This is going to seem odd but I am thinking of doing a long way round trip by public transport from Sydney to Melbourne next school holidays. We do this trip regularly by car or plane and usually take the most direct route - although have done the coastal route once or twice. My son hasn't done many train or coach trips and is quite keen on the idea. According to what I could piece together from the NSW and Vic trains websites, I could get a train from Sydney to Griffith, then get a coach to Mildura, another coach to Swan Hill, then a coach to Bendigo and a train to Melbourne. I have never been to any of these towns apart from Bendigo (quite a few times, really like it) and Swan Hill (school camp, can't really remember much) so trying to work out if this is a crazy idea or not. Is there much (anything) to do in places like Mildura, Griffith and Swan Hill without a car? Another possible option would be to train it to Griffith and Mildura and then fly to Melbourne (Skyscanner shows tickets for $95pp).
I've not been to Griffith, but it is meant to be a nice country town with good restaurants and nearby wineries (assuming you can get to the wineries without a car). http://www.griffith.nsw.gov.au/cp_content/resources/Wineries.pdf
Mildura is an interesting place, because of the Stefano empire - it now has some very good restaurants and cafes, and is right on the Murray. It's also a great base for the fascinating Mungo National Park, though, again, you'd need a tour or hire car for the day to see this - it's about a 90 minute drive away. Fascinating, and we enjoyed the town.
Swan Hill we didn't give much time. Nice bridge across the Murray, but it's more a regional centre than a tourist town. You could skip this. If you can somehow get to Echuca, that is much more interesting with its old buildings and paddle wheel heritage. http://www.echucamoama.com/
Both Bendigo and Ballarat are great places to spend a day or two - both now have a great emphasis on good cafes and restaurants, and some fantastic buildings, museums and galleries.
You can get a bus/train combination from Mildura to Melbourne via Bendigo.
Oh, Mungo National Park is a great idea! I have always wanted to go there and didn't realise it was so close to Mildura. I think I might try for public transport to Mildura, hire a car for a day and then fly to Melbourne from there. I can always do day trips to Bendigo and Ballarat from Melbourne (have access to a car there) and save Echuca for another trip. Thank you!
Or, you could do this tour which is highly regarded. http://harrynanyatours.com.au/
If you do hire a car, it may need to be a 4WD as most places won't let you drive a standard vehicle on the dirt roads, and most of the road to Mungo is a dirt road (a good one though).
There are picnic tables, but I don't recall there being a cafe at the visitor centre so bring your own food.
However, there is a lodge nearby which does meals, and has a small shop http://mungolodge.com.au/mungo-lodge-facilities/
In Mildura there's the Mildura Grand, Stefano's, and, beast of all, Stefano's cafe (great breakfasts, coffee and cakes).
If Stefano is there he will sign his cookbook for you!
Great, thanks. I actually think I saw something about those tours on ABC Landline. Will have to see if I can find.
Sounds like a great trip. I did my first trip Melbourne with my mother some good few decades ago as a mixture of trains and planes from country NSW. Wonderful memories.
The train from Sydney to Griffith operates on Saturdays only, it is the Canberra service which divides at Goulburn (process is over with before you know it). A child fare is just $1 when travelling with a full fare adult from the same household. Trains are clean and well maintained throughout the journey. They have a good selection of foods including hot items at the buffet.
Just check on the NSWTrainlink website that the train is operating on the day you intend to travel, sometimes due to track work they are replaced by coaches.
Thanks for that, Wayoutback. You have solved the mystery of why the Griffith service wasn't showing up when I was searching on the NSW trains website. The $1 deal is great. Definitely an incentive to do some exploration by train while he is still the right age. Also contemplating Lightning Ridge and Bourke for other trips.
bear in mind there's a couple of trains a day from swan hill to melbourne via bendigo.. no need to catch a bus for that part of the journey.
as a teenager my favorite thing to do in mildura was to hire a canoe on the river, also you could go on a paddle steamer trip, if they still have them, if not then just a boat trip..
also see if the old slot racing car place is still there down along the tracks fro the station.
and the notable thing about griffith, if no one else has mentioned this, is that the street layout is similar to canberra.
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