The Noojee Trestle Bridge is Gippsland's best-kept secret

This easy walk leads you to the oldest remaining trestle bridge in Victoria.

An enchanting bridge straight from the pages of Three Billy Goats Gruff (minus the scary troll), the Noojee Trestle Bridge is a bona fide relic from the ‘olden days’. The best part? It’s only a 300-metre walk from the car park, shorter if you don’t complete the entire loop. No whingeing about tired legs here. Follow the rail trail into Noojee, where an old steam train and vintage dress-ups await.

What to expect when you visit

Boy admiring the waterfall near the Noojee Trestle Bridge — The enchanting bridge crossing is an easy walk for kids. (Credit: Supplied)

Forget cajoling the kids into walking with the promise of a reward at the end. Here, the attraction can be seen from the car park – a 21-metre-high wooden trestle bridge lording over a valley cocooned by towering mountain ash. The old railway bridge is one of the last remaining timber trestle bridges in Victoria and, despite its rickety appearance, welcomes foot traffic.

Take the steep steps on the right-hand side of the car park to the top of the bridge. Wander along the boards (the bridge is 102 metres long), stopping to take photographs and then loop back down the hill and finish where you started. There is a handrail and wire fencing, so you needn’t worry about little ones slipping through the railings, but be vigilant if you have a climber on your hands.

What is the Noojee Trestle Bridge famous for?

Crossing the Noojee Trestle Bridge in Gippsland — The Noojee Trestle Bridge is the oldest remaining in Victoria. (Credit: Supplied)

The original bridge was built more than a century ago, completed in 1919 as part of a 42.8-kilometre railway link between the timber town of Noojee and Warragul. Known as Number 7, it was the seventh (and today only remaining) bridge on the Noojee end of the line; affectionately nicknamed ‘Straight Bridge’ because of its comparatively subtle curve.

Twice ravaged by bushfires, the line was integral to Gippsland’s early logging boom, primarily transporting timber, but also livestock, produce and passengers for 35 years. It was decommissioned following a fire in March 1954 – just three weeks after a special train service brought passengers to Warragul for Queen Elizabeth II’s first Australian royal visit. Road haulage had steadily weakened demand, and the line was progressively dismantled, leaving just the Number 7 bridge. It was later bought by the former Buln Buln Shire in 1963 for the princely sum of one pound.

The bridge became a popular tourist attraction until safety concerns forced its closure in 1982. In the 1990s a restoration project was undertaken, replacing rotting timber foundations with concrete and repairing the 19 timber piles. It reopened in 1996 and today attracts about 10,000 visitors a year. Visitation peaked in 2005, when the bridge was lined with tables from end to end to host the ‘World’s Longest Lunch’ as part of the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. No such feat would be possible today, as it has a maximum capacity of 10 people, so say the signs. But don’t let that put you off – it’s a wonderful family outing.

Need tips, more detail or itinerary ideas tailored to you? Ask AT.

Is the Noojee Railway Station worth visiting, too?

Children in dress up beside the Noojee Steam Train — The heritage centre provides stationmaster vintage costumes and luggage to try. (Credit: Supplied)

If the kids are feeling particularly energetic, you can extend your walk, taking the old rail trail to Noojee (meaning ‘keeping place’ to the Traditional Owners). It’s a flat and slightly downhill two-kilometre amble (one way), finishing at the replica Noojee Railway Station. If you don’t have the stamina, there’s no shame in driving (we did).

Either way, don’t miss calling in to the Noojee Heritage Centre and Railway Goods Shed to learn more about the timber town, once the beating heart of a 70-kilometre network of wooden tramways ferrying timber from remote sawmills. The highlight is the 1950s J Class steam locomotive. Borrow some stationmaster vintage costumes and luggage from the heritage centre (a donation is appreciated), and let the kids scramble aboard. Admire the chainsaw-carved wooden sculptures on the platform and explore the old machinery. The reserve has a pleasant picnic area with hand-carved timber tables and public toilets.

The details

The 1950s J Class steam locomotive — Step aboard the1950s J Class steam locomotive. (Credit: Supplied)

Where is the Noojee Trestle Bridge?

The Noojee Trestle Bridge is in West Gippsland, about 130km east of Melbourne/Naarm. There’s a car park at the base, five kilometres west of Noojee on the Mount Baw Baw Tourist Rd.

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When is the best time to visit?

Warm and sunlit in summer, misty and atmospheric in winter – the bridge is a hit year-round. Check conditions ahead for bushfire risk.

What type of traveller should go?

Everyone, but it is an especially magical family day out.

More information

This is an edited extract from Ultimate Family Holidays Australia by Catherine Best, published by Hardie Grant Explore – out now. For more great ideas, you can order a copy here or at all major book retailers.

Tuck your napkin firmly in place and get ready to dive into Bendigo’s history.

It’s an internationally recognised fact that Bendigo food experiences prove this region knows how to wine and dine. After all, its shiraz-laden landscape was named Australia’s first UNESCO Creative City and Region of Gastronomy. But what visitors lured in by this shiny label might not know is how deeply its culinary scene sits within the gold-rush town’s colourful past.

Whether you’re eating in a grand colonial bank or nibbling through a gold miner’s garden, grab a big plate. In Bendigo, every meal is served with a huge helping of heritage.

Take a food tour

foodie walking tour in bendigo at Ms Batterhams restaurant Bendigo foodie experiences — Join a Foodie Walking Tour to local highlights like Ms Batterhams.

Start in the capable hands of Bendigo Guided Tours. Named as the 2025 Victorian Best New Tourism Business, they run two 12-person options. A Taste of Bendigo – Foodie Walking Tour will see you tasting seasonal dishes and sipping wine, craft beer and cocktails made with regional spirits over two-and-a-half hours, with stops at Ms Batterhams, Wine Bank on View, The Dispensary and Bendigo Brewing.

You can up the ante a notch or two with the Four Hats of Bendigo – a night of fine-dine hopping with the experts across Terrae, Le Foyer, Alium Dining and The Woodhouse.

Book a table

Terrae restaurant in bendigo victoria — Dine at Terrae.

Alternatively, see Bendigo’s stars under your own steam. There’s Terrae, where produce from the owners’ own farm kitchen garden and orchard is plated up inside what was once a bank, while cocktails are poured in the underground bar below. For something special, book a private table in old bank vault. Rather less wholesome? The bullet hole in the window – a throwback to Victoria’s wild gold rush era.

Another former bank-turned-eatery, Alium Dining, goes full art nouveau inside a 1908 building overlooking the Alexandra Fountain in the heart of Bendigo. Here, Alium’s Asian-meets-European flavours run all the way from duck leg croquettes with mandarin marmalade to raw trevally with coconut and nước chấm, to pork milanese with anchovy and stout mustard.

Beneath an old school hall at Mackenzie Quarters, Ms Batterhams serves southern European-inspired dishes inside a 19th-century basement bar and restaurant. Beyond its sourdough crumpets (smeared with taramasalata, paprika and parsley oil, if you must know) is the origin of the restaurant’s name: Winifred Batterham, the owners’ mother’s former kindergarten teacher. Honour her properly with a ‘Winifred’ cocktail.

Alium Dining in bendigo victoria — Alium Dining offers a unique setting inside a 1908 building.

Carnivores, get ready to bang your sharpest knives on the table. Bendigo’s only dedicated steakhouse, The Woodhouse, specialises in Wagyu sourced from surrounding farms. They’ve got beef every which way – from tartare topped with Giaveri Oscietra caviar and wagyu toast to porterhouse dry-aged and grilled over redgum.

Your next bank stop on the food circuit is Bunja Thai. Housed inside the former Colonial Bank, it’s all Victorian-era Australian grandeur, from the enormous arched ceilings to the detailing overhead. Thai Singha and local craft beer jostle for attention – but both are perfect quenchers when you’re sharing barramundi baked in banana leaf beneath all that old-world opulence.

If your trip through Australia isn’t complete without a country pub stop, make it The Bridgewater Hotel on the Loddon River. Renovated since its 1942 beginnings, but the establishment still retains its Art Deco charm. It’s the kind of place where steak burgers come stacked with bacon, egg, cheese and dripping beetroot relish, and are best handled in the riverside beer garden.

Pour a glass

Heathcote Wine Hub bendigo food experiences — Find over 180 local wines at Heathcote Wine Hub.

Your plate’s been stacked. Now it’s the glass’s turn – ideally with the famously bold shiraz and cab sav grown here. Early settlers in Bendigo and Heathcote were onto something when they first planted vines in the area’s mineral-rich soil, and their legacy still pours strong across more than 60 cellar doors today. Start big at the Heathcote Wine Hub, where more than 180 wines from nearby vineyards sit beneath the rafters of a restored former wooden church, with 16 available to taste by the glass.

Heathcote Winery might have become one of the area’s first commercial wineries in the seventies, but its story started way before its courtyard tastings. Back in 1854, it operated as a miners’ produce store during the gold-rush years. Other cellar doors aren’t immune to reinvention under the wine wave either. At Munari Wines in Heathcote, charcuterie boards are presented in their newly renovated cellar, originally the stables of the former sheep station.

Discover local events

the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk in bendigo — Time your trip for the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk

Time your trip right and watch the parks, gardens and buildings fill with food and drink. Fans of the malt: mark 29 August 2026 for Bendigo On The Hop, when craft breweries take over venues throughout the CBD. Brews make way for history at the Heritage and Hidden Spaces Wine Walk (17 October 2026), where bottles are opened inside some of the city’s most interesting buildings – including rarely opened spaces. In November, the Regional Gin Gala raises spirits in Mackenzie Quarters with a boozy celebration of its homegrown distilleries, including Noble Bootleggers, Envy Distilling and In Good Spirits. Explore wine, food and live music at Heathcote on Show (6 – 8 June 2026).

Take it all in

bendigo tram cafe Bendigo foodie experiences — Tram meets tasty at Bendigo Tram Cafe.

Takeaway means something different in Bendigo. At Australia’s oldest operating Tram Depot, the Tram Cafe sits aboard an out-of-service 1916 N-Class Tram that serves tea and scones. Once you’ve polished off the last crumb, you can even pop into the driver’s cab and try the controls yourself.

Peppergreen Farm continues Bendigo’s long connection to Chinese market gardens, first established here by immigrants in the 1850s. Today, the not-for-profit farm invites visitors to pick up organic produce, alongside jars of honey harvested from its own hives.

Indulge in retail therapy

If there’s still room in your bag among the clanking jars and bottles, stop by Uniquely Bendigo inside the Old Post Office. Sharing space with the Bendigo Visitor Centre, it’s a one-stop shop for favourites like Bendigo Brittle, Bridgeward Grove and Tea Associates.

If you’d rather leave your fingerprints on your Bendigo souvenir, there’s a place for that too. At Bendigo Pottery, visitors can try their hand at shaping clay while taking part in another tradition of evolving old spaces – creating works of art within Australia’s oldest working pottery.

Start planning your Bendigo adventure at bendigotourism.com.

This picture-book trestle bridge with a vintage steam train is Gippsland’s best-kept secret

This easy walk leads you to the oldest remaining trestle bridge in Victoria.

What to expect when you visit

What is the Noojee Trestle Bridge famous for?

Is the Noojee Railway Station worth visiting, too?