Wandiligong via Porepunkah Plantation Gravel

When it comes to gravel, Bright isn’t bursting with it. There’s some really good stuff in the surrounding areas such as Beechworth or closer to Whitfield but Bright is fairly enclosed into a small valley. Its tarmac riding seems to offer a lot more.

I set out on an adventure to link up Bright, Porepunkah, The Buckland Valley & Wandiligong which was a huge fail on the first attempt and involved a few hours hiking our bikes over a cliff.

After speaking with some friends and locals however, we managed to find a great ride that links up the places you’d want to be in the area in this fun, beautiful & achievable gravel route.

The ride begins in Bright, heading out to Porepunkah & The Buckland Valley before taking a left and climbing through The Porepunkah Plantation which is a steep gravel climb of about 12km at 6.6%.
The route then follows the Demon Ridge Track overlooking Bright above and then descends down Mudhole Road into Wandiligong where you can stop for a bite at The Wandi Pub before heading back into Bright.

The climb is challenging and some of the gravel is a little slippy but we managed to ride the entire thing without getting off on 45mm tyres.