Yarra Valley and Puffing Billy

The hills east of Melbourne hold two classic day trips that are often combined. The Yarra Valley, about an hour north-east of the city, is one of Australia's leading cool-climate wine regions, celebrated for chardonnay, pinot noir and sparkling wine, with dozens of cellar doors ranging from grand estates with restaurants and views across the vines to small family wineries. Between tastings there are cheese makers, a chocolate factory, farm gates, cideries and gin distilleries, plus Healesville Sanctuary, a Zoos Victoria park devoted to Australian wildlife. Hot-air balloon flights over the valley at dawn are a famous treat. To the south, the Dandenong Ranges are cool, green hills of tall mountain ash, tree ferns and village tea rooms, and their star attraction is Puffing Billy. This heritage narrow-gauge steam railway runs from Belgrave, at the end of a suburban train line, through forests and farmland to Lakeside and on to Gembrook, crossing a much-photographed wooden trestle bridge on the way. Riding in the open-sided carriages as the engine works up the hills is pure nostalgia and a hit with children and adults alike. The railway operates daily except Christmas Day, bookings are essential, and you can choose a short ride or the full journey. Many guided day tours combine a Puffing Billy ride in the morning with lunch and tastings in the Yarra Valley in the afternoon, which is the easiest way to see both without driving after a glass of wine. If you have your own transport, it is better to give each its own unhurried day.

The Yarra Valley rewards a plan. With so many wineries, it helps to choose three or four at most, including one for a long lunch. The bigger estates offer polished tastings, restaurants and sculpture gardens; smaller producers are more personal. Many cellar doors charge a modest tasting fee, sometimes waived if you buy a bottle, and some require bookings, especially on weekends. Do not drive yourself if you plan to taste seriously: guided tours, private drivers or the hop-on hop-off bus are the sensible choice. Healesville Sanctuary is the best place in the region to see koalas, wombats, platypus and birds of prey, and makes a good family alternative to the wine trail. For a splurge, a sunrise balloon flight over the valley, followed by breakfast, is unforgettable.

Puffing Billy is easy to reach without a car. Take a Belgrave line train from the city to Belgrave station, the end of the line, then walk a few minutes to Puffing Billy's station. By car it is about an hour from Melbourne, around 40 kilometres east. Trains run to Lakeside, Menzies Creek and Gembrook; the most popular trip is Belgrave to Lakeside, where there is a cafe at the visitor centre and parkland around Emerald Lake, while the full run to Gembrook takes most of a day. Book your journey in advance, especially for weekends and school holidays, and check the timetable, which varies by season. Fire danger days in summer can affect operations, so look at the official site the day before.

Combining the two in one day is what most tours do: the morning in the Dandenongs with a short Puffing Billy ride and perhaps tea and scones in a hill village, then lunch and tastings in the Yarra Valley before returning to Melbourne in the early evening. It is a full but relaxed day, and much easier than self-driving. If you prefer to focus on one, choose the Yarra Valley for food and wine, or Puffing Billy and the Dandenongs for families and forest walks. In spring, the valley is green and the gardens of the Dandenongs are in bloom; in autumn the vines turn gold and red, and harvest brings festivals.