# Tawonga-Mount Beauty

Tawonga, Tawonga South and Mount Beauty are adjacent villages in the upper Kiewa River Valley in the Victorian High Country.

## Understand

Tawonga is the original settlement, and Mount Beauty is a "model" town built as a construction village for the Kiewa Hydro-electric Scheme of the 1940s. Mount Beauty is separated from Tawonga South by the Kiewa River, and from the point of view of travellers Tawonga South and Mount Beauty are a contiguous small town.

## Get in

Tawonga, Tawonga South, and Mount Beauty are a one-hour drive from Albury-Wodonga on the Kiewa Valley Highway. The road is a minor country highway and sealed.
The villages are 4 hours from Melbourne on the Hume Fwy (M31) to south of Wangaratta, Snow Road to near Myrtleford, and then Great Alpine Road to Running Creek before joining Kiewa Valley Highway.
Buses are available to Mount Beauty and then to Falls Creek:
* -36.738147.160751 Falls Creek Coaches, 233 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South (Ampol Service Station), ☏ +61 3 5754 4024, reservations@fallscreekcoachservice.com.au. Coach services to Mount Beauty and Falls Creek from Melbourne, Albury, Myrtleford, with overnight car parking. (updated Aug 2023)

## See

* -36.7093147.14311 Mount Bogong Lookout, Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga. (updated Aug 2023)

## Do

* West Kiewa Gorge (One place to start this walk is the Big Hill Mountain Bike Park just off the Bogong High Plains Road). From the Big Hill Mountain Bike Park head south west on the track to the West Kiewa River then make your way upriver through a small gorge to a cool shaded pool. This is a mini adventure with some short compulsory swims to get to the main pool. Great way to spend a few hours on a hot summer's day. (updated Jan 2025)

## Buy

* -36.7371147.1611 Bogong Ski Centre, 238 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South, ☏ +61 3 5754 4555, info@bogongskicentre.com.au. Ski hire, snow chain hire, and ski retail. (updated Aug 2023)

## Eat

* -36.7371147.1611 Treats Cafe, 238 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South (Inside Bogong Ski Centre), ☏ +61 3 5754 1515. Small casual cafe with cakes, drinks, and a lunch menu. A good place to fuel the family before the final drive to Falls Creek, or recover from motion sickness on the return. (updated Aug 2023)

## Drink

* -36.7363147.1591 Crank Handle Brewery, 211 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South. (updated Aug 2023)

## Sleep

* -36.7314147.15571 Bogong Moth Motel, 172 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South, ☏ +61 457 544 599. Check-in: 2PM, check-out: 10AM. (updated Aug 2023)
* -36.7351147.16032 The Park, Mount Beauty, 222-224 Kiewa Valley Highway, Tawonga South, ☏ +61 3 5754 4396, info@theparkmountbeauty.com.au. Cabins, yurts, and powered and unpowered campsites. Campsites from $38 offpeak to $52 winter peak, cabins from $125 offpeak to $230 winter peak. (updated Aug 2023)

## Stay healthy

* -36.74347147.169151 Mount Beauty Hospital, 2-8 Hollonds Street, Mount Beauty, ☏ +61 3 5754 3500. 24/7. Provides urgent care, but does not have a fully equipped specialist emergency department. (updated Aug 2023)
* -36.74424147.170662 Mt Beauty Medical Centre, 2D Tawonga Crescent, Mount Beauty, ☏ +61 3 5754 3400, enquiries@mbmc.com.au. (updated Aug 2023)
* -36.74308147.170043 Mt Beauty Pharmacy, 11 Hollonds Street, Mount Beauty, ☏ +61 3 5754 4224, pharmacy@mountbeauty.com.au. M-F 9AM-5:30PM, Sa 9AM-noon, Su closed. Delivers medication to Falls Creek during snow season M-F. (updated Aug 2023)
Mount Beauty is the closest provider of medical services to Falls Creek outside of the snow season.
The nearest hospital emergency departments to Tawonga and Mount Beauty are in Wangaratta and Albury-Wodonga.

## Go next

Mount Beauty is the nearest town to the Falls Creek ski resort, which is 30 km away on Bogong High Plains Road, approximately a 45-minute drive. Mount Beauty is the usual location to hire snow chains, which must be carried on Bogong High Plains Road once leaving Mount Beauty in the winter. Parking at Falls Creek, either daily or overnight, should be booked in advance.