Victoria is full of great travel experiences. From Melbourne to beautiful beaches, awesome hiking trails, wineries, or a gold rush-era town that feels unchanged for 150 years. That’s the cool thing about travelling in Victoria — variety, all in a smaller size than the other bigger, but more vacuous states.
Melbourne: The Big Bit of Culture
Most journeys begin in Melbourne, mainly because most people live there, and it has a bloody big airport. You might know this city for its laneway cafes, street art, world-class galleries, or just as the city that thinks its the greatest, when nobody else really cares. Whether you’re sipping a weird-ass tumeric latte, sitting on an uncomfortable milk crate in a polluted laneway in Collingwood, catching a crowded tram with toothless speed addicts in Fitzroy, or wandering the stalls of Queen Victoria Market trying to escape, Melbourne makes a strong case for staying put (if you’re crazy). But the real adventure starts when you venture out of zone 1. Actually out of zone 3.
The Great Ocean Road
Yeah everyone loves it. Except most Aussies. Limestone cliffs, surf beaches, and the Twelve Apostles. Hordes of tourists in huge buses. No parking near to where you want to get to. Stop at seaside towns like Lorne or Apollo Bay for overpriced fish and chips, or take a detour inland into the Otways for rainforest walks and waterfalls – where far fewer people go because it’s cold and dark most of the time.
The High Country
Here’s where the real romance starts. Think Man from Snowy River. Actuality? Rednecks in oversized utes with bumper stickers quoting ‘fertilise the bush: doze in a greenie” or “I hunt and I vote” stickers. In winter, Hotham and Falls Creek are alive with black SUVs and arrogant types flaunting their cash. In summer, the mountains open up to hikers, cyclists, and heaps of people wishing they had stayed home to watch the cricket on TV. The region also has a rich bushranger history — think Ned Kelly or one of the other ones whose names nobody knows — and a half-thriving food and wine scene.
Central Victoria’s Goldfields
A trip through Castlemaine, Bendigo, Ballarat, and Daylesford is like stepping into a living museum. The trouble is, there are still some people who are alive. They tend to be opinionated or small-minded. Heritage architecture lines the streets, and old theatres, breweries, and gardens still carry the grand ambitions of the 1850s. Everyone talks about history being the goldrush era, while there’s only a token nod to the real history – the screwed-over landscape and the horrific genocide to first peoples. Today, these towns are creative hubs, with hipsters trying their latest micro-entrepreneurial skills making some disgusting orange-rind-flavoured craft beer, or a someone opening up a fine-dining restaurant, but unfortunately having opening times that rarely suit any out-of-town visitor. Daylesford, in particular, is an overpriced wellness hotspot — mineral springs, spas, and busy Melbourne- and Sydney-types posting Insta photos of autumn colours while spending almost all their time indoors.
The Coastlines Beyond
Head east for the Gippsland Lakes, Wilsons Promontory, and Ninety Mile Beach — pristine stretches perfect for camping, kayaking, and escaping the crowds (and life itself). The Bellarine and Mornington Peninsulas combine beaches with wineries, hot springs, and farm-to-table food.
Encounter Animals
From little penguins to the odd wombat, most of the animals you’ll see in Victoria are dead on the sides of the road. But occasionally you might spot kangaroos grazing in Grampians National Park or koalas dozing in the trees along the Great Ocean Road. Annoyingly, if you do see koalas dozing in a tree there will be at least 20 other people gasping and taking photos, making it a less-than-enjoyable roadside stop.
Why Travel Victoria?
Because you don’t have the cash to go somewhere more interesting? Or because you don’t have the time to drive days or weeks on end through the rest of this epic country? Relatively (for Australia) distances are short. You could stay a few nights in a country town, get drunk and obnoxious at a vineyard, lose some money betting at the races, or take the time to get lonely hiking a lesser-known trail. You’ll find the real Victoria not just in its landscapes, but in its people: the grumpy barista in a backstreet café, the farmer desperately trying to sell honey in dirty jars at a weekend market, the local historian at a goldfield museum who tells you to be quiet or get lost.