The Murray (Victoria)
The Murray is a large and unique region along the northern edge of Victoria, Australia.
Other destinations
Understand
The Murray region follows the Murray River for much of its length, also bordering New South Wales to the north and South Australia to the west.
Within the region, a number of distinct subregions exist. The Mallee describes an arid area in the west, crossing the South Australian border. Sunraysia is a sunny, farming region in the north-west, also spanning territory in New South Wales. The Goulburn Valley is a fertile farming region in the south-eastern area.
Get in
By car
From Melbourne, the M79/A79 route takes you to Mildura, the M39/A39 takes you to the far east of the region like Shepparton. The B400 and B12 routes run through the Murray and Mallee regions.
By train
The Victorian state railway operator V/line has two train lines that link the Murray region to Melbourne: these lines terminate Swan Hill and Echuca. A map of the V/line can be found here
By coach
V/line also runs coaches to places not linked by train lines, such as Mildura, Ouyen, and Robinvale. The V/line map also shows coach services.
Get around
Since the trains mostly connect the towns of Echuca and Swan Hill with Melbourne, the V/line coaches that connect various towns in the Murray region will be useful. However schedules are fairly limited so it will be extremely beneficial if you have access to a car.
See
The area is sometimes thought to be part of the outback, but the outback does not make its way to Victoria at all, but this area is still very dry, and with little rainfall.
As the name of the region says, the region is along side the Murray River, the longest river in Australia and making some various points along the river to see, most notably in Mildura.
Sunsets in this region are particularly renowned for their beauty. Ask the locals for their favourite scenic spots.
Do
There are numerous hiking trails within the region, with the most being in Murray Sunset National Park. However, other parts of the state have more hiking opportunities. Likewise mountain biking trails are available but are less common than in other parts of Victoria.
Eat
Most food in the region is simple and generally consists of steaks, lamb chops, beef and other basics and most importantly, the classic meat pie, just like in any other country Australian region. However, it can be difficult for a vegetarian to find a decent meal in many outback towns because many countrysiders don't get this "urban affliction". The sole exception is Mildura, since it's a decently sized city it has more options.