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Melbourne’s not exactly known for being quiet – there’s the dinging of the trams, not to mention their brakes screeching as they take corners. There’s the roar of a footy crowd. Sidewalk buskers. The hissing coffee machines at busy cafes. Constant construction noise. And then, when the Grand Prix comes to town, the thunderous revs of F1 engines. When you’re looking for some peace and quiet to clear your head, where should you head?
Global travel publisher WorldAtlas has just rounded up the most peaceful towns across Victoria; here are five of them…
Warrnambool: This is a great place for Australian wildlife spotting. If you go now (any time between June and September), you can see southern right whales swimming within a hundred metres of Logans Beach. There’s a viewing platform in the dunes where you can watch the majestic creatures from. Then there’s Tower Hill Reserve – a short drive from town – which fills the crater of a dormant volcano. The crater has created a sanctuary where kangaroos, koalas and emus have populated the bush around a chain of crater lakes for many thousands of years.
Castlemaine: Castlemaine might have been a boomtown in its gold rush years, but it’s now a calm place to take walks in nature. There’s Castlemaine Botanical Gardens, which is one of the oldest botanic gardens in Victoria and home to an idyllic lake, old elm trees and river red gums. The 3 acres of gardens at the Buda Historic Home and Garden (built all the way back in 1863 by silversmith Ernest Leviny) are open every day to the public. If you’re up for a bigger hike, head into Kalimna Park's bushland, which is home to more than two dozen different orchid species.
Kyneton: Not far from Castlemaine, this little town features a similar style of bluestone architecture. On the banks of the Campaspe River that runs through the centre of town, you’ll find Kyneton Botanic Gardens (established in 1858). The Campaspe River Walk takes you three kilometres along the river from the gardens, passing a sculpture park to Piper Street, which has cafes and small stores in historic old buildings.
Portland: Did you know Portland was Victoria’s first permanent European settlement? If you love roses, head to Portland Botanic Gardens, which showcases 300 varieties of roses and 130 types of dahlias. Established in the 1850s, it’s one of Victoria’s oldest botanic gardens. Then there’s Cape Bridgewater, 20 minutes from town, which features a petrified forest, sea cliffs carved into blowholes, and Australia's largest mainland fur-seal colony, which you can observe from the walking track on the clifftop above.
Echuca: The name Echuca comes from an Aboriginal word meaning “meeting of the waters”, a reference to its location near the junction of the Campaspe and Goulburn rivers with the Murray River. The historic port is charmingly preserved, with its wharves and bond stores still intact, and paddle steamers tied up along the river. You can take a short river cruise on the PS Alexander Arbuthnot, or for a longer trip, take the PS Emmylou for a multi-night cruise. Nearby, you’ll find Barmah National Park, which, together with NSW’s Millewa forests across the river, is the largest river red gum forest in the world.
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