Holiday houses in Lake Eildon

Around six times the size of Sydney Harbour, central Victoria’s Lake Eildon is a popular fishing and boating getaway. There are a few small towns dotted around its shoreline, including Eildon and Bonnie Doon, and villages such as Howes Creek and Goughs Bay. You can also base yourself at one of the bigger towns away from the water, including Alexandra, around 30 minutes to the west, and Mansfield, less than 10 minutes by road from the lakefront. Much of the land around the southern end of the lake, surrounding Eildon, is given over to Lake Eildon National Park.

The dense bushland and rugged peaks of this beautiful wilderness are great for bushwalking and horseback riding, while on the lake there are plenty of watersports to enjoy. The town of Eildon faces the Eildon Pondage, a calm body of water separating the lake and Goulburn River. It’s one of Victoria’s best trout-fishing destinations. Cast a line here, or take a boat onto the lake to try your luck in deeper water.

If you book your accommodation during the hot, relatively dry summer months of December to February, you’ll enjoy ideal conditions for watersports and swimming in the lake. Even in summer, though, the nights will be cool at best. The heat lasts into early autumn before a procession of crisp autumnal days that are perfect for hiking in Lake Eildon National Park. You can combine a bushwalking holiday with wine tasting on the Murrindindi Wine Weekend, in early May. This event celebrates the wine-makers of the Murrindindi wine region, with most of the vineyards centred on the town of Taggerty, a 20-minute drive from Eildon. Lake Eildon winters are cold and wet, with the Mansfield Lantern Festival in June joyfully marking the winter solstice. You can fish on Lake Eildon all year round, even when the rivers feeding off the lake are closed to anglers.

Great Victorian Rail Trail

This epic cycling and walking trail runs 134 kilometres from Mansfield across the lake to Bonnie Doon, before winding its way across the Goulburn River Valley to Tallarook in central Victoria. Pack your panniers for the long haul, or just tackle the 22-kilometre section from Mansfield to Bonnie Doon.

Rubicon State Forest

A bushland reserve roughly 15 minutes from Eildon, Rubicon State Forest has great bushwalking tracks, including the challenging three-hour Mount Torbreck summit walk. It’s also home to the impressive Snobs Creek Waterfall; there are a couple of falls viewing platforms within an easy walk of the road through the forest.

Blowhard Spur walk

A rewarding four-hour hike starting from Perfect Cure Creek, northwest of Eildon town, the Blowhard Spur circuit takes you up to Blowhard Summit. From the peak, which looks out across the wooded hills of Lake Eildon to Mount Buller and the ranges of the Victorian Alps, it’s a pleasant downhill trek back to the shoreline.