Some of the earliest buildings constructed on Australian shores by the British empire were prisons and Australian colonial history is one of hardship. To help you plan your Melbourne sightseeing, this Old Melbourne Gaol review details the fascinating history behind the bluestone walls.
Melbourne is the second largest capital city in Australia and a serious contender for Sydney in the popularity stakes. If you are discovering Melbourne for the first time, choosing where to start might be a bit of challenge. To get you started, I have found the best way to spend 2 days in Melbourne.
I’m a baker. I have done a lot of cooking in my time but I have a strong preference for creating desserts and sweets. It has come to the point where I have to have three or four small desserts when I host a dinner party. Therefore, I’ve been on the lookout for a baking-related creative outlet and decorated cookies have come to my attention. I took a cookie-decorating class with Miss Biscuit in Melbourne, read on to see what it’s all about.
The Grampians National Park is located 260kms west of Melbourne and hosts a spectacular sandstone mountain range. Also known by their Aboriginal name Gariwerd, the Grampians offer a wide range of activities and sights, including camping, bushwalking, rock climbing, rock art, waterfalls and wildflowers (in spring). The Grampians emerge as a mountain range coming out of nowhere in a flat rural valley and offer spectacular views over jagged peaks and stacked sandstone piles. Looking for some peace, I decided to do some solo travel in the Grampians National Park.
Sovereign Hill is an outdoor museum, spread over 25 hectares, on a site linked to the richest alluvial gold rush in Victoria. Some 60 buildings have been reconstructed according to photographs to depict life during the Gold Rush. Incredibly, Sovereign Hill is a functional township, with workshops and old-time stores. The township is complete with a Main Street full of shops, two hotels and a theatre, a Chinese camp, a gold-panning area and two gold mines. Whilst the town is a tourist attraction, it is very lively and realistic thanks to the presence of staff and volunteers dressed in costumes
I love a good road trip. Maybe it’s because I like driving. And seeing the beautiful scenery go by. In January, I took my father Thierry to enjoy the sights of Victoria. For long drives and dramatic scenery, the Great Ocean Road seems an obvious choice. In two days, you can enjoy the Great Ocean Road and 8 highlights I selected for you.