Driving Yourself?

If you have to drive your own car up (or down) the Hume Highway when you move, you should read this article.

A lot of people ask us how we cope with all the long distance driving in our job.

Our secret is we know where to buy the nice food and the good coffee!

Food

Sure, there's several Maccas, Hungry Jacks and KFC's on the Hume Highway. If you're wanting something more interesting you can divert into one of the towns along the way.

Wangaratta and Goulburn both have nice food and good coffee, and stopping at these towns doesn't add more than 1 or 2km to your overall journey!

In Wangaratta, you will find various restaurants, a good pub (The Hotel Pinsent on Reid St), and several take-away options. It is also a safe and attractive town with easy parking.

Hollywoods at 1 Murphy St, Wangaratta make good Italian food, including great pizza. Phone ahead on 03 5721 9877 if you're in a hurry. Eagle Boys almost next door is a good alternative for pizza, on Sunday and Monday nights 03 5721 5554

In Goulburn, there is the Paragon Cafe in the main street. Good, honest food and coffee. Also many take-away and pub options. A nice town with plenty of easy parking.

At the southern end of Goulburn, just off the Highway exit ramp, is another cluster of food outlets. Also here is the Big Merino. The big ram and it's gift shop are certainly popular with tourists.

The truck stop kitchen makes really good food and coffee.

There's also the Old Goulburn Bakery across the road, Subway, Maccas and a kebab shop.

Fuel

If you didn't fill up the tank before leaving, the first petrol station out of Sydney is 40km past Campbelltown. Leaving Melbourne, the first station is 30km after Epping.

After that, there are several 24 hour petrol stations on the Hume Highway itself. At Marulan, Gundagai, Yass in NSW. And at Glenrowan and several stations roughly 80-150km out of Melbourne.

Some towns have fuel stations that you will find without getting lost or diverted too far. Such as Goulburn, Wangaratta and Benalla.

We try not to run low between Gundagai and Wangaratta. In between these towns, there is 24 hour fuel in Albury but it's not that easy to find. Tarcutta usually has the most expensive fuel on the Hume.

But wait there's more!

If you need to pull over and stretch your legs, consider Holbrook. At roughly the half-way point between Melbourne and Sydney, this town offers a pub with good meals. Across the road is a full-size submarine, the HMAS Otway.

You can walk around and on top of the 90 metre long submarine, or relax in the park next to it. Further down the road is the Holbrook Bakery, which has great food and coffee.

Another great attraction on Holbrook's main street is the Woolpack Inn Museum. For just $5 (and $1 for kids) you really should stop up there for an hour. They have an amazingly large collection of things to look at, from 100 years ago. Well worth a look!

We hope you don't find the drive too arduous. A car should manage the journey from Melbourne to Sydney in around 11 hours. That's allowing for a short break or two.

See you at the other end!