Melbourne is almost the
same size as Sydney (both around 4 million) and is more European with beautiful gardens, a great Arts Center, the best restaurants, and
surrounding areas have spectacular things to see. The Great Ocean Road
from Melbourne to Adelaide is a must if you have the time. The Fairy
Penguins have rookeries just out of Melbourne and walk right around you
as they come back from a days fishing. The most successful are so full
of fish that they can hardly
walk!
The Dandenong ranges is a
beautiful rainforest area an easy drive or tour just 45 minutes east
with a National Park (Sherbrooke Forest), many lovely restaurants, B&B's
and towns with local arts and crafts. Bendigo is a nice 2 hour drive
north and Ballarat is a bit closer with a recreation of a complete gold
mining town at Sovereign Hill. The Yarra Valley is a
newer wine growing region with beautiful scenery and one of the best
Australian wildlife sanctuaries at Healsville. It's an easy 1-2 hour drive or there are
plenty of tours from Melbourne.
Melbourne's the home of
Aussie rules football which will be late in the regular season in
July/August. It's a must for sports fans and fun for all.
There's lots of info
online and here are a couple of links:
http://www.visitmelbourne.com/
http://www.wineyarravalley.com/www/338/1001785/default.asp
http://www.zoo.org.au/HealesvilleSanctuary
http://www.visitvictoria.com/GreatOceanRoad
Back to Trips
