Jean-François Rupp of Alpine Nature Experience wants to show you the beauty of the Australian Alps.
"Alpine Nature Experience (ANE) started as a winter-only business, but I always hoped to develop it into a year-round operation. I find the Australian Alps sensational and they are still a bit of an unknown gem.
One of the key missions of ANE is to help Mt Hotham to become a year-long destination. Walking tours were a natural progression and a great way to do this, as well as to take advantage of our established eco-village infrastructure.
We cater hikes for all levels. We are based in the Victorian High Country on the border of New South Wales and Victoria, with Victorian’s highest mountain, Mount Bogong, and most dramatic Mount Feathertop, within view.
Visitors walk through forests of dappled snow gums, oceans of billy buttons, vast open plains and never-ending gradients of mountains. Gushing rivers, historic cattlemen huts, mountain ash forests and fern-filled gullies are all part of the scenery.
Our most iconic hike is the Falls to Hotham crossing. We are the only tour provider to offer this iconic walk as a curated hike with an overnight in the Alpine National Park.
We present this walk as an all inclusive, two night, three day hike that starts with a night at Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek. After a trip briefing, guests take a day park, complete with snacks and lunch on their first day of the walk.
I meet them halfway at a campsite set up for the occasion where I prepare a freshly cooked dinner and hand out well-earned gin and tonics! Guests are rocked to sleep in our suspended tree tents before embarking on their second day hiking.
The itinerary concludes with a comfortable hotel stay at Mountain Dreaming Mount Hotham and transfers back down the mountain or to Melbourne.
The variety of terrain you cover on the hike is sensational, with some incredible views on Mount Feathertop and the Bogong plateau. The wildflowers in summer are pretty spectacular as well as the wildlife, but most people rave about the food and the wine.
I think the possibility of having a hot, delicious, chef-prepared meal cooked on the fire, in the middle of nowhere after a day of hiking, is really appreciated by the guests.
I work very closely with Lisa at Diana Lodge on the food offering. She is a very talented, well-travelled cook. So much so that I am probably as excited as the guests to run the Falls to Hotham just for the food!
We are privileged to be among the very few licensed tour operators allowed to run overnight curated hikes in Alpine NP, and by using tree tents, our guests really enjoy a unique experience."