It's a two hour hike to this little bit of Thai splendour a couple of hours from Melbourne. A forested swamp meets the sea in a golden crescent of sand hemmed in by mountains. Granite headlands keep the warm, clear waters nice and calm; continue on to Refuge Cove (2hrs) for a more exclusive swim before a long walk out.

wilson's prom national park

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Melbourne is a very liveable and visitable city with great cafes, shopping and history. On a recent visit, I found one of the best things I did was take a pod tour of Melbourne's Laneways.

I used a free podcast from Talk'N Tours which was great but there are others available.

I got to see street art, quirky shops and a good bit of the central city sights as I wound my way along the back streets and through alleyways I otherwise wouldn't have.

Station: Starts at Flinders St Station
www.talk-n-tours.com

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Visting Melbourne's Chinatown - the oldest area of continuous Chinese settlement in the western world is a great way to spend a quiet Sunday afternoon. Lots to see (as the history of the area dates back to the 1840s and 1850s), plenty of places to have a bite and while there, visit the Chinese Museum.

Melbourne's ChinaTown
along Little Bourke Street City
plus the alleys which link the area to Bourke St and Lonsdale St
www.melbournechinatown.com.au/


Museum of Chinese Australian History
22 Cohen Place Melbourne
Victoria 3000 Australia
Phone: 9662 2888
www.chinesemuseum.com.au

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A quiet private resort at Metung with many upper class town houses and cabins for couples and families. Set on the hill overlooking the lakeside at Metung, Mcmillans is walking distance (10 mins) from the town centre. Go and have a quiet comfortable weekend away. Highly recommended!

3 hours drive from Melbourne on the Gippsland lakes.
www.mcmillansofmetung.com.au

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Cape Bridgewater, part of the Discovery Bay Coastal Park provides shelter for Victoria's largest colony of seals and just to the east, Bridgewater Bay.

Cape Bridgewater is a headland formed by volcanic action and exposed to all the forces of the ocean. Apart from the seal colony, there are blowholes and 'the petrified' forest to see.
The kiosk on the beach at Bridgewater Bay serves great fish and chips!

18km from Portland in the SW corner of Victoria. Get there via the Great Ocean Rd.

www.parkweb.vic.gov.au/1park_display.cfm?park=102

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The Melbourne Royal Botanic Gardens has just opened 'Australian Garden' at the Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne. This is so different from any other botanic garden I have ever seen anywhere else in the world. It showcases the Australian landscape with red sand, rockeries, dry river beds, arid areas and Australian 'bush'. Breathtaking (and not a rose bush in sight).

1000 Ballarto Road, Cranbourne (about 40 mins from the city);
tel: (03) 5990 2200;
www.rbg.vic.gov.au/australian_garden

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Melbourne has superb gardens spread throughout and one of the best - the Botanical Gardens - has 'The Tan'.

The Tan is a wide flat track around the outside of the Botanical gardens, and it’s home to joggers, runners, walkers and pusher pushers. Watch out for the footballers though as they try and complete a lap in record time.

Best of all: it’s free (bring your own running shoes).

The Tan runs around the circumference of the Botanic Gardens and the Domain. Run there, take a tram or walk from Flinders Street station; www.accessibility.com.au/melbourne/garden/tan.htm

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A giraffe or rhinoceros in the middle of an Australian plain? Yes there are, at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. The Werribee Zoo is an extension of Melbourne’s famous zoo at Parkville, but with much more land. It’s billed as 'Africa out of Africa', and that is a very good description.

K Road, Werribee, Vic. 3030
tel: 9731 9600;
www.zoo.org.au/visiting.cfm?zoo_id=3

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Every city deserves a high point, a look out, a place to be amazed by the city. Melbourne has Mount Dandenong, the perfect place for a restaurant, viewing platforms and television signal towers. The view gets better at night with all the lights. Parking (which used to be free) now costs.

Observatory Rd, Mount Dandenong;
tel: 9751 0443;
www.skyhighmtdandenong.com.au

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Range of beautiful mountains. There is an information centre on the Burwood Highway where you can collect details of the trail walks. Plenty of gum trees and tree ferns and spectacular bird life-king parrots, crimson rosellas, cockatoos. Also gardens to visit and nice places to eat or picnic.

Less than 1 hour drive to NE of city centre, also accessible by bus.

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Studley Park in Kew, set on the Yarra, is very pretty at all times of the year, although it gets busy on weekends. There's a boathouse, several walks, picnic areas and a golf course. There’s lots of Australian nature with excellent views of the city.

Access via Yarra Boulevard off Studley Park Road

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Well worth a walk as it encompasses some of the the best vistas onto Port Phillip Bay and some good beaches. Set up to educate users on local artists and why/where they painted what they did - includes Tom Roberts and Arthur Streeton. If you have time, have a coffee at the Rickett's Point cafe overlooking the beach...

www.bayside.vic.gov.au/artstrail/masterframeset.htm

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Churchill Island lies just off Phillip Island connected by a small road and bridge. It is the site of one of the earliest farmhouses in the area with beautiful, peaceful surroundings. The farmhouse has been decorated in its original style and is still a working farm. Lots of walks with helpful information sheets and very helpful rangers. It also has an information centre with a good cafe. Just enjoy the peace before you plunge back into Melbourne.

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