Golfers, wine lovers, water-sporters, walkers and history lovers. Sooner or later, tourists and Australians find themselves on, in or by Australia’s longest river: the Murray.

Things to do in Murray Region

Mildura

• Wine: 80% of Victoria’s grape production comes from the area. You can visit a number of the vineyards and fruit farms surrounding Mildura.

• Eat: Anywhere with a road nicknamed ‘Feast Street’ is all right by us (it’s actually Langtree Avenue). And Mildura’s restaurants, bars and cafes spill well beyond the single street.

• Mildura Brewery: Locally themed beers (including a chocolate stout we’re kicking ourselves for not trying), a brewery tour and good food – all found inside a converted theatre.

• Murray River: How could we have reached this far without mentioning the Murray Region’s central attraction? The river exerts a strong influence on Mildura. Cruising, house-boating, fishing, canoeing, kayaking, sailing, water skiing, and sunbathing (on the river beach) are just some of the reasons life in the Murray Region is lived largely outdoors.

• Shopping: Centro Mildura is the largest enclosed shopping centre in the north-west of Victoria. 70 retailers provide more than enough temptation to melt the average credit card.

• Golf: The Murray Region is a golfer’s paradise, with over 30 courses lining the river, including Mildura’s golf resort.

• Hot air balloon: The Murray River at dawn is one of those sights you see in your sleep. Yes, it’s a bit of a luxury when you’re on a budget, but for special occasions…

• National parks: Murray Region’s national parks, the nearby Hattah-Kulkyne and Murray-Sunset offer brilliant wildlife and big landscapes. The latter’s vastness and clear skies make for captivating starlit nights and wonderful sunrises and sunsets.Mungo National Park offers something startlingly different. Its landscape looks like the surface of the moon and is rich with fossils of the animals that once roamed here. The Australian continent’s earliest human remains were found in this park and date back 40,000 years.

Swan Hill
Don’t be deceived by the size of Swan Hill. It may only have a population of 10,000 but it has some of Murray Region’s best attractions, worthy of a much larger city:

• Swan Hill Pioneer Settlement: The city’s most popular attraction recreates life in the area during the 1800s. From the shops to the homesteads and horse-drawn carriages, discover what life was like for the pioneers.

• Parks: Enjoy a picnic, BBQ, or a leisurely stroll through Swan Hill’s fine gardens and greenery.

• Bogartz Glass Studio, Observatory and Planetarium: There can’t be many observatories with a glass studio attached (or vice versa). Whether it’s through a lense or in a display case, you’ll find plenty of wonders here with locally produced glass by day and tours of the sky by night.

Corryong
The landscape that surrounds the town reeks of adventure. It’s the sort of place they write songs about. Explore the almost overwhelming beauty on horseback, on foot, on bike or in a 4WD. However you do it, just get out there.
Afterwards, there’s always the 150-year-old pub at Tintaldra to enjoy.

Echuca
We love an offbeat museum. Echuca is home to the Great Aussie Beer Shed, displaying 16,000 beer cans from Australia and the wider world. We’re still wondering why. As things to do in Murray Region go, this is the plain daftest. For something a little more mainstream, try the National Holden Motor Museum and see the largest collection of Australia’s most famous car brand, now a GM subsidiary.

The town is an historic port and the closest river settlement to Melbourne. The usual watersport suspects (water skiing, cruising, fishing, sailing etc) are all here – and you can hire a houseboat and set sail along the river for as long as you like.

Shepparton
One of the more thriving towns on the river is the kind of shop, gallery and museum-filled diversion you long for after a few hours on the road. It’s a busy commercial centre, so don’t make Shepparton a ‘must-do’ unless you’re travelling with kids. If you are, show them the Kids Town Adventure Playground, regarded as the best community playground in the whole of Australia, and lose them for the rest of the week.

Perry Sandhills & Wentworth
The red Perry Sandhills, near Wentworth, date from the last ice age. Impressive at any time of day, wait for sundown or starlight to see them at their best.

If you’re stopping in Wentworth, search out the river cruise.

Yarrawonga
This lovely town is a haven for golfing, walking and river-based activities. The nearby Warby-Ovens may sound like a 1950s kitchen appliance, but is actually Murray Region national park characterised by a varied landscape that takes in red gum forests, wetlands and superb wildlife. The viewing points that line the ridges of the park help you see it at its best.

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