Victoria's Macedon ranges
Less than an hour's drive along the Calder Highway north
west of Melbourne are the serene and ever green Macedon
Ranges and here can be found a wealth of attractions among the small
old gold towns and surrounding gold rich, unspoilt bushland (so take your
metal detector with you).
Leaving Melbourne, you will pass through the pleasant country town of Gisborne,
then the road takes a right turn and you'll soon arrive in Macedon.
Take the turnoff to Mount Macedon and, as one moves up the hill, watch out
for the magnificent, award winning gardens around the lovely homes
to be seen here. There are grand views from miles around from the
lookout on the top of the mount, where also can be seen the tall war
memorial.
Close by is the rugged and mysterious Hanging Rock, made world famous in the film "Picnic at Hanging Rock". It can be climbed, with care, in good weather. Often koalas can be spotted in the tall eucalypts of this area.
At its base is the Hanging Rock Race Course and picnic grounds and the grand new Hanging Rock Discovery Centre. There is also the well stocked Barringo Wildlife Reserve, open daily, a hillside caravan park and the Mountain Inn Hotel, which offers warm fires and period charm. The all new Blue Ridge Inn also has much to offer guests, on 10 acres, high above Hanging Rock.
Then there is Dryden's Run Winery
Retreat, offering superior accommodation in a vineyard and a number
of excellent cottages to rent on a B&B basis. Another vineyard to
visit is the Hanging Rock Winery for tastings and Central Highland Safaris
offer good short tours of the area. There are also night walking tours for
those staying overnight.
Further on is the pleasant country township of Woodend, with its ultra wide
main street. The big old Bentink Country House
here is very popular with bed and breakfast devotees who enjoy a spacious,
cosy guest house. There is no bar, but guests are allowed to bring
their own alcoholic drinks to sample at anytime, including with their meals,
or before the roaring fire in the lounge. An alternative place to stay
is Paramoor Farm Country Retreat, with quiet
bush cabins offering all mod cons on a farm worked by Clydesdale horses.
Lovely old Kyneton is the next town on this
route, with a visitors information centre in the main street. Many of
the locally quarried bluestone town buildings date back to the 19th century
and have been well preserved. One of these now houses the Kyneton
Historical Museum. And don't miss the quaint historic cottage
alongside it. There is a caravan park and numerous bed and breakfast
establishments in town or close by, including Woodbine
Gardens, Kinsale Waters, Kyneton
Country House, Kyneton Ridge Estate and Kyneton
Bushland Retreat.
For those who like fine china, there's Kyneton Fine
China & Ceramics at 50 Wedge Street and for antique lovers
there's Kyneton Provender in Piper Street.
Also on Piper is Trio Station Winery, which
offers a warm welcome to visitors. If you enjoy country racing, you'll
want to attend the Kyneton Cup and all its
excitement and fashions in early November. But Kyneton doesn't stop
there. It has an annual Antiques Fair in
early September and a Daffodil & Arts Festival
also in early September. In fact, in most months of the year it
has some interesting annual event in operation.
The local town gardens are worth a browse too. And for those with a
sweet tooth, Sweet Cravings at 65a High Street
offers plenty of fine cakes and pastries, as well as all the favourite types
of fresh baked pies.
Keep driving along the highway and you'll soon come into Malmsbury,
with its massive old bluestone mill, built in 1860 on your right, set well
back from the road. This has now been totally refurbished in real
style and offers very comfortable bed and breakfast accommodation, plus a
top class restaurant and art gallery.
Malmsbury has a viaduct over the Coliban river
that's worth a photograph (it has a National Trust A classification) and
beside the nearby reservoirs anglers can often be seen throwing a line into
the water The botanic gardens beside the
river are an excellent spot for a picnic. The variety of
old European trees there is well worth a little studying. Malmsbury,
like Kyneton is, of course, another town that sprang out of the gold rush
era of the 1850s.
Every second Sunday of each month there is a market held outside the town
hall and there is a twilight market held on the village green twice a year,
in autumn and spring. There are 20 wineries in the Macedon Ranges and
several of them are quite close to Malmsbury. Malmsbury Bakery offers
fresh baked country tucker for the peckish and there's the Malmsbury
Hotel, Mere Dream Herb Farm and Craft Centre,
Brick Nog Market, Grayson
Antiques, cosy tearooms and Knock on Wood, offering beautiful local
timber products. For history buffs, Malmsbury Railway
Station dates back to 1859, the town hall to 1867 and The Mansions to
1870. A brochure can be obtained leading you around two recommended
local walks with delightful features to enjoy.
For those who want to stay and explore the area, there's Holcombe
Lodge Country Retreat, Springbank Farm B&B
and Hopewell Cottage ready to offer a warm
welcome. At nearby Lancefield there's
some of the most photogenic countryside in Australia and a couple of good
places at which to stay - Glen Erin Vineyard Retreat
and Lancemore Hill Country Estate.
Half an hour distant is Victoria's spa country incorporating Daylesford
and Hepburn Springs, so it is a good idea to
make a real holiday out of combining these areas, spending a few days each,
if possible.