DAYLESFORD & THE MACEDON RANGES

MELBOURNE • AUSTRALIA

Naturally Rejuvenating and just over an hour from Melbourne

Exploring the region by car is a delight.
Clusters of villages, at easily driveable distances,
reveal a varied and unfolding panorama.

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Exploring has never
been so comfortable
Visiting Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges
brings you close to nature without forsaking a single comfort.
From super luxurious retreats
and hotels, to country style bed
and breakfasts, in forest, lakeside
and vineyard settings – you’ll
be spoilt for choice with
accommodation options.
Cosset yourself somewhere
special, like the evocative villages
of Daylesford, Hepburn Springs
Woodend and Kyneton, and spend
days enjoying sumptuous cuisine,
award-winning local wines and
distinctive shopping opportunities.
The region is famous for naturally-
occurring mineral springs and boasts
more than 80 per cent of Australia’s
entire complement. They bubble
perpetually from the ground beside
lakes and streams, in farm paddocks
and forest glades, and at the end of
quiet country lanes.
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Take a walk through the reserves Such personal service and
and sample a few. Each offers the local warmth epitomises every
thirsty explorer a refreshing drink aspect of Daylesford and the
that’s as free as it is brim-full of Macedon Ranges.
revitalising minerals. At the end of a day of special
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easily driveable distances, reveal of the region’s fabled mineral ���������
a varied and unfolding panorama. waters and follow up with one
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The region’s fertile volcanic of the area’s equally renowned
plains foster a community of spa treatments.
farmers providing exceptional Wonderful tables await you
fresh produce. Many are organic in country dining rooms, on
but all are concerned with outdoor terraces and in
sustainable practices and care candlelit cellars. And much
for their products. Watch out of that produce you saw on ���������
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for the farm gate signs. your travels will have been
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Follow winery signs and you’re transformed into splendid �������
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likely to find yourself enjoying dishes by talented local cooks. �����������
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award winning cool climate wine
poured at the cellar door by the
winemakers themselves.
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 Nature’s gifts and village hospitality come
together for your pleasure in the Daylesford
and Macedon Ranges region.

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The great outdoors on
Melbourne’s doorstep
Just over an hour from Melbourne, even less from the airport,
experience the reverie of bushland remoteness and local wildlife only
minutes from elegant award winning accommodation, spa retreats,
restaurants, cafes, wineries and galleries.

Nature’s gifts and village hospitality
come together for your pleasure
in the Daylesford and Macedon
Ranges region. Volcanic plains,
distant horizons, forests of tall
timbers offer endless viewing
pleasure. Strings of villages
Woodend, Kyneton, Malmsbury,
Glenlyon, Daylesford, Hepburn
Springs, Trentham, dotted
throughout, tempt the traveller
to stop, explore and stay.
Each village is an island surrounded
by a sea of fertile green, brown
and gold, and painted every evening
with a riot of sunset hues. Natural
beauty is on precocious display
year round.
From the stately gardens of Mount
Macedon to the wilds of Lerderderg
Gorge or the exhilarating spectacle
of Hanging Rock, and the ancient
conifers of Wombat Hill there’s no
forgetting you’re wrapped up in it.
Venture out on forest tracks
begging to be explored. Pick
one and find yourself gazing up
at rushing waterfalls after rain,
or eye to eye with a wallaby on
the path ahead of you. Getting
active is easy. There’s bushwalking
for all ages, from the challenges
of the Great Dividing Trail to the
family-friendly Forest Ecotourism
Walking Trail in Macedon Regional
Park and plenty more.
The serenity of local streams and
lakes offers fishing opportunities.
Golfing amongst curious locals –
the kangaroos – is a given, no
matter which local village course
you choose. A standout is the
72 par golf course at Novotel
Forest Resort in Creswick –
the first designed by Australian
golfing great, Robert Allenby.
Of course you can always stay in
the car and be mesmerised by
photogenic views of vine-strung hills
to the horizon, misty scarves around
mountain tops, farm paddocks
walled by stone and everywhere
between, blink-and-you’ll-miss-them
hamlets of unembellished character.

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 There’s an undisguised pride amongst local producers,
winemakers and restaurateurs. So expect to wine
and dine very well here.

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Stand out wines,
acclaimed restaurants,
pristine local produce
Food and wine are consuming passions here, and with good reason.
A quirk of sunlight, soil and rain means anything in the ground
almost grows itself.
There’s an undisguised pride
amongst local producers,
winemakers and restaurateurs.
So expect to wine and dine very
well here. If the refined service
and tantalizing finely wrought dishes
of the internationally acclaimed
Lake House were not temptation
enough, indeed its serene location
on beautiful Lake Daylesford makes
it worthy of a journey. At the
Farmer’s Arms in Daylesford and
The Royal George in Kyneton,
rub shoulders with the locals in
the front bar and follow up with
a sumptuous repast in their
gastropub dining rooms.
Enjoy trattorias and restaurants
overlooking lavender fields, cafes
galore from quirky or historic
to cutting edge modern and
everything in between.
Have a pizza topped with the best
local organic produce or wander
the provedores and bakers and
put together a remarkable feast
to enjoy in our great outdoors.
Wine and wineries are a natural
adjunct to great food and in that
department the region is blessed
with heroes. The Macedon Ranges
cool climate offerings now includes
more than 40 vineyards, all
squeezed into a remarkably small
area. Among some of the best
are Curly Flat of Lancefield, Hanging
Rock Winery in Newham and
Knight’s Granite Hills near Kyneton.
Just to the south is another
cool climate wine region around
Sunbury, where standouts include
Craiglee and Goonawarra. But it’s
often the smaller wineries that offer
a very special sense of discovery –
look for the signs down country
lanes or pick up a winery map
in the local information centres.
Not to worry if you can’t get
around them all, local wines
are offered at restaurants and
cafes throughout the region.
Regular festivals and events
throughout the region offer
a wonderful insight into the
boisterous way locals celebrate
their sporting events, cultural
history, and much much more.
Any excuse for great food and
wine! Come at the right time
and you too will be caught up
in the celebration. Find out more
on www.dmproduce.com.au
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 For more than a century the Daylesford / Hepburn
Springs region has basked in a worldwide reputation
for health and wellness.

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Australia’s
Spa Capital
Of all the miracles in Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges,
the most famous and beneficial occurs as a courtesy of mother earth.
Boasting the greatest concentration
of naturally occurring mineral
springs in Australia, the Daylesford /
Hepburn Springs region has basked
in a worldwide reputation for
health and wellness for more than
a century. For the local indigenous
people the area was always a place
of healing. The therapeutic benefits
of bathing in this natural miracle are
of course exhaustively documented.
The area now also has the largest
critical mass of holistic therapists
in the Southern Hemisphere.
Treatments include shiatsu,
reiki, hypnotherapy, naturopathy,
osteopathy, oriental medicine,
Pilates, Feldenkrais, Chakra
realignment, Yoga and Tai Chi.
In total, more than 90 health and
wellness therapies are available,
often offered by some of the
best practitioners in the field.
Spa experiences here are as
varied as the landscape. They
range from darkened, soft-scented
interiors to expansive light filled
retreats with bushland views and
contemporary showcases elevated
by impeccable hospitality.
There is the iconic Hepburn Springs
Bathhouse – the only bath house
in Australia which has operated
continuously for 100 years – and
right nearby, a traditional Japanese
ryokan. Mineral Spa at Peppers
Springs Retreat with its mineral
water zone and Salus Spa at Lake
House where hot mineral spas are
offered in private tree top cabins
are both rated in national awards
as the best spas in Australia.
Dedicated ‘spa travellers’ to
Daylesford and Hepburn Springs
often stay considerable lengths
of time, ‘taking the waters’ and
embarking on wellness programs.
But just one of these local
experiences is sure to transform
your day.
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 A mecca for generations of artists drawn by
its luscious light, locations and seasonal ambience
the region continues to attract many well known
contemporary artists as residents.

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Shopping, art and
a little history
Delve into the delights of the region shop by compelling shop.
Consumer culture here is a truly artistic experience.
It shows in the creative window
presentations along every main
street. Contemporary or rustic,
distinctly different establishments
sit comfortably alongside each
other. Beyond welcome mats
and open doors; are evocative
displays of hand-crafted artistry
and homewares, the lustrous patina
of antiques, glittering ephemera
and well stocked shelves of rare
editions and popular fiction.
A mecca for generations of artists
drawn by its luscious light, locations
and seasonal ambience the region
continues to attract many well
known contemporary artists as
residents. The strength of the
regions artistic community is borne
out by the diversity of its output.
Painting, sculpture, printmaking
jewellery, glass, woodwork, furniture,
ceramics and delicate china can be
enjoyed in galleries housed in all
kinds of unexpected spaces from
cottages to convents.
But there was a time when all the
region seemed to offer was what
could be dug from the ground.
The goldrush of the 1800s lured
settlers from all over the world.
But it was the newly arrived Swiss
Italians who, understanding the
value of the mineral springs,
sought to ensure their protection.
Early buildings reflect this diverse
heritage – the stone grandeur
of boom time gold and the rustic
stone houses of the Swiss Italians.
History of a sporting nature
on the other hand was made at
‘Rupertswood’ in Sunbury. The
stately Victorian mansion is known
as the birthplace of the ‘Ashes’ –
cricket’s most famous tradition.
Nearby “Living Legends” is the
retirement home for some of
Australia’s horse racing champions.
For an in-depth perspective on the
region’s artistic community, pop into
one of the many local museums
or visitor information centres.
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