Mildura: The Murray River Town South Australians Forget About

If you live in South Australia, you already understand what Murray River travel is all about. Renmark, Loxton, Waikerie and all the smaller river towns in between have long been places for quiet escapes. What often happens, though, is that the trip stops at the border. The Murray keeps flowing, but many South Australian road trips do not. On the Victorian side of the river sits Mildura, and it might be time that you made the trip just that little bit further.

Going the Extra Mile to Mildura

As you approach the Riverland from the city, driving north-east through vineyards, citrus blocks, and open country, the day starts to follow the heat and the land. That shift is what pulls people toward towns like Berri, Renmark, Loxton, and Waikerie; places that have for long drawn travellers looking for space, wildness, and a break from urban life. Houseboats, waterskiing, slow afternoons on the water, short walks, and winery visits create the kinds of trips that revolve total relaxation.

What usually happens, though, is that the drive ends at the state line, even though the river carries on past it. Meanwhile, on the Victorian side of the river sits Mildura, a town that shares the same climate, the same waterway, and the same agricultural backbone, just with a little Victorian twist.

Get to Know Mildura

From Renmark, the drive to Mildura takes around one to one and a half hours. The road follows the Murray almost identical river country most of the way. So, for anyone already comfortable with Riverland driving, that extra stretch of road rarely feels like a new trip; just a continuation of the same one.

Mildura sits on the Murray River in north-west Victoria, right near the South Australian and New South Wales borders, and acts as the main centre of the Sunraysia region.

The town grew out of one of Australia’s earliest large-scale irrigation schemes in the late 1800s, which turned dry country into orchards and vineyards and shaped the place it is today. That legacy still shows in the surrounding landscape, with citrus, table grapes, and wine grapes filling the valley, including a large share of Australia’s export produce.

Warm, dry weather and long sunny days make the river a constant part of life here, with a similar lifestyle to that of the South Australian Riverland.

3 Reasons to Visit Mildura This Year

There are a few differences though, and therefore a few very valid reasons to extend your next Riverland trip just a little further out into Victoria.

Let’s take a look at what that extra bit of driving gets you!

The River and Nature are Spectacular

Just like many South Australian Riverland towns, the Murray runs straight through, lined with parks, jetties, boat ramps, walking paths, and cafés that look out onto the water. Paddle steamers still depart from the wharf, kayaks drift past in the morning, and people swim from public access points when the heat sets in. The river here is the organising feature of daily life.

A few minutes from the centre, the scenery looks a little different. Mildura Botanic Gardens, first established in 1889, sits right on the riverbank with old fig trees and views back to the water; a place locals use for walks and quiet afternoons.

Cross the river or drive a short distance west and you reach the Perry Sandhills near Wentworth (actually, this is in NSW!), where pale, 40,000 year-old dunes rise out of flat country; almost out of place this close to a river.

Then, just under an hour west of Mildura, Murray-Sunset National Park reveals broad salt flats that run toward the horizon. These are part of one of Victoria’s largest natural salt deposits, and their surface changes with the light, pale and chalky at midday, softly pink at sunrise and sunset.

A Town With Heaps Going On

Most of Mildura’s cafés, shops, and riverfront spots sit within a few blocks of each other around Langtree Avenue and Eighth Street, which means you rarely need to get back in the car once you arrive.

These two streets run back from the river and are home to most of the action; cafés, bakeries, pubs, bookshops, and shopping all in one walkable grid. On Sundays, the Sunraysia Farmers and Makers Market takes over the riverfront area with stalls selling local produce from the region.

For culture, the Mildura Arts Centre is found right by the river and hosts touring exhibitions, theatre, and local artists, while the Langtree Hall Museum tells the story of the town’s irrigation history and how the Murray turned dry country into a productive region.

Food is where Mildura quietly surprises people (although considering how productive the region is, it shouldn’t be a shock). The region surrounding Mildura is known for produce, and that filters straight into its cafés and restaurants. Stefano de Pieri’s restaurant at Mildura Station Homestead put the town on the national food map decades ago, and the influence is still there, long lunches, Italian-leaning menus, and a focus on local fruit, vegetables, and wine. Meanwhile, The Italian, a great little lunch spot, is hard to pass by (especially with the smell of freshly baked goods wafting out).

Food and Wine that Come Straight from the Region

Mildura’s food and wine culture is rooted in what’s grown around it. The broader Sunraysia district is one of Australia’s most productive agricultural areas; a leading source of grapes, dried fruit, citrus, almonds and wine grapes.

And that local harvest shapes much of what you eat and drink here. The Sunraysia Farmers and Makers Market, is the clearest expression of that: growers and producers selling fruit picked days earlier, fresh olive oil, honey, bread, preserves and local wine directly alongside each other.

Within about 10 minutes of the CBD, Orange World is a working citrus property set across roughly 50 acres of orange, mandarin and avocado trees. Visitors can take a tractor-drawn train tour through the orchard, learn how citrus is grown and harvested, try freshly squeezed juice, and pick up preserves and other fruit products.

Don’t forget, there’s a wine scene here too! Warm-climate shiraz, semillon and chardonnay are staples at local cellar doors, and many producers have been family-run for decades. If you’d like to visit individual producers, there are several family-run wineries with tasting rooms and cellar doors within short drives of town.

Chateau Mildura, established by the founders of the irrigation settlement in the late 1800s, remains a window into the region’s wine history and still operates its own cellar door. Capogreco Winery Estate, started in 1976, focuses on Italian-heritage styles and warm-climate wines grown on its own vines. Oak Valley Estate produces small-batch wines alongside olive oil, jams and other produce right on Deakin Avenue in Mildura South. Vanden Estate invites tastings in its vineyard setting with cheese platters, snacks and casual wine experiences.

Where to Stay in Mildura

Mildura Golf Resort

Set beside an 18-hole championship golf course on the southern edge of town, Mildura Golf Resort looks out across fairways, lakes, and open greens. Rooms face the course, and the clubhouse restaurant and bar sit right by the first tee, so meals and drinks stay close to where the day is spent. The drive back into Mildura takes only a few minutes, which keeps the town within easy reach.

Kar-Rama Motor Inn

Kar-Rama sits directly on the Murray River, with rooms and balconies facing the water and a walking path running past the front of the property. There’s an outdoor pool, barbecue area, and open riverbank space where people sit, swim, or watch paddle steamers go by. You can walk from the front gate to the Mildura Wharf, cafés, and riverfront parks in a few minutes.