PYRAMID Hill is famed for its renowned mound of ground, but there’s more than that in this northern Victorian town to interest the day tripper or overnight visitor.
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The settlement was named after the adjacent granite hill, discovered by explorer Major Thomas Mitchell during his journey into “Australia Felix” in 1836.
The railway reached the settlement in 1885 and is still in operation, with V/Line services running to and from Melbourne daily.
By road, Pyramid Hill is within an hour’s drive of Bendigo on the Loddon Valley Highway.
Once there, visitors can go walking, bike-riding, bird-watching, browsing through the award-winning museum or perhaps enjoy a round of golf.
The 187m-high hill features a 2km walking and cycling path winding around its base, linking into an existing 3km track from the town. For the more adventurous, the trail also extends across the “saddle”.
Heritage buffs will find a great resource at the Pyramid Hill Historical Society’s crowded museum, home to a collection of more than 6,000 significant items.
For those who would like to stay a night or two, Pyramid Hill is an approved RV-Friendly destination, with a dump point and designated parking places at the local caravan park.
Alternatively, there are rooms available at the Victoria Hotel, which welcomes visitors for meals or a game of pool in a characterful two-storey red-brick building opened in 1928.
David and Debbie Demaine have run the hotel for the past seven years.
“We’re open daily with an Australian and Chinese menu Wednesday to Saturday, nine rooms for accommodation and monthly trivia nights,” David said.
“A wide variety of visitors come through, from bird-watchers and tour groups to itinerant workers from around the world.
“It’s so easy to catch the train from Melbourne or Bendigo and come up for a look around, grab some lunch at the Coffee Bank or bakery/café, then have tea with us.
“Alternatively, if people come by car, the Shire has an excellent set of self-drive audio discs which can guide them to key points of interest.”
Pyramid Hill Caravan Park manager Marj Mooney said most of her customers were older folk looking for a quiet spot to stay.
“Our pet-friendly park is on the edge of town, next to the town pool, with 18 camp sites and one two-bedroom cabin,” she said.
“The park’s RV-Friendly status has also proven popular.
“People like to walk out to the hill and in spring-time there are wildflowers out there that are pretty rare.”
Pyramid Hill’s location in the north of Loddon Shire makes it a convenient base for exploring the wider region, with Mount Hope, Terrick Terrick National Park and Kow Swamp all within easy reach.
Mount Hope was climbed, and named, by Major Thomas Mitchell in 1836, while Kow Swamp, a permanent body of water 15km around, is a popular spot for fishing, skiing and boating.
The 3760ha Terrick Terrick National Park contains one of the largest, most intact areas of indigenous northern plains vegetation in Victoria.
To the west, Durham Ox is a popular spot for anglers, with good fishing in Serpentine Creek and the Loddon River.
Further afield, Boort is famed for its lakes and wetlands, offering bird-watching, skiing, sailing, power boating, fishing and swimming.
The Boort district is also home to three of the Shire’s premier tourist attractions – the multi-award-winning olive oil business Salute Oliva, John and Sonia Piccoli’s Star Spanner Sculpture Gardens and the Lanyon family’s diverse Simply Tomatoes enterprise.