“Victoria’s Small Towns and Country” – Yarrawonga-Mulwala

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This is in the first in the series of “Victoria’s Small Towns and Country” posts that I will be doing to give visitors an insight into what my home state has to offer outside of Melbourne. Victoria’s small size means attractions are close and don’t require days of driving which makes it ideal for day trips and weekend getaways.  Victoria is blessed with so much variety and its temperate climate means you can enjoy it anytime of the year.  There is plenty to explore and enjoy from quaint historic towns, wine, olive and fruit growing regions and beautiful landscapes ranging from wild rugged coastlines and little bays with pockets of rainforest, plains and arid desert in the regions west to the vast forest-covered mountains in the east.

When we are not travelling overseas for months on end then we are back home earning and saving for our next adventure.  It’s an opportunity to explore our own backyard, escape the city and enjoy the countryside, its towns and hamlets.

Yarrawonga-Mulwala are historical towns separated by the Murray River about 3 hours north west of Melbourne. The Murray  River forms the border between Victoria and New South Wales with Yarrawonga on the Victorian side and Mulwala on the NSW side both easily accessible by a  characteristic bridge.

The main draw of Yarrawonga–Mulwala is Lake Mulwala, a man made lake created for irrigation and is now popular with water sports. Part of the lake is characterised by dead trees which makes for an interesting eerie landscape.

Its other draw is it relatively warmer and more stable Mediterranean climate which makes a nice respite from Melbourne’s 4 seasons in one day.  Its pleasant climate has earned its name “The Sun Country” and is ideal for growing olives and grapes and has one of Victoria’s most popular wine regions –  Rutherglen – on its doorstep.  If you enjoy food and wine then you will enjoy a visit to both Yarrawonga and Rutherglen.

We spent the weekend enjoying this region, we had picked up a good 2 night deal on Scoopon staying at Club Mulwala Resort and Spa, it was Vaughan’s birthday so was one of the drivers for a weekend away.

Things to see in Yarrawonga-Mulwala

Touring the wineries at Rutherglen

The historic town of Rutherglen lies 36 kilometres east of Yarrawonga and makes a nice day trip and even a weekend trip as there is plenty to see and do in and around the town.  The town itself dates back to the late 1800’s and retains much of its historic charm particularly with the old post office and Hotel Pubs.

The Rutherglen Wine Experience Visitor Information Centre, located in the town centre on Main Street, offers displays of the town’s rich history, how wines are made, and comprehensive tourist information.  This was our first port of call when we entered the town.   Rutherglen has some 17 wineries and they are all close to town. Its speciality being fortified wines (port) and Durif, a type of red wine.

The visitor centre had told us there was a market on at Pfeiffer Winery so that was our first stop.  It was your typical country market selling fresh fruit and vegetables, locally made crafts and produce.  I tried a few tastings of the sauces and olive oil dressings on the  Goora Madda Olives stand, I was won over and purchased three bottles of the olive oil salad dressing.

We only visited three of the wineries, after a few tastings the head begins to spin!  Wineries we visited were Cofield, Valhalla and the more popular and larger of the group All Saints where you could also sample some cheese tasting at Indigo Cheese Company on-site.  Of course we couldn’t leave a winery without purchasing a bottle or too!  Our favourite was Cofield.

There are few nice lunch options in the region, the more expensive offered at the wineries. The locals recommended The Pickled Sisters at Cofield winery which was closed due to a wedding so we headed into town to the other recommendation, Australia’s greatest pie shop!  – Parker Pies.  The pies were delicious with plenty of variety of fillings.

After our filling of tasty pie we explored the town and photographed its lovely historic buildings.

An old VW campervan had caught our eye, we were fortunate to meet the owners who gave us some history and allowed us to look inside. The camper dated back to 1972 and was one of only 4 in Australia.

Whiskey and Chocolate at Corowa

Just over the border In NSW 10 kilometres from Rutherglen is the small hamlet of Corowa where you can sample some fine chocolates at the old flour Mill.  After closing in 1970 the Flour Mill lay abandoned for almost 40 years before being sold to the Junee Liquorice and Chocolate Factory for a pricey sum of just $1! Since September 2009 the new company known as Corowa Whisky and Chocolate has been busily restoring the brick portion of the flour mill and outbuildings, all which date back to the early 1920’s.

Within the main building you can enjoy some fine chocolate tastings while gazing up at the well restored 20 meter high roof-line.

There is also a café and coffee shop for something more substantial. Renovation work is under way transforming the old grain shed into a whisky tavern and it is hoped from here you will be served a range of some of the world’s best and rarest whiskies

If you enjoy photographing old buildings as we do then this place will be a real delight.

Lake Mulwala

Driving back to Mulwala we took the road on the NSW side and was rewarded with some of the most scenic parts of the lake.  Lake Mulwala was formed by damming the Murray and flooding the adjacent countryside. Trees that formed part of the countryside that was flooded subsequently died creating an eerie watery landscape that is great for photography.

The part of the lake close to Yarrawonga-Mulwala is free from trees and is a popular for water sports and for a cruise or the popular MV Paradise Queen.  There are also some nice walks around the lake, sadly we didn’t have time to do but there is always next time!

Enjoying a game of Golf

Yarrawonga-Mulwala Golf Resort is the largest public golf course in Australia and we enjoyed a game on one of its courses on Sunday morning.  There are three courses to choose from and there is really no need to book, you can just turn up!

Farm Gate Trail

Continuing with our culinary tour we spent the Sunday afternoon sampling some of the delights on the Farm Gate Trail.  You can travel from farm gate to farm gate and sample everything from farm fresh fruit and vegetables, cheeses and olives to artisan chocolates, wines and craft beers. The trail not only passes through Yarrawonga-Mulwala but stretches as far as Cobram-Barooga, Barmah and Nathalia and is some 190 kilometres from east to west.  To visit everything it is recommend you put aside at least 2 to 3 days, we only had the afternoon before we had to be back home so picked out what interested us the most.

Our first stop was lunch at Rich Glen Olive Farm about 15 minutes outside of Yarrawonga.   Here we enjoyed sitting in the garden of the 100 year old homestead enjoying a tasty lunch, cake and coffee while admiring the views across the Olive groves  and farmland.  The olive is pressed on site within hours of harvest so their olive oil is so fresh and flavoursome. Inside the homestead is a store with a huge range of flavoured oils, salad dressings, marinated olives, meat and vegetable rubs, savoury jams, dukkah’s,and their beautiful natural skin care range.

You could sample before you buy, I came here with the intent of stocking up as I was already a fan of their olive and poppy seed salad dressing which I have to say is one of yummiest I have ever had 🙂

The garden itself is somewhat of a tourist attraction, we strolled through admiring the unique vegetable maze and Celtic stone herb garden, old windmill citrus orchard, the creative steel art of which the owls made from old paint cans was my favourite.  There was old farm machinery and some fun stuff for kids like hopscotch, playdo and a badminton court. The place was a real delight.

Our next stop was Boosey Creek Cheese farm.  We had already sampled some at the cheese shop at All Saints winery so today we wanted to buy some to take home!  The place wasn’t quite what we expected, we thought it might have been a store but it was a little shed tucked away in the farmyard of a working farm!  We sampled all the cheeses and bought 3. We wandered into the shed and watched the cows being milked; it was quite fascinating watching the cows rotating on what looked like an oversized lazy Susan.

Our last two stops were Renaissance Chocolates and Buffalo Brewery. It was quite a drive to these two places, in hindsight we probably should have explored places closer.  We first paid a visit to the chocolates which is situated on a country road around 5 Kilometres outside of Yarrawonga.  Renaissance Farm is also a bed and breakfast and cafe.  The delicately hand crafted chocolates were to die for, they were exquisite flavours but at $2 a chocolate we only purchased about three each for a treat.

The lady who served us showed us a photo of a tree that formed a perfect circle reflection in the swamp that we had passed on way to the chocolate place.  So on our way back down the road to the brewery we stopped by the swamp and took some photos of said tree.

The Buffalo Brewery is situated in the tiny village of Boorhaman a few kilometres down the road from Renaissance chocolates. The brewery itself is part of the Boorhaman hotel.  The pub is your typical traditional country pub with country hospitality and home cooked food.

We decided to try one of their award winning beers from one of their range which includes ginger beer, wheat beer, larger, stout and dark ale.  I’m not a beer drinker but decided to try one of their wheat beers.  It wasn’t really to my taste but Vaughan being a beer drinker enjoyed it.

Boorhaman is so small that’s its school of only 7 pupils closed down in 2008.  Boorhaman was our last stop for the day and for the weekend in general from here we had the three hour drive back to Melbourne.

There are plenty of other places to visit too on the Farm Gate trail, from wineries, gourmet delights to farm produce.  I won’t list them all here instead I will direct you to this link which has comprehensive information!

Places to eat in Yarrawonga-Mulwala

For such small towns there is plenty of choice.We only had a couple of days so picked a couple of places to eat.

Yarrawonga Hotel

The Yarrawonga Hotel with its French Provincial feel has a great selection of meals from seafood, steaks to schnitzels and more. We were impressed with the food and certainly recommend a night out here.

Diggers Alfresco Restaurant

Diggers is attached to Club Mulwala where we were staying.  It has a contemporary cafe-style cuisine and huge range of dishes, cakes and deserts all for a reasonable price.

Terminus Hotel

We didn’t eat here but it has a good reputation for its good food.

If your interested in  visiting Yarrawonga-Mulwala then visit the Visitors Information Site for comprehensive information on more of what there is to see and do and where to stay!

If you have enjoyed the photos, then the complete gallery can be viewed in the Trip Photos