When exploring roads less travelled through Victoria’s Wimmera and Mallee, you’re guaranteed three things — more or less empty backroads, interesting towns and villages, and all sorts of hidden treasures to discover, including, in this semi-arid region, at least thirteen lakes.
The Wimmera and Mallee regions occupy an enormous chunk of Victoria. Extending from the Grampians to Rainbow, and from the South Australian border in the west to Navarre in the east, the Wimmera covers an area of approximately 30,000sqkm. The Mallee, which occupies around 41,000sqkm, covers the most northwesterly corner of Victoria, bounded by the South Australian and New South Wales borders.
Both the Wimmera and Mallee are more or less completely flat, meaning driving is easy. More than 60 per cent of land is under agricultural production in this major dryland cropping region, with millions of hectares planted to cereals, pulses, and oilseeds.
A network of small towns — from Goroke, Jeparit, Hopetoun, Rainbow, and to Donald — retain a strong sense community enjoyed since they were established in the mid-to-late 1800s.
Water is a precious commodity out here: annual rainfall is around 440mm for the Wimmera, and a mere 300 in the Mallee, and water from the region’s rivers is the lifeblood of the area.
It is a surprise, then, to discover that throughout the region, where oceans of wheat and other grains sway across vast paddocks, there are sparkling blue oases, where locals swim, water ski, drop a tinny into the
