Would appreciate advice on Mel/Syd trip!
 

My cousin and I are thinking about going to Australia in April 2007. We are in our 30s, live in NYC. I have been to Australia several times, mostly to Sydney although I did take a tour from Cairns to Sydney once for 3 weeks so I've also been to the GBR, Whitsundays, Fraser, Noosa, Byron Bay, etc. I've been to Melbourne as well, but just within the city limits.

What I'm thinking is (we have about 2 weeks from NYC) that we fly from NYC to Melbourne and spend a week in that area. I have never driven the Great Ocean Road or been to the Yarra Valley or Mornington area. Is this worth it? We love wine, beaches,and while I'm sure my cousin would like the Whitsundays, we do have the Caribbean/Bermuda somewhat close by (2-5 hrs flight) which personally I think is a bit nicer (I know the weather will not be "beach" weather that time of year, which is fine). If I did the Whits again I'd want to do Hayman or Lizard and that's too expensive. I did a little research on the GOR and the small surf towns look like fun as does seeing the 12 Apostles. Also, I figured we could see Melbourne for 2-3 days, do a day trip to Yarra Valley, and then spend 2-3 days on the GOR. I don't want to go back to Australia and see the same things (Syd is the exception) so I thought this area of the country seemed appealing. I also saw something about seeing koalas in that region, can anyone tell me a specific place? I've held one but I know she'd love that!

I then thought we would fly from Melbourne to Sydney and spend a week up there. Having lived there the past couple of summers I know my way around and have friends I want to visit.

What'd ya think? Any other suggestions, perhaps Brisbane/Noosa? I would LOVE to do Broome/Kimberley but I don't think there's enough time or $$ to go that far.

Thanks!

I think your idea is great, Abby43. The Yarra Valley is gorgeous, as is the GOR drive. Both have lots of options for accommodation & wonderful regional food. The great thing about Victoria is its accessibility to quite different regions within a few hours or day's driving. Have a look at Beechworth & Bright, too. At that time the trees will be going into Autumn foilage, and they're both lovely little towns. (Great pie shop in Beechworth, too!) Melbourne's a wonderful destination - I always love my time there.

You might find this link useful:
http://www.visitvictoria.com

Consider Tasmania, a short flight from Melbourne. You can sometimes find an AUD 39 OW fare on Virgin Blue's Happy Hour (although you'd have to wait a bit for April 2007 fares to show up there). Check out the Virgin Blue website if you're interested.

I'd given no thought to going to Tasmania on our October 2006 trip until I read some of the trip reports on this board. Type "Tasmania" (without the quotes) into the search box at the top of the page and read the messages that come up on the left-hand side. I'm hooked!

Here is a link for the GOR: http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/

It is a very spectacular drive and you won't be disappointed, however there are no longer 12 Apostles. One of them crashed into the sea last July.

I thought one of them fell down somewhere! Any suggestions for stops along the GOR-I read some other reports that said drive along and spend the night in Port Fairy, then return to Melbourne going inland. What is there to see on the inland road?

What about the Mornington region? That seems to be on the east side of Mel so therefore an entirely different trip in itself rather than something we could see along the GOR. How far is the Mornington region from Mel and could we drive out there and visit within one long day?

Mornington is such a lovely name but I don't think I'd spend extra time in the MLB area to visit it.

You have a perfect opportunity - seeing you've factored out the reef and other places that are just too far away. Just spend those 2 weeks in the SE corner of the country.

Here's what I would be tempted to do.

2-3 days in Melbourne.
Hit the GOR - 2 days.
Turn around at Port Fairy.
Don't go back to Melbourne - head across country to the Grampians - maybe a side trip to Bright or Echuca.
Cross the VIC-NSW border and spend some time in Canberra.
Return the car in Sydney - and spend 4 days there.

That's if the idea of a road trip appeals.

Or you could take an organised trip along the GOR and go all the way to Adelaide; and tack on Kangaroo Island - then fly to Sydney from ADL.

May I recommend www.waywardbus.com.au

I've done their trip ADL-MLB; I recommended it to some quite picky friends (40 somethings) who went the other way, and they had a fantastic time.

I'm not a great one for organised trips but WB are really good; you'll see stuff that you might not if you were doing your own thing; and whoever would have been the driver gets to look at the scenery rather than the road.

Just a thought.

Unless you are a mad keen golfer, I would follow the advice that others have given and scratch the Mornington Pen. part of the trip. Having said that though, that areas signature wine is Pinot Noir and there are lots of ( very highly priced) examples of the best of that variety to be found there. Still the Yarra Valley makes some wonderful cabs and other varieties so all is not lost if the Mornington area misses out !!!

Koalas - no wildlife parks along the GOR to see but you may be lucky and see one in the wild, though I doubt it. Kangaroos can be viewed at the Anglesea Golf club, golfers and roos share the course!
In Victoria it is illegal for non-handlers to hold a Koala.
If you head towards Ballarat I recommend Ballarat Wildlife Park for seeing kangaroos,wombats,repitles and koals. Geelong - Jirrahiling at Barwon Heads is okay but not that fantastic. There is also a good wildlife park near Phillip Island, along with Healesville Sancturary on that side of Melbourne.
GOR - estimate of travel times -
Melb - Geelong - 1 hour
Geelong - Lorne - 1 hour
Lorne - Warrnambool - 2 hours.
The road is restricted to 80kph. Would also advise stopping regularly for photos and viewing - many tourists come to grief on this road. Apollo Bay is a nice seaside village and a nice place to stop, as is Port Campbell.
Inland road trip, Warrnambool/Terang/Camperdown/Colac/Geelong/Melb - takes about 3-4 hours.
Or if you have longer, a trip via the Grampians and Halls Gap, back through Stawell, Great Western, Ararat, Ballarat Melbourne.

Lots of good advice so far . April n Melbourne will be about 20 degrees celsius with lovely late Autumn / Fall sun . And that is when Bokharas tip for Beechworth/ Bright is splendid as at that time all the trees , especially the Poplars are turning gold . Wonderful wines in that region as well . See The Beechworth Wine Centre. Have you thought of staying out of town in the Yarra Valley rather than just a day trip ? If so look for instance at www.chateauyering.com.au . It is a lovely old home that is now a hotel with a very good vineyard . Not cheap but for overseas tourists with strong currencies the rates are favourable . They have deals including hot air ballooning which is lovely in the early morning as the sun rises . Also the Tarrawarra Art Gallery / Vineyard is wonderful place to visit , look a the exhibition , sample wine and eat . See www.twma.com.au. Also look at Marysville which is out that way .To get there you drive The Black Spur which is a wonderful road that winds through a 'cathedral' of Mountain Ash gum trees . It is only about 1.5 hours drive from Melbourne .Marysville has lots of accomodation eg The Cumberland . My only real tip is remember we all underestimate how long things take and therefore build in some extra time to dawdle /linger .J

Thank you for all of the great advice. We still have not decided what to do but I'm sure we'll figure it out. I'd still love more advice about the GOR-it somehow really confuses me and I need a dumbed-down version of how to get from Melbourne to say Port Fairy and back to Mel in a car. Thanks!

This is in answer to your request for a 'dumbed-down' guide to GOR.
From Melbourne, you take the freeway to Geelong (about an hour). If you have lots of time, you could go to Werribee Mansion and the open range zoo on the way but you probably won't have time.
You basically drive straight through Geelong - I think the GOR is sign posted but if not, look for signs to Torquay.
Once you are through Torquay, the road branches and you take the left hand road. Once you are on this road, it will just follow the coast through Anglesea and Lorne and will eventually end up in Port Campbell and then onto Warrnambool.
My recommendation for overnight accommodation is definitely to stay in Port Fairy - about another 20 minutes drive. It's a really pretty little old fishing village - make sure you wander along the river front. Lots of choice for accommodation and eating places. You could also have a look at Tower Hill between Warrnambool and Port Fairy.
For your return trip, drive to Hamilton and then onto to Dunkeld which is the southern end of the Grampians national park. From Dunkeld, drive north to Halls Gap (another good place to overnight). The following day drive to Ballarat (about 90 minutes), have a look around there and then you can drive to Melbourne in just over an hour. If you have lots of time, you could detour from Halls Gap to the Great Western Winery - their underground cellars are worth a visit.
If you do decide to visit Mornington, make it on a Wednesday as there is a great street market there. You could then drive onto Sorrento and take the ferry to Queenscliff and do the GOR drive from there.
Hope you have a great holiday.

GOR is not to be missed. I agree with previous post re: driving as far as Port Fairy , then returning. The 12 Apostles are only a glorious part of this spectacular trip - especially at sunset. Before you get to them, don't be dismayed that you will lose sight of the water for a little while -enjoy the rolling hills of farm land! As you are along the coast, drive with the idea of stopping at every
"overlook" - even if the last was only 1/2 kilometer ago! Each vista is different. Finally, re: Koalas: Find out what Eucalyptus trees look like before you leave, and watch for them along your route. I have multiple pictures taken less than a hand's length away from a mama Koala, thanks to coming around a curve in the road and seeing 4 tourists on the shoulderof the road with their cameras raised to the trees!!
Have spent a lot of happy time in Melbourne as a tourist - Don't miss their zoo!

Mahalo! Debbie