It's a comment Parks Victoria ranger Julien Atherstone has heard more than once over the years, working at the Mount Buffalo National Park.

He answers questions everyday from visitors wanting to know when the grand timber building at the park's plateau will be open.

But locals don't need to ask.

"People in the valley talk about how they would drive home and see the chalet's light on the hill," Mr Atherstone said.

"So we've turned the light back on at night, to let them know the chalet is coming back."

The Ovens Area Chief Ranger is referring to plans to open a cafe in the front rooms of the chalet.

An expression of interest process opened before Christmas for a food-and-beverage operator who can negotiate a lease of up to 21 years.

The cut-off date has been extended to the end of this month, and Mr Atherstone has already conducted site visits with interested parties.

"We're really keen to get people back in the place, because that brings it back to life," he said.

"The first step is getting a cafe of some sort. It provides direct access in the core of the building, and that's what people are after."

If an operator moves into the three front rooms - the 'buffalo bar' and two adjoining lounges - within the intended timeframe, it will have been 14 years since the building was last open to the public.

It's expected visitors will be able to wander through the front, first-floor rooms; seeing the ballroom's original ash timber floor from 1910 and windows in the drawing room, which the story goes, were brought over from England in the 1950s.

"The place that's been proposed for the cafe was renovated in the 1980s, so we can renovate it to a certain degree," Mr Atherstone said.

"The thing that isn't open is how much change they can make to the building.

"We're suggesting a minimum activation footprint, but there's also options that they can suggest for further activation.

"If they want to use the dining room, they can add that to their list."

Parks Victoria will make the place compliant before the operator moves in.

A solar system installed in 2019 will support this.

"We will us the old hydronic heaters ... they've been tested. It's just about how we heat the water," Mr Atherstone said.

"The thing about the hydronics will be, if we have extra power from the solar, you'll be able to heat water, or if there's not enough solar, we use gas."

One of the historic challenges for the Chalet has been the fact that it is not connected to the electricity grid.

A PricewaterhouseCoopers feasibility study which recommended $2 million be spent to reinstate a cafe outlined renewable energy options be used in any future endeavours.

PwC identified a range of challenges to reinstating the chalet as accommodation, including leases and regulation.

The Chalet has been run by many private operators since the first leases were issued by the government in 1910, and has been managed by Parks Victoria since 1998.

However, an historic transfer of ownership of the Mount Buffalo National Park is taking place.

Ten years ago, the ratification of the Traditional Owner Settlement Act in Victoria paved the way for traditional owner groups to negotiate native titles.

After three years of negotiation, the Taungurung Land and Waters Council Aboriginal Corporation reached a $33 million agreement and settlement, which were disputed by Bpangerang representatives in Wangaratta.

The agreement covers 11 per cent of the state's land mass and nine parks including all of Lake Eildon and Mount Buffalo parks, and part of the Alpine National Park.

Taungurung Land and Waters Council Aboriginal Corporation chief executive Matthew Burns said the recognition and settlement agreement commenced on August 11 of last year.

"In terms of Mount Buffalo, that means a couple of things - the ownership of the park itself and the title would be transferred to Taungurung," he said.

"The 11^th of August was when the transfer of title commenced, but it does take a long time for the transfer of Aboriginal Title - they have to survey the land to the same level as they would survey the title for your house.

"I think they have surveyed two parks out of the nine, and Mount Buffalo is one of the later ones, so we might be officially receiving the title in a couple of years."

Mr Burns said Taungurung rangers would be working on Mount Buffalo and planned to undertake cultural land management, including for fire.

"We'll be setting up what's called a Traditional Owner Land Management Board - Yorta Yorta have one with Barmah Forest - and that will take over from Parks Victoria," he said.

"So, instead of Parks Victoria creating a 20-year plan for Mount Buffalo, the Traditional Owner Land Management Board would be taking over the planning responsibility, and then Parks Victoria and our ranger team will then do the implementation of that plan.

"By setting up that board it won't mean that we'll be entirely insular ... we will be engaging with the broader community to make sure that we're striking that right balance.

"Instead of being purely conservationists, which traditional owners generally don't agree with ... we feel that there's a need to actively manage parks and reserves.

"We want to see people get out on Country."

That board will make decisions about future plans for the park, but in the meantime, Mr Burns said the Taungurung were on the assessment panel for the chalet cafe tender and were supportive of the state government's plans to build pod-style accommodation.

"We're wanting to play a deep role in the roofed accommodation or eco-pod space," he said.

"There is opportunity for themed accommodation ... we as the traditional owners accessed and used Mount Buffalo, particularly for the harvest of Bogong moth.

"There are a lot of cultural sites still in existence, whether they're physical or spiritual."

Representatives of the Taungurung have worked with Parks Victoria to plan for 10 huts/pods, which will be built with $1.5 million from the state government.

One site is hidden behind ancient granite boulders, about 300 metres behind the chalet - but could be anywhere on the mountain.

Mr Atherstone envisages it to be a perfect spot to watch storms roll in over Mount McLeod.

"You want to be able to sit here, watch it snowing outside and feel comfortable and warm," he said.

"That's the idea, that it will be a really comforting nature experience.

"They do need to be well-built and environmentally friendly, both from a build point of view and also a liveable point of view.

"The site could change; detail is being worked out.

"One of the challenges with all these sorts of things is wastewater, power, heating; potentially we can use the gas and power from the chalet, and bring it across."

A project manager is working through details for the accommodation, with Cresta being considered another site for the huts.

"They will be fully self-contained," Mr Atherstone said.

"How serviced they are - whether they'll just be a shell with a bed and bring your own sheets - or whether it will be serviced fully, is yet to be decided."

Supporters of the chalet's full restoration were angered by May's announcement of the 'eco-pods', asking why the return of roofed accommodation at the national park would not be at the historic building.

While that scenario is yet to be seen, there will be a further $3 million in restoration works to the chalet done with federal government money, part of a $33.5 million package for heritage upgrades.

"The exact federal work scope hasn't been defined, but it will mainly be out the back on external aspects," Mr Atherstone said.

"We've completed most of the works on this [front] part of the building, so we can open a cafe even with the works happening out the back.

"You can see where the $2.8 million in works [funded by the Victorian government] stopped."

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Asked if the extra federal funding would finish the job, Mr Atherstone said 'it was a good question'.

"It depends on what you find," he said.

"It will be a really exciting project."

Regardless, Mount Buffalo's chief ranger has turned on the chalet's light - using power generated from the sun.