenary park was a great spot to run around with Zeasar. Or walk along the river. Or set up the computers to get a bit of work in.

Bright Sports Centre is just down the road too, and has a gym that has casual passes. The selection is limited, but you can get a good workout in.

A short hike

Given we had a dog and were only in Bright for one full day, our options for hiking were a bit limited. But after an dinner at the pub on our last night, we decided to adventure up to Apex Lookout.

We parked near Quinn’s Gap and walked pretty much straight onto the track to the right of the dirt road that leads up the hill. Just to note, parking for the trail to Apex Lookout is pretty tricky (especially in a van).

The main track is the path is easy to follow, although there are a few unsigned “shortcuts”. At the top, you get a view of Mount feathertop and Mount Bogong, and it’s well worth the effort of the climb. We decided to return down the dirt road which connected to the walking track at the bottom where we had parked.

The walk is short at about 2.5km, and took us 45 mins to an hour (mostly because we sat absorbing the view at the top).

For a bit more of an adventure, we’ll be coming back to hike the Razorback Trail from Hotham to Feathertop. But there are also other walks in and around Bright.

Van camping in Bright

The best part of the van is just throwing a mattress (in this case, camping mattresses) in the back of the van, and heading off. This was our set-up, camping in one of the side streets of Bright.

We always try to be respectful and as minimally-invasive as possible. Our rule is to set up for sleep somewhere else, roll in quietly to the spot for the night in a place where we can’t see anyone’s front door, and then drive off quietly early the next morning. The best spots for this are next to a park or sports oval.