A favourite spot of ours is the little village of Walhalla in Victoria. Just over two hours drive from Melbourne, it’s an enjoyable journey back in time.
Walhalla was the last town in Victoria to be connected to the state wide electricity grid.
The only way to get a mobile signal was to climb to the top of the hill that they sliced the top off to make a cricket pitch, and wander around on the wicket with your phone held high in the air (I understand that reception may have improved recently).
When the goldmine was in operation, the population of the town was around 5000 people, but now there are around 20 residents.
There used to be a rail connection to Melbourne. Four kilometres of the old track that runs from the town, through Stringers Creek Gorge and down to the Thomson River has been restored for very popular tourist train rides.
You can read about the current operations of the train here.