How to spend a weekend away at the Murray River
The New South Wales border lifts next week, so start planning that outdoorsy, food-filled family weekend away to the Murray.
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FOOD AND DRINK
A weekend away to the Murray doesn’t have to be spent on the river.
One alternative is to visit the many cellars door and restaurants on either side of the Victorian and New South Wales border.
There’s Trentham Estate at Trentham Cliffs near Mildura, on the New South Wales side, which specialises in growing Italian grape varieties. The restaurant offers outdoor dining for lunch only on Friday, Saturday and Sunday. Morrisons Riverview Winery in Moama, also in New South Wales, brews its own beer and ciders. If you want to dine on the river, the PS Emmylou paddle-steamer also has lunch and dinner cruises. If you’re staying in Mildura, find time to dine at Italian restaurant Stefano’s by Stefano de Pieri.
Eat produce plucked from Mallee farms at Spoons Riverside near Swan Hill, for either breakfast or lunch, Wednesday to Sunday. You can also buy goods from a range of local producers here.
Fruit fresh from the fields can be bought at streetside stalls and farmers markets. The Hume Murray Farmers in Wodonga is one worth visiting as is the fortnightly Sunraysia Farmers’ Market in Mildura. If you can’t decide on what foodie adventure to follow — try the Farm Gate Trail or Echuca Moama Food and Wine Trail. On Saturday November 28, Perricoota hosts its progressive wine event — Pop and Pour Festival, showcasing the best food, wine and beer of the Echuca and Moama region.
ACCOMMODATION
Boutique hotel Sebel opened at Silverwoods 18-hole championship golf course near Lake Mulwala on November 1. Not only can you play a round of golf here, but the resort also has an events space perfect for weddings, lakeside rooms, a gym, day spa and places to eat including bistro Stock and Barrel and fine dining restaurant Elizabeth’s (currently closed). For families, there’s BIG4 Riverside in Swan Hill where you can take the caravan, pitch a tent or stay in the on-site cabins or yurts.
Stay on the river by renting a houseboat fromAll Season Houseboats, departing from Mildura Marina. Or ramp up the luxury and book a Boatel (boat hotel) which sleeps ten adults across five bedrooms and includes a BBQ, dining room and if you fancy, you can hire an on-board chef to prepare your meals.
EXPERIENCES
DAY-TRIPS
Lake Tyrrel is worth a detour on your way to or from the Murray. The 120,000-year-old lake is perfect for star gazing. Mungo National Park, north of Mildura in New South Wales, is another the 90-minute drive north where you’ll see the ancient dunes known as the Great walls of China. Cactus Country, in Strathmerton near Yarrawonga, is home to more than 10,000 varieties of cactuses and succulents.
GOLF
If golfing is your vice, try Yarrawonga’s Black Bull Golf Club which wraps around the waters of Lake Mulwala. Commercial Golf Resort in Albury has tree-lined fairways and well-placed bunkers, Corowa Golf Club is a super 27-hole championship course, while Yarrawonga Mulwala Golf Club Resort is a mammoth three-course, 45-hole club.
HISTORY
Learn something new at Swan Hill’s Pioneer Settlement, a living museum that recreates life as it was in days gone by. At dusk daily you can watch the Heartbeat of the Murray laser light show here, which projects stories from prehistoric times onto the river. Albury’s 5kmYindyamarra Sculpture Walkfeatures 11 sculptures, created by local indigenous artists, scattered along the Wagirra Trail near the Murray River.
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