Victoria

VICTORIA

Melbourne

An architectural blend of historic and futuristic design, Melbourne is also a natural beauty, blessed with elegant parks and tree lined boulevards. Set around the shores of Port Phillip Bay, Melbourne sits on the northern banks of the Yarra River, about five kilometres from the bay. This is an exquisitely planned city.

Whit a population of over 3.6 million citizens from more than 140 nationalities, the city is a melting pot of cultures, a fact reflected in its microcosm of restaurants, cafes, bistros and bars.

There are many thousand acres of parkland, even in the centre of Melbourne, which explains the vast amount of land the city occupies. An outdoor lifestyle and good cuisine is indeed king in Melbourne.

The city centre is made up of precincts – distinct enclaves each with its own flavour and ambience. Extending around the bay is a number of inner suburbs, each with its own unique character. Short tram rides from the centre, these neighbourhoods are a must for anyone wanting to scratch Melbourne’s surface.

Waterfront City and Newquay

The city by the sea is located on spectacular Victoria Harbour and boasts seven kilometres of waterfront promenades, internationally recognised urban art, stunning architecture and state of the art marinas.

Docklands comprises interlinked precincts, including Waterfront City and Newquay. Each area offers a dynamic blend of residential, commercial, retail and leisure components. Expect stylish restaurants right on the water, cosy bars and active waterways.

Dockland is just five minutes drive to Melbourne’s BCD and is easily accessible by public transport including trams, taxis and water taxis.

Regional Victoria

If you limit your Victorian trip to Melbourne alone, you will no doubt have a great time, but you are missing an opportunity to see how the other regions live. Each one offers a radically different point of view.

Sometimes you want to go away for just a day. A short break from the hustle and bustle of the city. You don’t want to drive for long – an hour or two at most. Perhaps for some respite from the crowds with a long walk by the sea, or a relaxing picnic in the countryside. Whatever your vision, Victoria has just what you need. You will find day trips and longer getaways are just waiting to happen in these diverse tourist regions.

Dandenongs and the Yarra Valley

Under an hour from Melbourne, discover lush gullies of giant ferns, log cabins secreted away in mountain villages, and towering forests with mist for a blanket. It is the sort of scenery you only see in movies. Create your own make believe in the Dandenongs.

Mornington Peninsula

As you drive along the Mornington Peninsula you could be forgiven for thinking that you have left Australia behind altogether. Rolling hills of olive groves and vineyards lead to coastal accommodation with sea views, and local produce is served in romantic restaurants or sold at bustling markets. All this only an hour from Melbourne.

Daylesford and the Macedon Ranges

There is a reason Daylesford and Fairytale almost sound the same. It is because they look the same. Take a trip to Daylesford and live happily ever after just a stone’s throw from Melbourne, stay in boutique accommodation, sample the mineral waters, explore antique shops and galleries, go beating on the lake, or relax with a glass of wine and enjoy fine dining.

Phillip Island

Drive 90 minutes from Melbourne and you will find yourself standing nose to nose with Koalas, sharing a beach with hungry pelicans, watching a colony of fur seals splashing in the sun and of course walking with our famous penguins. And the best part is, at Phillip Island, nature is happy to get close to you.

Great Ocean Road

Winding along the western coast of Victoria, the Great Ocean Road offers views so indescribably beautiful that they stump even hardened travel writers. Beachside activities, laidback coastal towns and maritime villages provide limitless opportunities to leave everyday life behind.

The Goldfields

They say it is important to live a life rich in story. The Goldfields region is a place of meaning and substance – where the dreams and aspirations of the gold rush are echoed in the landscape. Cities and villages rich in history fuse with contemporary café life. Art and culture thrive out here, legends live on and new treasures wait to be unearthed.

The Grampians

The Grampians is a natural oddity that we guarantee you will never forget. The shape of the ranges alone hints at a freak geographical event in another epoch of time. Aside from bushwalking through this dramatic landscape, visit historic aboriginal sites and quality education centres, and see waterfalls and native animals, especially the kangaroos lounging around at Halls Gap Caravan Park!

High Country

Come to the High Country for nature based adventure in the alpine landscapes of north east Victoria. History and gold rush towns, snow fields, waterways and gourmet food and wine all combine to offer a rich touring experience indeed. And if you do something unpredictable, like find yourself thoroughly revived, you can always blame the alpine air.

Gippsland

Looking for a bit of towel space? Pick your dream spot on a beach 90 miles long! Explore unspoilt beaches in Australia’s natural time capsule, Wilsons Promontory, wander through deep fern gullies in Tarra Bulga rainforest and drift away on the Gippsland Lakes system, Australia’s largest. This is a region full of natural wonders and remote coastlines.

Classic Drive

Great Ocean Road, Victoria

Start: Geelong

Finish: Port Fairy

Distance: 329km

The Great Ocean Road is one of Australia’s most spectacular drives. It weaves a coast-hugging course around sea bound hills, through dense rainforest and past astonishing rock formations. There are historic villages, heritage lighthouses and excellent surfing, fishing and diving along the way. Allow about three days to complete the tour – the accommodation options range from beachside camping to luxury eco-lodges.

Port city

Geelong, a large regional city and major port, began as a service centre for the wool-rich Western District in the 1830s. Historic bluestone warehouses dot the waterfront; one now houses the fascinating National Wool Museum. Geelong’s attractive waterfront, stretching from Cunningham Pier to the Art deco pavilion at Eastern Beach, is an ideal stopping place – cafes, restaurants and grassy picnic spots overlook the bay.

Making waves

Torquay is the surf capital of Australia. It has the world’s largest surf museum, Surf world, and is home to a number of big name manufacturers of surf gear including Rip Curl and Quicksilver. Just down the road is the legendary Bells Beach, where the country’s top surf event, The Rip Curl Pro, takes place each Easter.

Waterfalls and Lattes

Lorne is a popular holiday town on the shores of Loutit Bay. In summer the main street is lined with latte-sippers, while the beach is packed with holidaying families. The hinterland hills are protected in Angahook- Lorne State park – It encloses a tranquil landscape of waterfalls and rainforest, crisscrossed by a series of walking tracks.

Fresh Fish

The 42km route from Lorne to Apollo Bay is no ordinary country drive – extraordinary views unfold around every corner as the road curves and swoops across a band of low coastal hills. Apollo Bay has a busy harbour and a resident fishing fleet; drop by the wharf to check out the catch when the boats come in. The accommodation and dining in and around town are excellent.

Forest foray

Beyond Apollo Bay the road swings inland to cross the peaks and valleys of the national park – protected Otway Ranges. Here lie significant pockets of cool temperate rainforest, the ancestry of which dates back as far as the Gondwana era. Stop at Maits Rest, where a boardwalk leads into a mossy gully past giant myrtle beech trees.

To the Lighthouse

The Cape Otway Lighthouse sits on a rugged point 100m above the sea. Built by convicts in 1848, the lighthouse complex, with its low-slung, white-rendered buildings, is now open to the public. Holiday accommodation is available in the Keeper’s Cottage – book ahead.

Scattered Stacks

West of the Otway, protected within Port Campbell National Park , lies one of Australia’s most scenic sights; large limestone formations that have fractured from the original cliff line and now lie stranded amid the swell of the Southern Ocean. Best known are the lonely shapes of the Twelve Apostles and the elegant arch of London Bridge. Viewing platforms and boardwalks give visitors good access to the views.

Shipwreck Coast

Around 80 shipwrecks pepper Victoria’s south-west waters. Best known is the Loch Ard, wrecked in 1878 near the gorge now known by the same name. Of the 54 people on board, only two survived. Plaques mark the various wreck sites along the coast, and some of the wrecks are accessible to divers (dive operators are based in Port Campbell and Warrnambool).

Ocean Nursery

Warrnambool is a large regional centre with good beach and river frontage. Its star attraction is Logans Beach, where most years, from winter through to spring, southern right whales arrive from their Antarctic feeding grounds to give birth just offshore, and then stay around to tend their young. In town is Flagstaff Hill maritime Museum, an authentic recreation of an Australian colonial port. “Shipwrecked”, an evocative sound and light show, screens nightly.

Fishing Village

Port Fairy is one of Victoria’s earliest ports, established in the late 1820s on the banks of the Moyne River. Over 50 of its buildings have been classified by the National Trust. Visit Griffiths Island, at the head of the river, to see the huge colony of short-tailed shearwaters (September – April), explore the 1859 lighthouse, or cast a line off the riverbank.