A traveller’s checklist

Getting there

Castlemaine is one and a half hours by car or train from Melbourne, and 30 minutes by car or train from Bendigo.

Staying there

Choose from one of CASTLEMAINE BOUTIQUE ACCOMMODATION (castlemaineaccom.com.au) or MALDON GETAWAYS’ (maldongetaways.com.au) unique properties. Check into the design-driven boutique EMPYRE

HOTEL (empyre.com.au) in the heart of Castlemaine, or book a room at the iconic NORTHERN ARTS HOTEL( northern arts hotel. com.au), recently taken over by Maggie Fooke, former owner of Fitzroy institution Brooklyn Arts Hotel in Melbourne.

Playing there

Learn more about the history of the region with a day out on the VICTORIAN GOLDFIELDS RAILWAY aboard a steam heritage train linking Castlemaine and Maldon, and visit the MOUNT ALEXANDER DIGGINGS NATIONAL

HERITAGE PARK to view the relics and remains of the region’s gold mining past. Explore the landscape by foot or mountain bike on the

GOLDFIELDS TRACK, which meanders along 210 kilometres from near Ballarat to Bendigo through some of central Victoria’s most beautiful forests, deep gorges and fern-lined rivers, and historic towns including Castlemaine. For more on the region see maldoncastlemaine.com.au