"It is possible to avoid the Hume Freeway altogether by taking the various bypassed section of the Hume Highway, but you need to know the service roads and diversions to link up the bits of the old highway (and previous Sydney Roads, such as the "Old Coach Road" leading out of Seymour, or gold rush period Sydney Road via Oxley, Everton, Baarmutha, Beechworth, Yackandandah and Staghorn Flat).

My favourite diversion coming south on the Hume is to turn off at Lambing Gully Road just south of Avenal through lovely granite country. This valley up Bunding Creek seems to stay green long after everything else dries out. This also used to be a Sydney Road, with a crossing over the Goulburn at Telegraph Road near Tallarook, but now you have to turn south east along the Goulburn Valley Hwy and cross the river at Trawool. The choice from there is to track back to Tallarook , or else continue to the King Parrot Creek Road turnoff near Kerrisdale, this can be followed all the way through Strath Creek, Flowerdale and Kinglake back into Whittlesea and home. I have done this route from Seymour in about an hour and a half, only a few minutes longer than the Freeway, but it was on the Ducati".