Warragul @kelsey_aussiemom

Warragul is approximately 100km from Melbourne and a great place for a first pit stop. The town lies between the Strzelecki Ranges and Tarra-b National Park and Mount Baw Baw Plateau with its winter sport activities. Warragul is a great weekend getaway in its own right for exploring the nearby National Parks. For wine lovers there are several vineyards such as Brandy Creek Estate that will welcome visitors. The West Gippsland Arts Centre is located in Warragul.

DURATION ONE HOUR

Yarragon ploughman’s Lunch

Antique shops, craft shops, galleries and cafes offer a leisurely lunch and a spot of retail therapy. For families the Gippy Goat Cafe is a great spot for children as the goats are milked and fed in front of visitors. The food is classic ploughman’s platter style. Yarragon makes for an ideal afternoon stop. If you can manage an afternoon tea Yarragon has a number of cafes who would love to offer you a spot of tea and cake for the road.

DURATION ONE HOUR

Aberfeldy River, Baw Baw National Park

Your afternoon drive is taking you through the winding roads of the Baw Baw National Park. Perhaps one of the most scenic drives in Australia. The road is fringed with tall forests of mountain ash (eucalyptus), blackwood trees, tree ferns cascading down valleys and climbing up slopes providing vistas and backdrops around every corner. It is very difficult to find a safe park for the delicious photo moments. You will be tempted though so be safe and check behind you first for oncoming traffic.

SCENIC DRiVE 1-½ hours

Yarragon to Walhalla driving route:

Walhalla Star Hotel @elenasantopietrophotography

You have reached your destination. Walhalla, Stringers Creek Valley, Great Dividing Range.

Overnight Walhalla, recommended accommodation is the historic Walhalla Star Hotel Walhalla and Mountain Rivers. However there are numerous options in Walhalla from accommodation focused on spa and food experiences to camping grounds.

Walhalla gold mine tour

Walhalla Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine tour. Don the hardhat and spend an hour exploring the tunnel and learning about what it was like to be a prospector in the nineteenth century. You will hear stories of how the mine has a brick chimney to circulate air, the only such structure in Australia and the stories of hardship for the miners who hoped to strike gold.

Walhalla historic Post Office, @commons.wikimedia.org

Walhalla historic Post Office and Residence is open for self-guided tours. The building is largely intact since it was built in 1886. Ethnographic exhibits enable visitors to imagine the Post Office in the heyday. The building is now registered with Victorian Heritage Register and the National Register. It is the only original public building remaining in the town. Remember to check out the original wallpaper which has its own significant rating.

Open only on the weekends.

Donations are welcome.

Walhalla train forest view

You are surrounded by National Parks, forests and walks. For the avid walker various Park websites will provide you with a wealth of information about track conditions and the grade of the track. Accommodation providers in Walhalla have extensive collections of walking maps and walking trails.

• Old Tramway Track (3.2km) Returning from the Tramway walk entrance
• Tramline walk provides a birds eye view of the township. The walk is best accessed after the Long Tunnel Mine as you are effectively walking downhill towards Walhall.

Overnight Walhalla at the historic Star Hotel.

Tyers Lookout @visitgippsland

Photo moment

Tyers Lookout (Tyers-Walhalla Road) has interpretive signage that locates you on a 360 degrees topographical map installation (even telling you you’re 800km from Adelaide). It’s a brilliant overview of where you are in the landscape. This is the lookout tourist buses pull into for instagram selfie moments for their passengers.

DURATION 15 minutes

Tarra-bulga wild mushrooms

Tarra Bulga National Park is one of only four major areas of cool temperate rainforest in the state. Picnic under a mountain ash in the Tarra Bulga Picnic area, just off the Grand Ridge Road, or the Tarra Valley picnic area off Tarra Valley Road. Both spots are set amongst the giant mountain ash and shady fronds of tree ferns and offer picnic and toilet facilities.

Corrigans Suspension Bridge

There are numerous walking trails. Try out one of the walking tracks that radiate from the picnic areas. Meander through the forest, head south down to Tarra Falls, or take the Fern Gully Nature Walk, which includes magnificent views along the famous suspension bridge.

Fern Gully Nature Walk

At the Tarra-Bulga National park, walk from the car park near the Visitor’s Centre down to the suspension bridge. It is a fifteen minute easy walk. There are numerous walking tracks radiating from the picnic areas. The Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk is a short and easy walk taking in Cyathea Falls and the Fern Gully Nature Walk, passes over Corrigan’s Suspension Bridge, which stretches through the rainforest canopy with views of the fern gully below.

DURATION 1 HOUR

Corrigan’s Suspension Bridge is an instagram favourite. Photo moment here, selfie on suspension bridge. The views over the bridge are dizzying in their scope and depth of forest and water swirling below.

Tarra-Bulga Guest House @tarrabulgaguesthouse

Overnight Tarra-Bulga National Park at Tarra-Bulga Guest House and Cafe. Simple clean rooms with the sound of birds accompanying my overnight stay. It is a small hotel in a former post office, close to a number of walking tracks in the National Park. The rooms are simple yet spotlessly clean and cozy. The Internet is patchy however you are nestled within a forest setting. Enjoy the evening without wifi.

Agnes Falls, Strzelecki Ranges

Waterfall enthusiasts rejoice, Agnes, at 59 metres, is the highest single span falls in Victoria. There is a short 200m track, from the carpark to the falls viewing area. There are plenty of seats to relax and absorb views of the gorge. A perfect spot for your picnic lunch.

Agnes Falls Scenic Reserve is home to a protected remnant of the forests that once covered the Strzelecki Ranges. Tall Southern Blue Gums, with Blackwood and Silver Wattles grow within the sheltered gorge and along the banks of the Agnes River. The falls microclimate of cool moisture supports an understory of Hazel Pomaderris, Blanket-Leaf, Dogwood, Prickly Moses, Clematis and a ground cover of ferns. Birds and wildlife viewing could include, the Eastern yellow robin, Grey fantails and Laughing kookaburra call this forest their home. And the Crimson rosella is a natural scavenger of your picnic lunch.

Long Jetty Foreshore Caravan Park @seanbarlowphoto

Overnight Port Welshpool in Long Jetty Foreshore Caravan Park.  An excellent source of local knowledge about what to see and how to get there.

From Agnes Falls it is 15 minute drive to your overnight stay at Port Welshpool:

Nooraumnga Coastal Park

Nooramunga Marine and Coastal Park is an alternative for those who are cautious about boat cruises. Nooramunga Sailing Tours offer a tour of the quiet waters of the coastal Park with its intricate network of waterways, islands, sandbanks. Wilsons Promontory is a landmark fixture in this shallow waters. Intertidal mudflats are a bird watchers destination.

Flathead fish @flatheadfishingaustralia

The sheltered waters and inlets are feeding grounds for snapper, King George Whiting, Flathead fish and Garfish. And, of course there is always the local jetty to fish from. It is a favourite local destination for anglers. Check out fishing mad’s comments.

Wilsons Promontory @elizasum

A classic, Wilsons Promontory is just around the corner. Spend the day exploring walks and trails in the Prom. Wilsons Prom is 86km from Welshpool here is a map to get you to one of your favourite spots in Victoria.

Overnight Port Welshpool and perhaps extend your stay by another night as you could not quite fit everything in.

Journey map: Welshpool to Wilsons Prom