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The ultimate two-day Echuca Moama itinerary for families

Hannah Ralph Hannah Ralph
Couples can steal a romantic getaway, solo travellers can embrace the wild, but it’s with families that this riverside region truly thrives.

Disneyland isn’t the only place made for family fun: two little river towns straddling Victoria and New South Wales are doing just as good at providing lifelong memories for the whole gang – and on a fraction of the budget, too. Don’t believe us? Keep reading and let our two-day family itinerary in Echuca Moama show off the smorgasbord of activities on offer. We bet you’ll end up having just as much fun as the kids.

In short

Echuca Moama is jam-packed with family activities, but in a world of ever-shortening attention spans, we have to commend TwistED Science for keeping even the fidgetiest kids entertained and curious for hours on end.

Day one

Morning

horse riding at Billabong Ranch, Echuca Moama
Billabong Ranch hosts horse riding experiences for families. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Echuca Moama’s many holiday parks – a play-filled world unto themselves – are perfect for giving little ones the chance to make friends (while giving parents a chance to catch their breath). Wake up in a riverside cabin and head to Johnny and Lyle’s for a breakfast of champions; they even have outdoor sand pits, in case they get bored of their pancakes. Then it’s off to Billabong Ranch , which we might argue has too much to do. Strap in for a gentle pony ride, race around the islands of its pedal boat dam in your own little vessel, scale the 30-metre-long climbing wall or pop balloons at the indoor archery range.

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Midday

sweet treats on display inside Echuca Heritage Sweet Co.
Echuca Heritage Sweet Co. is worth a stop for kids and the young at heart who have a sweet tooth.

For most kids, you can’t get a dreamier afternoon than a trip to McDonald’s and the local lolly shop – luckily, Echuca’s high street has both, with a particularly fine example of the latter: Echuca Heritage Sweet Co . is nothing short of a town legend. After everyone’s fed and watered, it’s off for a hike through the towering gum trees starting at the Kerrabee Sound Shell and ending in a splash around at Moama Beach, a sandy bank that passes under the mighty bridge linking Victoria and New South Wales. Locals will tell you that the water, while famously brown-ish, is crystal clear and swimmable, with the colouration derived from the river bank, not the water quality. You’ll also spot a BBQ area, in case a riverside picnic is calling. Nearby, the Moama Adventure Play Park is a mini-kingdom of equipment, which makes for a neat 30 minutes of play before dinner.

Evening

the EMBR signage in Echuca Moama
Step into Embr for authentic Italian bites.

The new Wildergreen precinct, hiding in plain sight within Moama’s Bowling Club , has pulled off the impossible: an upscale dining destination that’s also tailored to families. Its flagship Italian restaurant, Embr , has the most moreish pizzas and slurpable pastas, with a side serving of Enzo the cartoon fox. Better yet, a sprawling playground full of slides and trampolines sits right outside, as does Wildergreen’s top-tier kids’ club, Treehouse , with the towering sculptural tree at its heart. After dark, join a spooky, lantern-lit tour of the Old Port of Echuca, where theatrical ghost stories and fascinating town history come to life on Wednesday and Saturday nights.

Day two

Morning

a couple buying veggies at one of the stalls in Echuca Farmers Market
Shop farm-fresh produce at Echuca Farmers Market. (Image: Timothy Harley)

This time, we’ll have breakfast over in Moama – 3 Black Sheep lays on cracking dishes, great coffee and long tables for big groups. Plus, it has a sprawling lawn so the young ones can burn off some steam. A 30-minute bus ride or 10-minute car journey away is TwistED Science , where you should be prepared to lose hours on its legion of interactive exhibits – from paper-plane catapults to Lego walls, reptile petting sessions, climbing walls and more engrossingly bonkers bits and pieces than we can name. If you’re here on a Saturday, do your best to make time for a trip to the nearby Echuca Farmers Market , purveyors of local treats.

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Midday

kayaking on Murray River
Go kayaking on the ancient Murray River. (Image: Visit Victoria)

Once you’ve had lunch at whichever local eatery has best caught your eye – Hammond Bakery whips up some cracking takeaway options – there’s only one thing to do with a sprawling, sunny afternoon – and that’s get on the river. But this time, we’re leaving the paddle steamers to the history enthusiasts and jumping over to Jess and the team at Echuca Moama Stand Up Paddle SUP for some splashy fun. Most tours take you down about 4–4.5 kilometres of river, where you’ll paddle downstream and attempt to stay upright, lest you join the fishes in the river. If kayaks and canoes are more your thing, head to Echuca Boat & Canoe Hire , which happily supplies both.

Evening

the Rich River Golf Club from above
Home to two 18-hole championship golf courses, the Rich River Golf Club is a dream for golfers. (Image: Visit Victoria)

If you’ve got adventurous palettes on your hands, Monkee and Co serves up the town’s finest Asian hawker-style fare – everything from pork soup dumplings to pork bánh mì sandwiches, beef short rib curries to popcorn chicken with chilli salt. And while you’ll notice they have a delectable dessert menu, this isn’t the place for dessert. No, save your sugar fix for the town’s famous gelateria, The Port Ice Creamery , which serves colourful scoops and shakes until 10pm. Should you still have juice in the tank, there are plenty of places to keep the fun going. Our favourite? The Rich River Golf Club which, also open until 10pm, has an 18-hole mini golf course that’ll see a healthy dose of family rivalry wrap up the trip.

Discover the best restaurants in Echuca Moama

Hannah Ralph
Hannah Ralph is an award-winning travel editor turned freelance writer. She’s currently chasing stories across Australia, until reality (and her inexplicable fondness for chilly British weather) demands a return to the UK, where her globe-trotting career began more than a decade ago. Following a formative start as Features Assistant at The Sunday Times Travel Magazine, Hannah went on to hone her aviation chops for several years on the British Airways editorial team, serving as Editor and Deputy Editor on numerous titles, including the flagship in-flight mag, High Life. She later returned to The Times and Sunday Times as an in-house Travel Writer. Now freelance, Hannah finds herself a roaming reporter with bylines for Mr & Mrs Smith, The Telegraph, Business Traveller UK, National Geographic Traveller, Eurostar’s Metropolitan magazine, and more. Her mission? To track down all of Australia’s greatest, most unforgettable stays – and live what might just be the most glamorous gap year yet.
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From coast to bush: these are Gippsland’s best hikes

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Video credit: Tourism Australia

    From coast to mountains, hiking in Gippsland offers a stunning array of landscapes, with trails that take you deep into the region’s heritage.

    I step out onto the sand and it cries out underfoot. Kweek! I take another step and there’s another little yelp. Screet! Picking up the pace, the sounds follow me like my shadow, all the way down to the water. It’s obvious how this spot got its name – Squeaky Beach – from the rounded grains of quartz that make the distinctive sounds under pressure.

    For many, Wilsons Promontory National Park is the gateway to Gippsland , and the best way to explore it is by walking its network of hiking trails, from coastal gems such as Squeaky Beach through to the bushland, among the wildlife. But it’s still just a taste of what you’ll find on foot in the region.

    Venture a bit further into Gippsland and you’ll discover the lakes, the rainforest, and the alpine peaks, each changing with the season and offering summer strolls or winter walks. Just like that squeaky sand, each step along these trails has something to tell you: perhaps a story about an ancient spirit or a pioneering search for fortune.

    The best coastal hikes in Gippsland

    sunset at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Wilsons Promontory National Park is a sprawling wilderness with many coastal bushland trails. (Image: Mark Watson)

    Wilsons Promontory National Park (or ‘The Prom’, as you’ll end up calling it) is an easy three-hour drive from Melbourne, but you might ditch the car when you arrive, with much of the park’s 50,000 hectares accessible only by foot. From the inky water of Tidal River (dyed dark purple by abundant tea trees), I like the easy walks along the coast, among lichen-laden granite boulders, to golden beaches and bays.

    a couple on Mount Oberon
    Panoramic views from the summit of Mount Oberon. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    The trail to the panoramic views at the summit of Mount Oberon is a bit harder, up steep timber and granite steps, but it’s a popular 6.8-kilometre return. The more remote hikes are found through the open banksia and stringybark woodland of the park’s north, or along the multi-day Southern Circuit , which ranges from about 35 to 52 kilometres, with sunrises and sunsets, kangaroos and cockatoos, and maybe even whales.

    a golden sand beach at Wilsons Promontory National Park
    Walk ‘The Prom’s’ golden sand beaches. (Image: Tourism Australia/Time Out Australia)

    You might also see whales on the George Bass Coastal Walk , even closer to Melbourne on the western edge of Gippsland. This dramatic seven-kilometre trail along the clifftops takes in sweeping views of the wild ocean, occasionally dipping down from grassy green hills to coastal gullies and a secluded beach. It also now links into the Bass Coast Rail Trail for an extra 14 kilometres.

    the George Bass Coastal Walk
    George Bass Coastal Walk trails for seven kilometres along clifftops. (Image: Visit Victoria/Time Out Australia)

    Over at the eastern edge of Gippsland, in Croajingolong National Park, you can wander along the lakeshores beneath koalas and around goannas (I keep my distance since one chased me here!). For those who are even more adventurous, the park is also the starting point for the 100-kilometre Wilderness Coast Walk , usually done over seven days.

    the Croajingolong National Park, Gippsland
    Wander along the lakeshores in Croajingolong National Park. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    The best bush hikes in Gippsland

    the Baw Baw National Park
    The alpine heath of Baw Baw National Park. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Deep in the Long Tunnel Extended Gold Mine at Walhalla, mining guide Richard tells me how this small town in the mountains east of Melbourne boomed when prospectors found gold here in 1862. These days, you’ll find most of the town’s treasure – its heritage – above ground, with the Walhalla Tramline Walk a wonderful way to explore it.

    Just seven kilometres long, the walk takes you through decades of Gold Rush history, following the original rail trail from lush bushland to the mining sites, and through the charming village of just 20 residents with its wooden cottages and old shopfronts adorned with turn-of-the-century advertising posters. Blazing a trail where trailblazers once opened up the region, this is also the starting point for the 650-kilometre Australian Alps Walking Track.

    Nearby, Baw Baw National Park has walks through gnarled snow gums and alpine heaths that show off the colourful wildflowers in summer and the pristine carpet of white in winter. Several trails are perfect for snowshoes, including a 45-minute route from St Gwinear up to vast views across the Latrobe Valley.

    Further up into the mountains, the Toorongo and Amphitheatre Falls Loop Walk is an easy 2.2-kilometre path that serenades you with the sound of flowing water as you pass mossy rocks and tree ferns en route to two sets of waterfalls cascading over boulders in the remote wilderness.

    The best cultural hikes in Gippsland

    the Mitchell River National Park, Gippsland
    Hike the Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    Across a pool in a natural sandstone amphitheatre, deep within a cave behind a waterfall, it’s said the Nargun has its lair. A fierce creature, half human and half stone, that abducts children and can’t be harmed by boomerangs or spears, the story of the Nargun has been told around the campfires of the local Gunaikurnai people for generations.

    As a culturally significant place for women, hikers are asked not to go into the Den of Nargun, but a 3.4-kilometre loop walk leads you through a rainforest gully to the entrance where you can feel the powerful atmosphere here in Mitchell River National Park , along Victoria’s largest remaining wild and free-flowing waterway.

    the bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park
    Bee-eaters at Mitchell River National Park. (Image: Parks Victoria/Grace Lewis)

    The Den of Nargun is part of the Bataluk Cultural Trail , a series of important traditional Gunaikurnai sites through central Gippsland. Another location is Victoria’s largest cave system, Buchan Caves Reserve, with trails to important archaeological sites of human artefacts up to 18,000 years old. The FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk includes the naturally sculpted white limestone steps of the 400-metre-long Federal Cave, while the Granite Pools Walk goes among tall timber and moss-covered gullies.

    the ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park
    The ancient rainforest of Tarra-Bulga National Park. (Image: Josie Withers)

    Also important to the Gunaikurnai people is Tarra-Bulga National Park , known for its ancient myrtle beeches and enormous mountain ash trees. Just 40 minutes return, the Tarra Valley Rainforest Walk offers a taste of this verdant landscape, while the Grand Strzelecki Track takes you deep into the lost world of forest giants on an epic 100-kilometre trail rich with tradition.

    A traveller’s checklist

    Staying there

    the WildernessRetreats in The Prom
    Wilderness Retreats in The Prom. (Image: Christian Pearson)

    Wilderness Retreats in Wilsons Promontory offers glamping-style tents with luxurious queen beds. Star Hotel is a reconstruction of a Gold Rush-era hotel from 1863 in the heart of heritage Walhalla. Caves House is a historic three-bedroom house with views over the Buchan River.

    Eating there

    the Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    Enjoy a post-hike lunch at Carrajung Estate. (Image: Everyday Nicky)

    Kilcunda General Store serves great coffee and meals of local produce at the George Bass Coastal Walk. Alpine Trout Farm is located near Toorongo Falls in Noojee. Fish for your own lunch and barbecue it with the provided cookware.

    Carrajung Estate is a short drive from Tarra-Bulga National Park. The winery’s restaurant offers a seasonal menu of regional ingredients and you can stay at The Lodge.

    a seafood feast at Carrajung Estate, Gippsland
    The table is set for a seafood feast at the estate.

    Video credit: Tourism Australia