The Wimmera in Victoria’s west is best known for its seemingly endless wheatfields. More recently the smaller towns of the area began the craze for painting giant murals on their grain silos to attract visitors. It only takes a closer glance to see that there’s plenty to love in this area.

Cavendish, this dot of a town out the back of Hamilton has a famous ‘gastro’ (gourmet) pub called the Dingo. A few steps down the road is the Cavendish Recreation Reserve a tranquil freedom camp with the option of power on the higher section by the small camp kitchen or unpowered beside the Wannon River. There are toilets at the sports ground. If you feel like a look around there is a short Settler’s Walk explaining the history of the area. The pub is only open for meals on certain days and I’m sure bookings would be essential but if the quality of the hot chips in the bar and the noise of the lunch crowd in the dining room when we dropped in, well it has to be a stunner.

There are two absolute musts on the Wimmera silo trail, and neither are painted silos. Hopetoun’s, Lake Lascelles is a perfectly circular lake with powered and unpowered sites. Water, toilets and showers, and a camp kitchen built from rammed earth and corrugated iron provide the essentials. Nature does the rest, plentiful birdlife and stunning sunsets. This is a nice place to hide away for a few days.

The other must is a visit to the Murtoa Stick Shed, a vast timber shed built to store wheat during World War 2 when it couldn’t be exported due to shipping constraints. This gigantic shed built from tall timber poles and a heck of a lot of corrugated iron is jaw dropping. It is also home to many happily cooing pigeons, which is why our mate Mrs. Doubtfire calls it the Murtoa Shit Shed.

Dimboola. A town we wanted to get to know for a long time and finally visited last year. How can you not fall in love with a place that has had a play (and movie) named after it. A quirky little place sandwiched between the Little Desert and expansive wheatfields that inspired artist Sidney Nolan’s ‘Wimmera Series’ when he was stationed here during World War 2. When the town lost its beloved pub to fire it created a park from what was left. There’s a green grassy caravan park beside the Wimmera River and everything here is a mere stroll away.