|  | | | VICTORIA CAPITAL CITY MELBOURNE Victoria the smallest State in Australia, never the less has a lot to offer to the visitor, it includes some of the unique historical places in Australia's history. many European immigrants arrived in Perth by sea and most dis embarked in the port of Melbourne, transited by Rail to a transition Facility in Bonnegilla, Victoria, as a young German Immigrant at 18, I personally experienced this very organized welcome to Australia, later I transited to Sydney, NSW ,where I lived for 2 years, traveling widely throughout the beautiful land. I than moved to America to join my family. Australia always will have a special place in my life and I have been back many times over the years, there is a lot to experience in Aussie, the variation in landscape, the Beaches, Reefs, Desert and the unusual animal life. Australia has an abandons of National parks and the ECO friendliness has become habit. The first notable Greeter to visitors is the happy morning call of the ever present Kookaburra say what? Well the Kookaburra is a very enthusiastic Greeter and omits an ear piercing call to get out of bed and visit the land, start your day! Or go WALK ABOUT , Aussie speak! Melbourne was an Industrial City in the 1930/50th and these days has become a very modern metropolis, the Downtown area reminds of a European Victorian city, there are new sky scrapers, a large Hyatt hotel as well as many other world Class hotels , Art is high on the interest level as well as a cultural center with an underground opera building, actually under the Yarra river. Melbourne hosted the 1956 Summer Olympic games. To the wine lover , there is a large selection of excellent Aussie wines, European transplants started vineyards from NSW, Victoria to Southern Australia, touring these vineyards is also a very nice experience, DUI laws are enforced! |
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| | | | Outside of Melbourne is Phillip island, you can walk with penguins, seals and local wildlife, if you are lucky you will meet a Koala and have a bit of one sided fun Mate. Other popular tourism activities are gliding, hang-gliding, hot air ballooning and scuba diving. and of course snow skiing., surprised? Well there are the Snowy Mountains within easy distance. Aussie's build a very elaborate Hydro Retaining project to supply power and water to states.
Major events also play a big part in tourism in Victoria, particularly cultural tourism and sports tourism. Most of these events are centred around Melbourne, but others occur in regional cities, such as the V8 Supercars and Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix at Phillip Island, the Grand Annual Steeplechase at Warrnambool and the Australian International Airshow at Geelong and numerous local festivals such as the popular Port Fairy Folk Festival, Queenscliff Music Festival, Bells Beach SurfClassic and the Bright Autumn FestivalSport |
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| | | Some major tourist destinations in Victoria are:
•The metropolis of Melbourne, particular its inner city suburbs (known also for shopping tourism) and the attractions of the city center such as Crown Casino, Melbourne Zoo, Melbourne Museum, the Melbourne Aquarium, tourism precincts such as Melbourne Docklands, Southbank and St Kilda as well as cultural and sporting tourist icons such as The Arts Centre, National Gallery of Victoria, the Melbourne Cricket Ground, also known as the MCG, and the Eureka Tower, tallest building in the Southern Hemisphere, with its Skydeck 88.
•The former Goldfields region featuring the historic cities of Ballarat, Beechworth, Bendigo, Castlemaine, Maldon and Daylesford. Natural attractions, such as The Twelve Apostles, Wilson's Promontory, The Grampians, the Fairy Penguins (particularly at Phillip Island and St Kilda), the Buchan Caves and the Gippsland Lakes. |
| | | Statewide Tourist Destinations: •The Dandenong Ranges (in particular the Puffing Billy Railway). •Towns along the Murray River and Riverina including Echuca and Mildura including waterskiing.
•Geelong (particularly the city's waterfront) and the Australian International Airshow
•The Bellarine Peninsula which features historic resort towns such as Queenscliff.
•The Surf Coast which features famous beaches such as Bells Beach, Torquay and Lorne
•Mornington Peninsula, particularly for its wineries and secluded beaches, Arthur's Seat and the coastal attractions of Portsea and Sorrento.
•Yarra Valley (in particular Healesville Sanctuary and wineries).
•Great Ocean Road, which features The Twelve Apostles, historic towns of Port Fairy and Portland, cliffs and whale watching and resort towns such as Lorne.
•The Victorian Alpine Region, part of the Australian Alps, particularly for skiing
•The Central Victorian Highlands, 'Highcountry' are very well known for winter sports and bushwalking ie.Walk About! |
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