The Yarra Valley, Victoria
An Antipodean travel company serving World Travellers since 1983. Explore the sights and history of the Yarra Valley, with its rich epicurean traditions, world class wineries, and serene natural landscapes, the Yarra Valley is one of Victoria’s most popular highlights. Odyssey offers small group tours for mature and senior travellers, couples, and solo travelers to Australia and Victoria.
History
The Yarra River or ‘Birrarung’, as it is known to indigenous Australians, has been a site of aboriginal habitation for over 30,000 years, with the waters of the river serving as the region’s lifeblood. The ‘s name in its indigenous tongue means the “Place of Mists and Shadows”, with the river being carved into the land by an ancient ancestral creator spirit known as ‘Bunjil’ the wedge tailed eagle. The colonial history of the has its origins as Melbourne’s bread basket, with an agricultural heritage the stretches back to earliest periods of settlement in the region, with the cool climate and abundant freshwater making it the ideal climate for growing a wide variety of crops, as well as for grazing and animal agriculture. The population boom of Victoria’s gold rush era saw the region grow further in importance, with the serving to feed the vast influx of migrants from interstate and across the world, as well as being one of the largest timber producing regions in the state. Many old tunnels can be found around the dating back to this time period, with larger ones around Warburton or Warrandyte noting the passage of this iconic moment in Victorian history.
The significance of viticulture in the dates back to 1838, with the Ryrie brothers planting their own at a site called Yering station, now known as Chateau Yering. began to grow in popularity over the ensuing decades, with Yering station even winning a Grand Prix at the 1889 Paris exhibition, the only from the southern hemisphere to do so. Despite these early successes, the essentially ceased to exist following the onset of the Great Depression in the early 20th century, with almost the entirety of production grinding to a halt, and the land converted to other uses such as pastures. This was largely driven by changing consumer preferences in the economically constrained environment, with many Australians opting for far cheaper fortified wines, rather than the more expensive ones coming out of the . The period of economic depression and ensuing decade of war left the region’s making heritage devastated, with viticulture being absent until its revival beginning in the early 1960s. The subsequent decades saw the introduction of many of today’s familiar names such as Chateau Yarrina (now ), , Yarra Ridge, Punt Road, and many more, this revival period even saw French champagne makers Moet et even establishing an Australian base at Coldstream in 1986, known as ‘Domaine ‘. Today the is a tremendously popular destination for travellers coming from Melbourne, or from further abroad, with the numerous , and tours providing a perfect escape from the hustle and bustle of Melbourne’s city life.
Travelling to the
There are numerous ways to explore the , though with the relatively lacking public transport, it’s probably best to arrange car or coach transport, the latter of which being particularly useful if you opt for a . Some of the main towns in the include , Yarra Glen, Coldstream, and Warburton, all of which are a convenient distance away from one another, making exploring the region as a whole a relatively easy exercise. You could even choose to visit the on a day trip, which at only an hour outside of the city makes it the perfect place to go out for , or a snacking plate of and , surrounded by the serene landscape of Victoria’s country. Some of the more famous vineyards you might find on a include names such as , , , Punt Road, or Domaine , though for the enthusiast you can find an enormous variety, with the over 80 wineries in the region offering a range of boutique experiences to suit your taste. During a you’ll also want to stop by , as well as for some delightful culinary treats, both being located nearby to each other in the town of Yarra Glen, and adding chocolate and ice cream to the list of specialty treats the holds. Another point of interesting along the way is the TarraWarra Museum of Art, which houses a private collection of figurative, abstract and landscape paintings from Australian and Indigenous Australian artists. Odyssey visits the as part of its of Victoria, exploring Yarra Glen on our around the state. One of the best ways to explore the and the surrounding region is through a . Odyssey specialises in this kind of , offering and engaged, and intimate to the ideal for seniors, solo travellers, or couples heading to Victoria and the .
