I’m really excited to interview Tegan Dawson of Haunted Hills Podcast about Latrobe Valley, Australia. Tegan’s tips for the best things to do in Latrobe Valley are awesome because she has lived in this area for most of her life and loves how it is an intriguing place to escape while having access to wonderful restaurants, outdoor activities all within a short drive.
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Kernot Lake at Immigration Park in Morwell
Latrobe Valley, Australia
Latrobe Valley is a region located about 2 hours east of Melbourne. This valley is part of the Gippsland region of the state of Victoria, Australia. It is a collection of towns, each with its own character and charm. The Latrobe River and the Princess Highway connect many of the towns. Visitors will find Moondarra State Park and Baw Baw Ranges to the north and Tarra-Bulga National Park and Strzelecki Ranges to the south. In between, you’ll find the Latrobe Valley.
Visitors will find a temperate climate in the Latrobe Valley. Tegan recommends visiting during the Spring, which is September through December in Australia. During this time, there are wildflowers in the paddocks, the waterfalls are full, and the bush is buzzing with life.
The Australian Paper Tyers Arts Festival has been a popular annual event since 1979. It has grown from a small exhibition of local artists to become one of the major regional art events in Gippsland. Nature lovers look forward every year to the International Rose Garden Festival. Attendees find exhibitions, discussions, and workshops about roses, plus a night lights installation to bring out the kid in everyone.
We share a lot of resources and local suggestions in today’s podcast, but you should also check out Visit Latrobe City, the local visitor’s bureau. They are a wealth of information and can help you plan an itinerary based on your time, budget, and interests.
If you’d like to learn how to travel for free using airline miles and hotel points, check out my free 7-day email course.
While visiting the Latrobe Valley, stop by the Yallourn Lock up and the Brown Coal Mine Museum to learn some of its fascinating history.
Getting around Latrobe Valley
Although there is a local airport, there are no commercial flights in and out of it. The closest airport is Melbourne Airport (MEL), which is about a two-hour drive from the Latrobe Valley. Many people fly into Melbourne, see the attractions there, then head out to the Latrobe Valley for a few days before flying home or continuing on the Princes Highway to Sydney. Use our Expedia tool below to find flight, hotel, and rental car options.
Tegan says that in order to get the best experience of all the towns, shopping, and parks it is best to rent a car. Parking is free and readily available. For the best offers on rental cars, visit Avis, Budget, or Hertz.
Walk around the Edward Hunter Reserve to enjoy nature and relax.
Places we talked about on the podcast
Here is a map of all of the places we talked about on the podcast episode with Tegan Dawson about Latrobe Valley, Australia. You can zoom into the map and click on each dot to explore the city.
- Red dots = best places to eat in Latrobe Valley, Australia
- Green dots = best things to do in Latrobe Valley, Australia
- Yellow dots = best places to stay in Latrobe Valley, Australia
Who is Tegan Dawson?
Tegan Dawson ran ghost tours in the Latrobe Valley, a regional city in the heart of Gippsland, Victoria Australia. In 2020, she turned these into podcasts so she could explore more of the small towns which fascinate her. She had a personal connection to a ghost town – Yallourn. It was closed before she was born, her parents bought a house which was built there and moved it to her home town. The house wasn’t haunted but the description of the house is from a ‘town that doesn’t exist anymore’ certainly haunted me. How can a town end, to a child it was inconceivable? As an adult, she enjoys exploring the history, crime, legends, or paranormal in Gippsland or other infamous small towns.
Tegan Dawson at the Dark Mofo Festival
Here are a few episodes from Tegan’s podcast along with an article she has written:
You can connect with Tegan on her website and on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Click here to download our one-page guide of Tegan’s tips for Latrobe Valley.
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Spend the afternoon walking along the Moe Yallourn Rail Trail under Old Sale Road in Newborough
Stay tuned for our next episode
Listen to the next episode when Ray Blakney of Live Lingua shares the best things to do in Querétaro, Mexico. Ray and I talk about the Pena de bernal monolith, ancient pyramids that are over 2000 years old, and hacienda tours. We hope you’ll join us when We Travel There.
What’s your favorite part of Latrobe Valley? Send us a Tweet, let us know in the comment section below, or continue the discussion in our Facebook group!
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To see which cities we’ve interviewed and scheduled, please visit WeTravelThere.com/map. If you’d like to be a guest on the show, please submit an application at WeTravelThere.com/guest.
Related episodes
To learn more about cities within Australia, please listen to our other episodes:
- Sydney Opera House, The Rocks & Taronga Zoo in Sydney, Australia
- Fringe Festival, Rottnest Island & Kings Park in Perth, Australia
- Best Things to Do in Melbourne, Australia with Abby Lewtas
- Swimming the Great Barrier Reef in Cairns, Australia with Tyson Franklin
- Best Things to Do in Sydney, Australia with Jennifer McDermott
- Australia Zoo, Coastal Islands & Adventure World in Brisbane, Australia
