On this week's episode of Drive TV, James takes the Mercedes-Benz EQE on a path of history just north of Melbourne. This road trip is all about exploring how something old can become new again.
Drive Season 4 screens on Channel 9 at 1pm each Sunday. The full episode will be available to video on 9Now after it airs.
This drive took us from the Village Green oval in Strath Creek, around the edge of the Victorian High Country, eventually ending up in Shepparton.
Strath Creek is an easy run along the Hume Highway, and around 90 minutes from Melbourne. From there, we wound our way along the C382 to Flowerdale. Be sure to stop at Murchison Lookout on your way through to grab the best views of the Valley of 1000 Hills.
This part of Victoria is full of rolling hills and pastoral land, but importantly allowed us to discover a few other things that have been altered and reimagined for a more modern world. It's not just the stunning landscape that you'll enjoy, but the roads through this area are terrific and find themselves winding their way through the hills.
Nestled in a valley where the Yea and Goulburn rivers meet lies the township of Yea, which was originally called 'Muddy Creek'. It's a must-see location and is bursting with great eateries, fantastic local produce, and beautiful natural attractions.
We had a short run along the Maroondah Highway through the little town of Yarck up to Merton, where we turned off to head to Euroa. Before that, though, there's a fun stretch of tarmac that serves up some scintillating twists and turns – the perfect opportunity to make the most of the AMG sports mode.
One of the great things about this landscape, too, is there are magnificent granite boulders stuck into the sides of the mountains and off to the side of the road, giving the region a spectacular kind of prehistoric nature.
We made a quick detour at the turnoff to Polly McQuinns to check out the stunning waterfall, which is one of the best natural swimming holes in Victoria.
After this, we continued north to Euroa, which is almost smack-dab in the middle of Victoria. The historic town of Euroa splits its outlook between flat grazing land to the north-west and the Strathbogie Ranges to the south-east. In the traditional Taungurung land owners' dialect, the name Euroa means 'joyful'.
The township features many heritage buildings, and is famously home to the National Bank, which was robbed by the notorious bushranger Ned Kelly in 1878.
While the town still supports the local farming and grazing community, like many facets of this drive, it too has adapted for more modern times with many leading race horse studs now calling the region home. If you choose to stop off in the town, then be sure to visit the Butter Factory.
Built in 1901 to service the booming dairy industry, the Euroa Butter Factory operated until 1951. It has now been refurbished into a beautiful bed and breakfast and function venue, inviting a whole new generation of visitors to experience and enjoy the historic region.
Just a short trip down the road is the town of Shepparton. An agricultural and manufacturing centre, it's the centre of the Goulburn Valley irrigation system, and one of the largest centres of irrigation in Australia.
It's also home to one of the largest transport museums in Australia, the Museum of Vehicle Evolution, or MOVE. This place showcases everything from pushbikes, motorcycles, cars, busses and even trucks – all under one roof at a brand-new facility on the outskirts of Shepparton.
This was the ultimate way to finish our journey. All up, the route took around two-and-a-half hours (175km), still leaving us with ample range.
Google Maps link for this route (from Melbourne)
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