Mirboo North in South Gippsland, only a couple of hours’ drive from Melbourne, is the perfect weekend escape for anybody and everybody regardless of the vehicle and camper combination.
I honestly can’t think of anything more fun than a weekend away, freshly brewed beer on tap, top friends and great food to boot. This is how we spent our first evening in Mirboo North at the Grand Ridge Brewery sampling their award winning wares.
There is a story behind this event which just happened to coincide with Jane’s birthday. Jane and I had found ourselves with some vouchers to go to the Melbourne show. As it was the first time heading to the show since the kids were young, we decided to head in for the day. Now anyone who knows me, knows I like brewed beer and will often try beers on tap from local breweries while travelling so it’s not surprising that we found ourselves at the Grand Ridge Brewery stand tasting away merrily. To cut a long story short, we took advantage of their beer and accommodation show bag on offer for a couple of nights’ accommodation and beer sampling.
While we were at the show, we called up two close couples and in the end we bought them a package each and within a short time our weekend was planned. We had never been to Mirboo North. It turned out to offer more than we thought and it makes a great weekend escape, especially if you like beer, snails and murals!
After we checked into our accommodation on the Friday arvo it was shanks’ pony as we strolled from one end of town to the other and got a workout to boot. This place has a lot of history behind it and was gazetted as a town back in 1885. Back then the population was around 1100 people and logging was a growing industry. Of course the lush fertile soils also made it perfect land for farmers and so dairy farms soon also became a major industry in the area. In 2006 the population was recorded as 2,688. The thing I really liked about this town was the friendliness of the people, the cleanliness and the great public park running the full length of the main street.
Some readers may recall my column in the June 2015 issue about the best iced coffee in Oz. Well that gastronomical delight was experienced at the In Line 4 Café in the main street of Mirboo North. This biker café which celebrates all things bike was a great spot for lunch, they do dinners as well, and the themed décor was fascinating and the owners and staff very chatty.
One event now being held in town is called the Blessing of the Bikes. This amazing European tradition has been brought to Oz by the owners of the In Line 4 Café and is running again on the 10th October 2015. They had around 3000 bikes turn up for the inaugural event in 2014 and expect 5000 plus this year. It will be an amazing experience for non-bikers as well as bikers who love celebrating life on two-wheels.
Other attractions in town include the rail line from Morwell to Mirboo North which was completed in early 1886 as a way to get goods into town and timber out. It was shut down in June 1974 and is now a great, approximately 13km walking and cycling trail called the Mirboo North – Boolarra Rail Trail and is a feature attraction for tourists.
The 2009 black Saturday bush fires decimated so much of Victoria and its force was felt in this area as well. One of the more heart-rending or heart-warming, depending on how you look at it, stories from that time was Sam the Koala. Sam was made famous by accepting water from a CFA firefighter called David Tree, who had been involved in back burning around Mirboo North a week before the devastating day. Sam became a recognizable face for survivors of the Black Saturday fires and passed away in 2009.
A popular drive From Mirboo North is the Grand Ridge Road which runs through the mighty Strzelecki Ranges and covers some 130 kilometres of winding bush roads through tall timber and fern gullies. Along the way are markers sign posting the historic sites of schools and other buildings. This is a great drive for history buffs. We spent a day touring The Grand Ridge Road, working out where some of the buildings were and just enjoying some of this amazing scenery!
We picked our weekend well as the Mirboo North monthly market falls on the last Sunday of the month and it was a ripper. We stuffed back packs full of local produce and sampled tons more and all within walking distance of our house stay. It was a great morning outing as the locals and tourists alike meandered through town, smiling, waving and chatting away with friends. It was a lovely atmosphere.
Murals A-plenty
I have been a fan of town wall murals since I first travelled through Tassie and I was pleasantly surprised to find out Mirboo North has loads of murals around the town. These ranged from the old Holden on the service station wall to 3D planes flying over fields. Murals are a great way to show Australia’s history and convey a sense of what a town was like before technology caught up. There aren’t too many spare walls left around the town and it makes the walk amongst the locals fun as they laugh at tourists stopping to take pics and talking about the huge pictures.
Local artist Dennis Leversha, has been painting town murals for many years and was responsible for the murals in Mirboo North as well as many more throughout the Gippsland area.
Other Stuff To Do
Our time in Mirboo North didn’t include a snail treat at Café’ Escargot however this working snail farm is on the agenda for our return trip.
We stopped briefly at the picnic area of Lyrebird Walk. The rain was settling in and we opted to stay in the warm comfort of the Cruiser rather than do the walk itself. From all accounts it’s a beautiful walk that meanders through eucalypts and other trees down to the river and through ferns that are stunning. There are lots of birds to spot including the lyrebird and plenty of animals from echidnas to wallabies to see. Again this is ear marked for another weekend away.
Around Mirboo North there are so many bush and coastal towns to explore that this adventure could go on for weeks and weeks. Alas Sunday afternoon came and we pointed the Cruiser back towards Melbourne. This trip had given us so much more than we were expecting that we’ll be heading back again to see all the things that we couldn’t cram into our first weekend.
Mirboo North can be accessed easily off the Princes Highway between Trafalgar to Morwell or from the South Gippsland Highway around Leongatha. The town is roughly 150km south east of Melbourne.
There are all major services plus a variety of accommodation from bush camping to various caravan parks throughout the area.
2WD – This trip is easy to do in a 2WD.
4WD – There are plenty of tracks to explore throughout this area with easy bitumen access to the town.
Motorhome – There was a plethora of motorhomes passing through the town and plenty of parking to handle the larger units.
Caravan & Camper Trailer – There are some stunning caravan parks in the area where you can leave the van or camper behind and go exploring.
Motorbike – There are lots of fun roads in this area for bikers, both powered and with leg power!
Websites and Contacts
Mirboo North Country – www.mirboonorth.vic.au
Parks Vic – 13 19 63, www.parkweb.vic.gov.au
CFA – www.cfa.vic.gov.au
Victorian Bushfire Information – 1800 240 667