Melbourne, Yarra Valley, Phillip Island Penguins, Great Ocean Road

Australian Travel Destination 3

As you arrive into Melbourne you are struck immediately by the contrast between the downtown city high rise buildings, the blue stretch of Port Phillip Bay and the surrounding countryside that stretches as far as you can see in every direction. It is a good reminder of the immensity of Australia. Melbourne is a very cultured city: wide streets and boulevards, trams (streetcars) that provide an efficient mode of public transport, a well defined river frontage and docklands precinct, street cafes, excellent shopping and friendly, interesting people. It is well worth including in your Australian Trip of a Lifetime. It is a city of contrasts, from beachside suburbs to the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley to the Great Ocean Road.

For more detail, see the Map of Australia Travel Destination Melbourne, Yarra Valley, Phillip Island Penguins and the Great Ocean Road. Also see the Melbourne City Map

History of Melbourne
In 1835 John Batman and John Pascoe Fawkner arrived in Port Phillip bay from Launceston Tasmania and set up a settlement on the banks of the Yarra River that is now close to Flinders Street Station and Federation Square, the downtown heart of Melbourne. The Victorian Gold Rush that started in 1851 established Melbourne as a major port and swelled the population to the extent that by 1865 Sydney was no longer the largest city in Australia. A friendly rivalry has developed between Sydney and Melbourne, but the fact is that they are both very different cities, each showing their own aspect of the Australian lifestyle. When Australia was federated in 1901, Melbourne became the seat of Australian Government until the establishment of Canberra and the removal of the Federal Parliament there in 1927. The Capital of the State of Victoria, Melbourne provides an excellent base from which to explore the Yarra Valley, Ballarat and the Australian Goldfields, Phillip Island and the Penguin Parade and the Great Ocean Road between Lorne and Warrnambool. For further detail, see our Interactive Map of Melbourne City.

Geography of Melbourne, Victoria, the Yarra Valley and the Great Ocean Road
A wider view of Melbourne, Yarra Valley, Phillip Island Penguins and the Great Ocean Road can be found at our Interactive Map of Australian Travel Destination 3. Melbourne enjoys a mild, cool temperate climate, with rainfall distributed throughout the year, but higher in the winter months (June, July, August). The downtown area centres on the point at which the Yarra River reaches Port Phillip Bay and is an area of about 3 Sq Kms. The city suburbs extend some distance in a low density sprawl that gradually becomes rural Victoria, while the inner Melbourne suburbs are more dense, with Melbourne downtown boasting at least 6 of the highest buildings in Australia, including the highest, Eureka Tower on Southbank.

The Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges
The Great Australian Dividing Range runs from the north of Queensland south all the way to Melbourne and then curves west to become the Adelaide Hills. Behind Sydney it is the Blue Mountains, around Canberra it is the Australian Alps and the Snowy River Region, and to the east of Melbourne it forms the pleasant rural, hilly Dandenong Ranges crossed by the Yarra Valley. Many Yarra Valley Day Trips and Tours take in the wine areas, as well as the country lifestyle of the area.

find out more about Melbourne and Victoria.

Phillip Island and the Penguin Parade
Every evening the little Fairy Penguins come ashore at Phillip Island after an exhausting time out in the wild waters of Bass Strait and the Great Southern Ocean. There are a number of full day and evening tours to Phillip Island to see the penguins come ashore and some include the excellent Koala Conservation Centre on Phillip Island.

find out more about Phillip Island and the Penguins

Will Travel Planning Help? >>>> Find Out More About Working with an Australian Travel Planner.

The Great Ocean Road
Before 1918, the area now known as the Great Ocean Road, or Great Southern Touring Route of Victoria, was only accessible by way of rough bush tracks or by sea. Towards the end of the First World War, the Government proposed building the road to make the area more accessible and to foster the growth of the Western District of Victoria. The Great Ocean Road officially starts at Lorne and winds its way along the coast approximately 45 Kms (27 miles) to the coastal city of Warrnambool, the largest township on the route. It is a two lane road that hugs the coast until Apollo Bay, and then turns inland crossing the Otway National Park before running on to Warrnambool. Find Hotels in Warrnambool. The Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge, The Grotto and London Arch are the most popular tourist attractions on the Great Ocean Road's clifftop stretches. Coach and small group day tours to the Great Ocean Road leave from Melbourne, and the area is a popular self drive destination.

find out more about The Great Ocean Road Australia

The Grampians and the Western District of Victoria
Some 235 Kms (140 miles) to the west of Melbourne, The Grampians National Park is a striking area of Sandstone Mountain Ranges bisected by wildlife filled valleys. The highest peak in the National Park is about 1167 metres (3,800 feet) and the area is a popular rock climbing and bushwalking destination.

find out more about The Grampians National Park (Garlwerd)

Will Travel Planning Help? >>>> Find Out More About Working with an Australian Travel Planner.

Search Australian.com for Melbourne Hotels and Accommodation

Search Australian.com for Tours and Activities in Melbourne

Search Australian.com for Car Hire in Australia

Search Australian.com for Campervans and Motorhomes

find out more about Melbourne, the Yarra Valley and the Great Ocean Road