3 days in the Yarra Valley

Lace up your walking shoes and tackle the 1,000 Steps Kokoda Track Memorial Walk. It’s challenging, but staggeringly beautiful. Your route is swathed in rainforest that leads to clearings with views back to the city. 

You’re spoilt for choice when it comes to cool-climate gardens in this pocket of Victoria. Botanic gardens, arboretums and sanctuaries boast hundreds of tree species, thousands of flowers and a kaleidoscope of colour.

Animal encounters await at Healesville Sanctuary. These expansive grounds protect more than 200 species of native animals and birdlife. Spy reclusive platypus and feisty Tasmanian devils, or take a treetop boardwalk to see koalas.

The 4km (2.5mi) Cumberland Walk in the Yarra Ranges National Park offers a glimpse into the region’s gold and logging history. Along the way you’ll encounter a 400-year-old eucalypt and Steavenson Falls, one of Victoria’s highest waterfalls.

Enjoy a lofty perspective with a sunrise hot air balloon flight over the Yarra Valley’s patchwork of vineyards, farmland and forest. Return for a Champagne breakfast at Balgownie Estate Vineyard, featuring some of the finest local produce.

Victoria’s oldest wine region is home to some pretty storied cellar doors, not in the least those at Rochford Wines, Oakridge Wines, Giant Steps and Innocent Bystander. Most estates also have excellent restaurants onsite. 

Continue your wine tasting at Domaine Chandon, famed for its cool-climate sparkling wine. Here you can meet with winemakers, tour the property and learn how the history of French Champagne teams up with Australian expertise.

Leave the car at your hotel and join a fun-fuelled Yarra Valley tasting experience with Cycling Vine Tours. See the region at a relaxed pace while sampling produce from farms, vineyards and gourmet stores. Look out for kangaroos and cockatoos, among other native wildlife. 

One of Australia’s pioneering distillers, Four Pillars Gin, calls the Yarra Valley home. Book in for a gin tasting and masterclass, or simply sip a cocktail while enjoying snacks infused with – you guessed it – more gin.

Yarra Valley Dairy occupies a century-old milking shed, and still employs age-old traditions when making its award-winning cheeses. Drop in to try the range of mature, marinated and fresh cheeses made from both goat’s and cow’s milk.

Things grow well in the Yarra Valley’s lush fields. That’s good news, whether you’re visiting a farm-to-fork restaurant or a farmgate. Depending on the time of year, you can pick everything from cherries and peaches to plums and strawberry guavas.

In the village of Olinda, you can’t go past the Only Mine Chocolate Factory. Watch chocolatiers create masterful morsels, then order homemade fudge, hot drinks and blocks to take home. Then, grab a delicious scoop at Yarra Valley Chocolaterie & Ice Creamery. 

Splash out on a multi-course degustation at Eleonore’s Restaurant within the Chateau Yering Hotel and work your way through the modern Australian fine-dining menu. The best part? You can stay overnight at this five-star heritage homestead.

Australia’s best preserved steam train, Puffing Billy chugs 24km (15mi) amid soaring mountain ash and over timber bridges, pausing at small-town railway stations. You can even arrange a gourmet lunch onboard with matched wines. 

Drive deep into the lush forest of the Yarra Valley, where wide palm leaves pass by and towering trees rise above you. The scenic drive is short, but you’ll feel immersed in nature as the fragrance of the Australian bush wafts through your windows.

You could spend days browsing the antique emporiums and specialist stores in the Yarra Valley’s villages. Olinda is particularly special when it comes to shopping. You’ll find everything from art galleries to homewares shops.

Appreciate both local art and wine at the TarraWarra Museum of Art, where you can sample award-winning pinot noir and chardonnay along with seasonal art exhibitions. Look forward to innovative shows in a dramatic architect-designed building.