“I can’t believe we’re driving up there,” you gasp as you look at the bald alpine summits of Mount Feathertop and Mount Hotham. The others stare in disbelief.

The Great Alpine Road through Smoko curves alongside the Ovens River leading you upstream to the historic village of Harrietville, where you stop at the bakery for coffee and baked pretzels.

As you leave, the road kick upward like a wall and you realise, it’s on. You’re on your way to 1,845m elevation; a landmark known as The Cross – the highest point of any sealed road in Australia that's accessible all year.

You snake higher, hugging the steep slopes through a forest of alpine ash – the tallest flowering trees in the world – then snow gums begin to appear. The trees give way to shrubbery kept low by wild weather and you see a vast mountain range, its slopes falling into a cavernous valley hidden from sight.

“Is that a road?” someone exclaims from the backseat.

In the distance, a faint line clings to the mountainside; little car headlights inch along it. Phwaaar.

You’re crossing a narrow ridge through true alpine country now, looking down on a carpet of cloud. You feel like you're flying.

You reach Danny’s Lookout near Mount Hotham and pull in for a break. The air up here is chilly, but the sun is comfortingly warm. Mount Buffalo presides over the north horizon, while Mount Feathertop is now just a stone's throw away.

Everything is silent. Looking down at the earth, you feel like a tiny speck in the universe; the troubles that too often form the centre of your world are insignificant up here.

You drag yourself away and continue over The Cross into the ski resort of Mount Hotham, sleepy in its summertime daze. Further up the road you reach the village of Dinner Plain, an architectural wonder, where the houses are made of the same stone, timber and corrugated iron, but are each unique in their multi-dimensional shapes.

A pub lunch is calling at the Dinner Plain Hotel. In the afternoon, you take a short walk to see Carmichael Falls, and another to the Room With A View walking track, and then it’s back down the mountain as the sun sets over Mount Buffalo, the sky lit with the most brilliant shades of orange and pink you’ve ever seen.

The drive has been one of the best in your life. Can you possibly beat this experience tomorrow? You were hoping to go to a cellar door, but another in your group suggests fishing, after all, the rivers are so nice here. Which will it be?