Podium Finishes Victoria

Well having left Cooryong Victoria and crossed over into Khancoban NSW, we have left Victoria behind us. So now I can give you my Victorian podium finishes for Cities/Towns, Attractions/Experiences and Caravan Parks/Camp Sites 

Cities/Towns

1.       Ballarat – I thought this town was special. Interesting city centre but for me the jewel of this town was Lake Wendouree. It had a similar feel to Centennial Park in Sydney, but I thought it was more interesting and it had many beautiful spots. The landscaping and planning made use of all the aspects of the lake and the people made use of the lake as well with no shortage of activity ie young families in play areas, fisherman, joggers cyclists, walkers, restaurants etc. Lovely town

2.       Melbourne – I still enjoyed the big cities. As I mentioned early, Melbourne comes alive during the Aust. Open. There is that real festival/carnival feeling about the place. This is why I have placed it second on the podium. I think I could live here and discover the place. I placed it behind Ballarat because how could you really get to know a city of this size in 1.5 days. We were really only here to go to the tennis and only scratched the surface of the city.

3.       Mildura – we spent 4 days here and really liked the place. It is on the banks of the Murray River and made great use of the river with plenty of parklands, sporting and exercise facilities and river cruises. Nice place and well worth a visit.

Honourable mentions go to Beechworth and Bright in the Victorian high country. Both are pretty towns. Beechworth was an interesting little tourist mecca with lots of interesting shops, a natural gorge tourist drive, historical buildings and Ned Kelly attractions , perfect for a weekend away. Bright was a pretty tree lined town with a river running through the middle of it, which the tourists made plenty of use of with swimming activities. Nearby was an excellent drive to Mount Buffalo. Swan Hill and the Mornington Peninsula looked good as well.

Attractions/Experiences

1.       Mount Buffalo – What an magnificent experience. Maybe it was because it was a beautiful late afternoon on Christmas Eve and everything and everyone was bedded down. It was a very scenic drive up the mountain, a relatively short walk to what appeared an unreachable  summit, we virtually had the mountain to ourselves and the views and vista were breathtaking. I will always remember this Christmas Eve on Mt Buffalo.

2.       Australian Open Tennis – I had not been to the National Tennis Centre while the open was on. It was good to be there to experience the buzz, see familiar faces and personalities, former players I played with and against attending Melbourne Park, see matches from close up and experience a city come alive by the experience.

3.       The Grampians – reminded me of the Blue Mountains. Plenty of good walks and lookouts offering impressive viewing of the landscape. Probably the best walk was to The Pinnacle through the Grand Canyon rock formation. Pretty impressive 

Honourable mention goes to the 12 Apostles which again offered spectacular viewing. However, the Grampians pipped it because I had not been there before and did not know what to expect. The Mount Hotham drive was also pretty impressive.

Caravan Parks/Camp Sites

1.       Swan Hill Holiday Park – this park had a lovely simple feel to it. It was quiet, open, flat, well-appointed and very well grassed.

2.       Princetown Recreation Reserve – this was a council sponsored camp site handy to the 12 Apostles. It was basic but offered an open and scenic setting with mountain views, a cricket ground and hundreds of kangaroos as our neighbours.

3.       Ballarat and Bendigo  Big 4 Caravan Parks – I could not split these two Big 4 parks. Completely different feel to Princetown. They had all the amenities. It was Ballarat’s pool, spa while watching the cricket on the big screen verses Bendigo’s excellent recreation room with full lounge and tv family room.

I enjoyed Victoria. I particularly enjoyed the high country ie Beechworth, Myrtleford, Bright, Mt Buffalo, Hotham and Beauty. I would like to revisit there and spend more time looking around.