Victoria's Secret Destinations

Off Australia's Highways lie Pretty Less-known Tourist Destinations

Sep 17, 2008 Sanjiva Wijesinha

Tucked off the major highways in Australia's south-eastern state of Victoria are some of the prettiest places in the state, well worth the attention of touring visitors

Off the beaten track in the land Down Under one comes across quaint villages in the Dandenong Ranges with names like Olinda, Sassafras and Kinglake where visitors can spend a pleasant morning picking fresh berries at a berry farm. There are places on the Murray river like Echuca with it historic wharf and paddle steamers - and Mildura in the centre of the Sunraysia district which produces much of Australia's dried fruits.

Benalla

As the icing on the cake, there are picturesque places like the little town of Benalla at the foot of the high country.

Just two hours drive from Melbourne along the Hume Highway, Benalla is one of Victoria’s better known secrets. Some might describe it as just another country town – but to a visitor to this country this ‘country town’ epithet is the very essence of Benalla’s appeal.

One can spend a weekend here and enjoy her relaxed, easy going nature. An early morning walk around picturesque Lake Benalla in the fall season on the well maintained four kilometre track takes one through the remains of a forest of River Red Gums – a piece of the wilderness near the heart of the city – and past the Indigenous Community Garden. Pausing for a while by the lake’s edge, one can watch a pelican on the water or simply stop and admire the myriad yellow and russet-leaved trees around.

By the banks of the lake is the Benalla Art Gallery, little known outside northeast Victoria but deservedly one of the most visited regional galleries in the country. Then there are the Botanical Gardens – a pleasure to savour, especially when her magnificent roses are in bloom – where visitors can stop to read the inscription at the statue there which honours one of Benalla’s most famous sons, surgeon and war hero Sir Edward “Weary” Dunlop.

Ned Kelly

Another well known resident of Benalla was the outlaw Ned Kelly, and it was at the Benalla courthouse that he escaped police custody – the Old Saddler shop where he hid from the police is still a site for tourists. Those so inclined can even follow the outlaw’s trail to the nearby township of Glenrowan and have a look at the replica homestead and the huge statue of Ned Kelly himself.

Benalla is one of those pretty country towns where visitors have the opportunity to admire her beautiful scenery, relax in her laid back atmosphere and enjoy the traditional hospitality of warm-hearted Aussie folk.

If in Victoria, it is a place well worth visiting. Victoria’s secrets, after all, are too good not to share!

Getting there: Approximately 200 km from Melbourne (halfway between Melbourne and Albury-

Wodonga) along the Hume Highway.

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