Today I started five days recreation leave from work. I drove from Canberra to Wangaratta and stopped at the Dog on the tucker box (near Gundagai), Holbrook, and Wodonga.

I’m on my way to Geelong to spend a couple of days watching Miss13 compete in the WAG National Club Championships at the Geelong Arena. 

I’ve never driven through southern NSW and Victoria before so in preparation I spoke with many friends who have lived in Victoria. A recurring theme is the food in Victoria is better than anywhere else and the bakeries can’t be beaten. 

Here is my path from Canberra to Wangaratta

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The next stop was Holbrook because I heard the bakery was amazing and the vanilla slice there was the best in NSW. That is a big claim given my love for the vanilla slices from the Gumnut bakeries in Mittagong and Bowral. 

Before I got to the bakery I stopped at HMAS Otway. Holbrook is the adopted home for the submarine. 

Then I got into the bakery and asked for a vanilla slice. 

It was good but it wasn’t great. It certainly wasn’t as good as the vanilla slice from the Gumnut patisseries. 

The drive was made more interesting by podcasts. I love the fact with my iPhone I can listen to podcasts rather than having to rely on the radio or a CD. Today I listened to a couple of Star Trek podcasts from Trek.fm, a Jared Polin “I shoot RAW” podcast as well as a Trevor Long “Your tech life“ podcast. 

The next stop was Wodonga just over the NSW/Victoria border. The Murray River at the cross over is fairly narrow. I was expecting a more substantial river.

I stopped at Henri’s Wodonga Bakery and enjoyed a nice pepper steak hot pie with sauce. 

I also had another vanilla slice. This is the first time in decades I’ve tried a vanilla slice with pink icing just like when I was a kid buying them at school. This one was very good, although the icing was a little too thick and very very sweet. The custard was nicer than the Holbrook bakery vanilla slice.

The next stop was Wangaratta and the motel I’d booked. 

I love how motels in Australia always seem to place this strip of paper or a variation of it over the toilet seat. 

The room is pretty good and it has free wi-fi. I’ll write a review in TripAdvisor soon. 

For dinner I went for a walk to find a restaurant. I found Cafe Martini and decided to ask for a steak.

 

On the way to Cafe Martini though I shot some photographs of some public art and the King River

 

 

I asked for the rib eye fillet on the bone cooked rare with vegetables. The steak was rare and well rested. It was very good. I’d eat here again. 

For dessert I had the tiramisu. It was also pretty good. 

So that’s it for day one. 

Have you driven through southern NSW and Victoria? Tell me about your experiences.