Jax goes to the snow!
- lifeslittlething
- Aug 1, 2017
- 4 min read
Our pet friendly trip to Bright, the Buckland and Dinner Plains
For years, we've been desperate to bring Jax on a snow holiday. The problem was that in Victoria, almost all of the snow fields are located within National Parks which means no dogs allowed .
Last year, one of our other dog-crazy friends told us about Dinner Plains. Located in North-East Victoria, right near Mt Hotham this is pretty much the only snow resort in Victoria that allows dogs as long as they are registered with the local council (find out more about that here). Being a big fan of holidays, I started planning a little Winter getaway for the 3 of us - more details below!
Where we stayed
The accommodation is completely self-contained with a bedroom, living and little kitchenette. We stayed in one of the studios with a 'well-being' bathroom when essentially meant it had a luxurious stand alone bathtub with a view into the bush lands. Have to say, this was one of my favourite features especially with the heated floors given the time of year we were there! As you can see from the pic below, Jax loved it too! This was his favourite spot for a bit of morning sun.
A few watch outs though - there are no fenced yards and you can't leave your dog alone in the accommodation at anytime. Also, they serve breakfast in a common dining area which doesn't allow dogs inside. You could eat on the deck if the weather's nice, but as we were there in depths of Winter we had to leave Jax in the car with the windows down. Needless to say we ate pretty quickly every morning!
Overall, we had a lovely stay and wouldn't hesitate to recommend this to couples looking for a lovely getaway with a little dog.
What we did (besides the snow!)
There are a lot of dog friendly activities to do in and around Bright. The main township is located along the Ovens River. Our morning routine was to grab a takeaway coffee then take Jax for a walk along the river. In warmer months I can imagine he'd love to take a dip in there too!
One of our favourite dog friendly cafes was The Ginger Baker. They serve delicious, tapas-style food and have an all weather outdoor dining area out the front - try and grab a seat near the open fire on colder nights!
We also took a drive out to explore the wine regions around Bright. One of the biggest and best known wineries is Brown Brothers located in Milawa. We weren't sure if the restaurant was dog friendly so didn't eat there but they do have a big outdoor area where I hung out with Jax while DH did a tasting at the cellar door.
One winery we did eat at was Sam Miranda, located in King Valley. We had a delicious lunch and sat outside in their alfresco area which was very dog friendly - highly recommended!
There are a lot of dog friendly walking trails and historic towns to explore around the region - great way to work off all that food and wine!
The Snow!
Dinner Plains is a couple of hours drive from Bright. Not too bad as we only ended up spending one day there, but if you're planning to go more than that then I would recommend staying closer or even in Dinner Plains itself. There seemed to be a lot of self-contained units there.
I did a bit of research on bringing dogs to the snow beforehand so I came prepared! My top tips to keep you furry friend safe and warm are:
Bring something warm and waterproof for them to wear. A spare dog coat is a good idea too in case they get wet
It's important to protect their paws especially if they're not used to snow. I put vaseline on Jax's just before we got out of the car
Bring a little towel to clean between his pads afterwards in case any snow gets stuck in there
We had a great time on the toboggan (yes, Jax had a go too!), did some walking and even visited the local craft beer brewery which allow dogs inside so this was a great place to rest and warm up a little. The only downside is that there didn't seem to be a lot of options for food. We ended up getting hotdogs near the toboggan run - this is where everyone seemed to be and we had to wait about 30mins!
All in all, such a fun day out and needless to say Jax slept very well that night!
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