High praise from Planet

By Emma Schenk
“THE lush Yarra Valley is Victoria’s premier wine region and weekend getaway,” and the new edition of Lonely Planet’s Melbourne and Victoria Travel Guide highlights the sheer beauty of this pristine district.
Speaking highly of its close proximity to Melbourne and the 80-plus wineries, superb restaurants, national parks and wildlife, the Yarra Valley shines as a highly-recommended tourist destination.
“Hot-air ballooning over patchwork fields and vineyards, kicking back with a pinot noir at a winery festival, exploring orchards and farm, and taking to the many cycling and walking tracks,” are just some of the activities Lonely Planet acclaims.
There is an immense amount of worthy sights mentioned, including the “ruggedly beautiful” Yarra Ranges National Park, the huge eucalypt forest on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range, the “inspiring community spirit” of Kinglake, and the Lilydale to Warburton rail trail.
Yarra Valley Visitor Information Centre manager Jo Bagg notes the Lonely Planet chapter is a great to share the Yarra Valley region with a huge reader base.
“It will entice domestic and international visitors to want to learn more about the region with so much to see and do which is great,” she said.
“(Yarra Valley) is much more than just a wine region – it has fantastic shops, produce, markets, activities, attractions, tracks and trails… the list simply goes on and on.”