Victoria is the most densely populated state in Australia with 75% of its population living in Melbourne. Victoria borders New South Wales and South Australia. Victoria state is proud of its history as you will discover from elegant Victorian buildings and beautifully preserved goldmining towns.
It offers an abundance of natural attractions such as The Twelve Apostles, Grampians, Phillip Island and the Great Ocean Road. Why not try your hand at waterskiing on the Mildura River or visit Yarra Valley where it offers 55 of the worlds best wineries. The Victorian Alpine Region is particularly good for skiing.
After Tasmania, Victoria is the wettest state in Australia. Despite the size of Victoria it has a varied climate. It is cooler & wetter than the rest of the states because of the air from the southern ocean.
Train
There are a number of train routes that run from Melbourne to rural areas across Victoria state, which are operated by V/Line. Melbourne itself has a great tram system making it very easy to get around the city. The Overland train runs between Melbourne and Adelaide and stops at several towns along the way including Geelong North Shore and Ararat. The CountryLink/XPT train has a few stops north of Melbourne heading towards Sydney.
Car
This is the best way to get around the state of Victoria. Here are just a few of the great drives to experience. The Great Ocean Road is about a 2-hour drive from the heart of Melbourne with dual lane highway conditions for most of the journey. Discover the gorgeous Bellarine Peninsula or take the Surf Coast Highway to the famous surf town of Torquay. The Great Ocean Road is over 400 kilometres, and stretches from Torquay to Nelson on the South Australian border and offers the most extraordinary coastal scenery in Australia. It is considered one of the best drives in the world. The Grampians are between Adelaide and Melbourne.
You can explore the Naracoorte Caves in South Australia, then cross the border into Victoria to Little Desert, the Grampians and Mt Arapiles. Mildura is situated along the Australian outback, but is relatively easy to reach from Melbourne, Adelaide and Sydney. Quality highways make it easy to get to by car from Melbourne via three main roads, the Sunraysia Highway via Ballarat, the Calder Highway via Bendigo and the Murray Valley Highway via Bridgewater. You can drive to the vine-strung hills and rolling farmland of the Yarra Valley from Melbourne, a truly spectacular region of Victoria.
Melbourne is a city with something for everyone. From high class fashion shops to lively cafes and cool bars, botanic gardens, elegante Victorian-era streetscapes to Manhanttan-style skycrapers, sports stadiums, film and food festivals to galleries and opulent theatres.
The road hugs the coastline for much of the route revealing lovely coastal scenery, as well as the inland splendor of the Otway Ranges. The Twelve Apostles, are offshore piles of rock, which protrude from the sea and over the years have eroded, with only eight, now left standing.
Grampians is a National Park and was awarded on the Australian National Heritage list due to its natural beauty. The Grampians have a series of sandstone mountain ranges. The Grampians have a hugh Aboriginal culture with numerous rock art. Visit one of the caves to find depictions of humans, animal tracks and birds.
Phillip Island is the home to the Fairy Penguins. At dusk, they emerge from the surf, completely ignoring the thousands of curious onlookers. The island has a major wildlife reserve where you can see koalas, fur seals, pelicans, mutton-birds and other sea birds.
The Yarra Valley has some of the most scenic & breathtaking countryside in all of Australia. What makes up the spectacular scenery on around Marysville and Warburton is the rolling hills with vines, lush green valleys with rich vegetation and pristine rivers.
I had 3 weeks hoilday, and wanted to see my brother and family in Australia. My brother lives in Bondi, so thought it best to stay in this area.
I stayed at the Swiss Grand Bondi hotel on Bondi Beach which was fabulous. Lovely spacious rooms with small separate room off bedroom and great rooftop swimming pool and spa. Bondi beach has great beach/walks/restaurants/bars/shops and is only 20mins from city centre, so we had best of both words. Were able to go to city centre to do harbour cruise, city tour and wander around the city & harbour area taking it all in.
After Sydney we flew to Hamilton Island and spent a few days at the Reef View Hotel. Hamilton is great with loads to do, nice restaurants, good sailing trips. Highlight was sailing trip to Whitehaven beach, stunning.
Everything was arranged by Australia Travel Centre, top class, Thanks for knowledge and professionalism.
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