IN AND AROUND MELBOURNE

For those who read my previous article, thanks for liking it and thanks for all your lovely comments. I'm ready with my next article and it's about the things to do in and around Melbourne. There are so many places to see and so many things to do in Melbourne. I'm listing a few of them. Enjoy reading :)

• The Penguin Parade at the Philip Island- The penguins are just adorable and these little penguins are found only in Southern Australia and New Zealand.  
• The Maru Koala Park - You get to touch and feed the koala bears and also the kangaroos and wallabies.

•  The Dandenong ranges-  You can see the entire city of Melbourne when you are on top of the ranges.  It's a breathtaking view. Other attractions here is the Giant's chair, Secret Garden and English park.

 

•   Wilson's Promontory- This is one of Australia's famous national parks and it's a great picnic attraction. Other places to visit would be the Tidal river, Mount Oberon and Squeaky Beach. Every time you walk on the sand, it squeaks and hence the name.

 Squeaky beach

 

•  Great Ocean Road- It's a treat to your eyes. You drive along the ocean and it's such a beautiful sight. The 12 apostles is a must visit and so is the Cape Otway Lighthouse which is the oldest surviving lighthouse in mainland Australia. The Otway tree top walk is one more place which you don't want to miss.

 

 

• Melbourne Aquarium or Sea Life- Kids would love to visit the place as its an excellent, educational and completely engaging experience. You get to see the divers feeding the marine animals.

 
                                                          

• Melbourne Zoo- It has more than 320 species of animals and also has the butterfly house, orangutan sanctuary, reptile house, lion park, sea life and so many other things.                                 

• Ferry ride at Sorrento- This links the Bellarine peninsula and Mornington peninsula. It's a 40-minute ride. The best part about this ferry ride is you can either board as a passenger or take your car inside the ferry.

You can see the cars coming out of the ferry

• Grampians- Feel like going on a small trek? Well this is a good option. The Reeds lookout, Balconies lookout and Mackenzie falls at Grampians are really cool and a must visit.

 

 

• Hepburn Springs- This is a resort town which is also known as the spa town. Its green anywhere and everywhere. You can hardly find any buildings in this place. This town is famous for its bath houses and spas. If you are looking forward to spend a relaxing weekend in Melbourne then this is the place.Two other nearby places to look out is the small family owned Daylseford Chocolate Mill where they show you how they prepare their chocolates and the Jubilee lake where you get to do paddle boating and banana boating.

 

• Peninsula Hot Springs-You can't find a single person who wouldn't love this place. Its Victoria's first natural hot mineral spring and day spa.

• Shark and Ray centre - OMG this place will drive you nuts if you are afraid of marine animals. You actually get to swim, touch and feed the sharks and sting rays. How good or bad can that be??

 Watch the Shark n Ray centre Video

• Mount Baw Baw- This is a mountain in Victoria and it is a good attraction, be it in summer or winter. Best visited during winter to witness the snow fall. Skiing, cycling and down mountain biking are few favorite sports played in this mountain region.

 

• Melbourne Planetarium- This planetarium is very informative and entertaining for a wide range of audience.  Even the adults are kids when you enter this place. The best thing about this place is that it creates hyper-real, digital simulations of outer space in awe-inspiring astronomical shows. Sessions are information-rich and will take visitors to the stars and beyond.

• Puffing Billy- Puffing Billy is Australia’s favorite steam train and one of the finest preserved steam railways in the world. It was built in the early 1900's. It's a major tourist attraction and it is run by the kindest efforts of 900 volunteers. 

 Want more info about the Puffing Billy? Watch this video

•  Moomba festival- It is Australia's largest free community festival. There are so many traditional events along with live band and music followed by fireworks. This festival is always held during the Labour Day long weekend every year. 

 

•  Bounce-This is a place which has absolutely no age bars. It is a massive indoor trampoline universe in Melbourne which has around 100 interconnected trampolines and 500 sq. metres of foam pits. It's a sweaty experience.

 

• Chill On Ice Lounge- This experience is truly one of its kind. Everything within the Ice Lounge is made of ice – from the bar to lean against, the couch to lounge on, even the glass you drink from! The temperature inside the lounge is around -10 degrees.

• Apart from these attractions, there are many things to do which are like "once in a lifetime" experiences. We did two of them, the hot air balloon and limousine ride. Both the experiences were just amazing.

And the list continues..... There are so many other things to do and so many other places to visit. Summer has just kicked in and we will be on our touring spree yet again. Hope to put them all in my next post.
Merry Christmas and a very Happy New Year. Keep reading and keep encouraging. Thanks a lot :)