Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre
For Directions on How To Get There, and a site map of the Amphitheatre and Campgrounds click here.
For Directions, Map, Times, LineUp, Rules, and tips on what to bring etc please read or download The Little Golden Booklet.
BRIEFLY
The Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre is situated in semi-cleared bushland, about 90 kms due West of Melbourne, halfway between Geelong and Ballarat, and about twelve kms from the nearest town (Meredith).
The venue is a spectacular, permanent site, set up specifically for both the Meredith Music Festival and Golden Plains. It has been purpose-built and continually-refined using 18 years of collective know-how to provide a premium experience for performer and patron alike.
It is a 2 ¼ hour (135 minute) drive from Melbourne CBD or Melbourne Airport, and a 1 ¼ (75 minute) drive from Avalon Airport.
The stage is nestled in a grove of giant ghost gum trees, with a natural amphitheatre bowling up around it, crowned by an arc of gigantic cypress trees. There a feeling of spaciousness - it’s a huge site surrounded by even huger farms and bushland - you can easily find some peace and quiet if you choose. You can also easily see and hear the artists on stage from anywhere in the Supernatural Amphitheatre. It’s a magic set-up.
MAP OF THE AMPHITHEATRE AND CAMPGROUNDS [ top ]
Download Map of the Amphitheatre and Campgrounds
MAP AND DIRECTIONS [ top ]
Download driving directions and map
GETTING THERE [ top ]
Download driving directions and map
Download map of the Amphitheatre and Campgrounds.
The venue is the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre, on Mt. Mercer Road, near a town called Meredith, in Victoria, Australia. Meredith the town is halfway between Geelong and Ballarat on the Midland Highway (A300), about 90kms due West of Melbourne. By car from Melbourne CBD it is a 110 minute drive, however you should allow 2 ¼ hours on the weekend of the festival. Melway Map: 611 C4. The festival can also be reached by public transport.
DRIVING DIRECTIONS [ top ]
From Melbourne, take the Princes Fwy to Geelong. As you approach the outskirts of Geelong, the two right lanes of the Princes Fwy become the new Geelong Ring Road. The overhead signs say BALLARAT and HAMILTON. Take one of those right lanes for about ten minutes until you hit the Midland Hwy (A300), again the signs will be for BALLARAT. Take this exit towards Ballarat. Meredith the town is about 30 minutes drive along the Midland Highway, halfway between Geelong and Ballarat. At Meredith, turn left at the Royal Hotel, this is Mt. Mercer Rd. The Golden Plains Festival is about 12 minutes drive along this road.
CAMPING GROUNDS [ top ]
There are three main camping grounds.
Bush Camp
Bush Camping is located North of the stage area, and is a secluded and unbelievably pretty camping ground. Gum trees, she-oaks, ferns and other indigenous flora have existed untouched for as long as anyone can remember, and we have carefully laid down a track through this land, with minimum disruption to the eco-structure. This will be quiet, sheltered camping. You are basically in the bush. It will be hard for large groups to stake out large sites in this area due to the vegetation and the single ring-road. The two roads that go through Bush Camp are called The Ring Road, and The Ring-a-Ding-Ding Road. This area is also a fair distance from the Amphitheatre, although it is fairly close to both the Food area, Pink Flamingo and of course toilets, First Aid and other services. Around 30% of Meredith-goers will be able to camp in The Bush before it is full, so it is likely to be popular with the early arrivals.
Top Camp
Top Camp is the camping ground closest to the action; closest to the amphitheatre and stage, closest to the food area, toilets, Pink Flamingo and The Meredith Eye. Top Camp is also the largest camping ground on the site; it is a massive green field with gentle dips and hills; a few rock piles, trees, ring roads, native planting areas, and is governed by a Blue Gum crop to the East and Cypress rows to the South. Top Camp is so big you should be able to camp well away from your neighbours (if you choose to). It is divided into suburbs - Ringwood, Eltham, Hong Kong etc - so you can find your tent easily enough. The native plantings - gums, acacias, she-oaks - have thrived since they were put in a year ago and as such there’s more greenery and windbreaks up there.
Over time Top Camp will be ‘planted out’ to become like a vast Bush Camp – with groves of SheOaks, stands of gums, maybe the odd circle of blackwoods and a corridor or two of Acacia.
The Pines (North Pines, South Pines)
The Pines are on the South boundary of Top Camp. They are two perpendicular rows of Pine Trees which intersect to form a giant “T”, thus creating two pockets of sheltered camping. The North pocket (North Pines) has been open for many years, whereas the South pocket (South Pines) is only a few years old. These campsites are the furthest away from the action and will be pretty quiet and peaceful. Both are protected on two sides by thick rows of Cypress Pines, so they provide excellent shelter, depending on the direction of the wind. The coldest wind is the southwester, North Pines and South Pines provide good shelter from it.
The other aspect of Pine Tree Corner that many will find appealing is the panoramic vista. Man! From the other side of the trees, you sit high on a ridge, looking West to wide open plains that extend for miles and miles, a huge pine plantation, a disused gold mine, and stunning sunsets. It’s a great spot, and those Meredith-goers who liked sitting in a quiet field watching the sunset are in for a total treat.
The campgrounds are populated similarly to any city; the inner city is the most densely populated, with most campsites being smaller. The further away you go, the more land you have, and the closer to the wide open spaces of the countryside you get. South Pines, for instance, seems like its furthest from the action, but like so many outer suburbs, its got a direct arterial road and footpath to the inner city, and as such its easy to get to. And the blocks are bigger. And the views are amazing. And as we all know, the suburbs ain’t any straighter than the inner city.
GREEN PRACTICES [ top ]
The festivals have a deep and abiding commitment to doing the right thing by the land. As it is essentially a temporary city that sets up for the weekend, the opportunity is there to create a microcosm of how a society might become more sustainable.
We don’t tend to shout this from the rooftops, we do tend to just do it, so that the festival-goer actually lives in the green system for the weekend and experiences everything first-hand.
Perhaps the most obvious example of the festivals green policies are the composting toilets. Uncle Doug designed and built over 100 permanent, waterless, composting toilets, to exacting Australian Standards. We trialed a few of them in 2006, and by early 2008 had over 100 in operation in two permanent banks. What a hit! Never have we had such incerdibel reaction to a facitlity on the site. basically, patrons love them. They don’t smell, they don’t use water, and the end result can be used on the land. They are user-friend-ly and enviro-lover-ly – they are private, clean, and waterless; plus no pumping or transport is required. And, in twelve months time with some sophisticated but simple treatment they create perfectly safe compost to use on the site. WINNER!! Our thanks also to Natural Event.
EVERYTHING that comes out of a food stall can be recycled or composted. And EVERYTHING that gets put into bags or bins before, during and after the festival gets sorted in the on-site sorting station, then subsequently divided into the appropriate stream.
PUBLIC TRANSPORT [ top ]
It’s easy, cheap and quick to get to and from the Meredith Supernatural Amphitheatre by Public Transport. We love the Public Transport system - it’s one of the best in the world in fact - and encourage its use. (Nobody paid us to say that).
Basically, there are trains from Spencer Street Melbourne to Geelong station (approx. 60 mins), then there are buses from Geelong Station to Meredith town (approx. 30mins), then the Meredith Festival Shuttle Bus will take you from Meredith town to the Festival site (approx. 10mins).
MOST IMPORTANTLY: if you wish to get the bus HOME from Golden Plains (whether or not you arrived by bus) YOU MUST REGISTER AT THE INFO TENT AT THE FESTIVAL BY 12noon ON THE SUNDAY. The Info Tent is near The Gift Shoppe on the site, the trip is $5 p/p.
We will post all timetables for buses and trains to and from Melbourne, Geelong, Ballarat and Adelaide prior to the festival.
Getting to the festival by train
All bus and train services you need to use are run by V/Line (www.vlinepassenger.com.au)
FROM MELBOURNE
To get to the festival, take train from Southern Cross station to Geelong station (approx. 1 hour ride) and at Geelong, catch connecting Ballarat bus to Meredith (approx. 40 min ride). From Meredith town, a shuttle bus will run to the festival site (10 min ride).
FROM BALLARAT
To get to the festival, catch the bus from Ballarat Rail Station to Meredith (approx. 40 min ride). From Meredith town, a shuttle bus will run to the festival site (10 min ride).
Catch shuttle bus from ‘Bus Stop’ near Reception/Front Gate to Meredith town (10 mins). You must register for the Monday bus trips back at the Info Tent by 12noon Sunday; trip is $5 p/p.
TO MELBOURNE
COMING FROM ADELAIDE
There are many ways to get transport from Adelaide. For details try some fo these websites: