Bright

Tomorrow, I am heading off for a week's holiday at Bright. The beautiful town of Bright is nestled in the Alpine Valley, about 320 kilometres northeast of Melbourne. It is at the foothills of the Alpine ski resorts and will be where I will pitch my tent (metaphorically speaking) for my week off work.

One of the town's major attractions is its proliferation of European deciduous trees, including oaks, elms, poplars, maples, dogwoods, and chestnuts planted as early as 1866. As you enter Bright, you can't miss the boulevards of large deciduous trees that serve to revive an English look in a way that no other town in Australia can do.

The Australian landscape is primarily evergreen trees, so you never see the changing colours associated with Europe or North America's fall seasons. These large trees are beautifully green in the summer and provide plentiful shade from the hot summer sun. Come autumn, they change into a rich spectrum of reds, yellows and orange colours as they lose their leaves in preparation for winter.

The primary source of income for Bright is tourism. The town's population increases dramatically during the holiday season. When it comes to Bright, the winter is the time for skiing; spring is perfect for bushwalking; summer is ideal for swimming, canoeing and boating; and autumn is for gazing at the beautiful landscape colours.