Victoria

Victoria is Australia in a microcosm. The smallest of the mainland AU states packs snow-capped mountain country, searing deserts, wineries, rainforests and the largest inland waterway in Australia into its pint-sized borders. Affectionately referred to as the ’Garden State’, its landscape abounds with rolling hills and meandering valleys. Victoria’s mountains also offer some of the best winter sports in the country. The Great Ocean Road is considered one of the best scenic drives in the Southern Hemisphere, with startling rock formations, such as the Twelve Apostles rock formations off the coast.

It is a day’s drive along the Great Ocean Road to South Australia.

Victoria is also Australia’s most diverse state and its major agricultural and industrial producer. Located in the southeast, bordered by South Australia and New South Wales, its landscape consists of mountains, rainforests, deserts, snowfields, beaches, vineyards, wheatlands and market gardens. The Australian Alps are only three hours away from Melbourne. Victoria has 32 national parks, amounting to a third of Australia’s total.

Many people travel within Victoria for its natural attractions, history, local food and wine, or to participate in the major sporting, fashion and cultural events. Food and wine lovers know the state for its superb fresh produce, extensive wineries and award-winning restaurants. For an overwhelming choice of fine food, take a scenic drive through the Yarra Valley outside Melbourne or around the Milawa Gourmet Region in the King Valley to sample delicious cheeses, mustards and honey.

In its earliest days, Victoria was a state besotted with gold. The state broke away from New South Wales in 1851. The celebrations continued when, only weeks later, it was announced that gold had been discovered in Victoria. By the mid-19th century, tens of thousands of prospectors had travelled to Victoria’s goldfields with their picks and prospecting pans. The population grew quickly, as did the state’s wealth Now, these towns have become lively modern cities, balancing period architecture with art galleries, cosmopolitan cafés and luxury retreats.

A mere 35kms (22 miles) from the Melbourne are the Dandenong Ranges, which provide excellent views of the city from the Summit Lookout. At Mount Dandenong itself is the sanctuary named after William Ricketts, one of the early champions of Aboriginal rights. His haunting carvings of Aboriginal faces still stare out over the landscape and are part of the Galeena Beek Aboriginal Culture Center.

Victoria was also the home of the outlaw Ned Kelly, often regarded as a national hero in Australia, and was the scene of the eventful days of bushranging during the gold rush of the 1850s and 1860s. Sovereign Hill, 120kms (75 miles) northwest of Melbourne, is an old gold-rush town from this period, now restored to its original condition. Other towns of this era are Ballarat (115kms/71 miles) and Bendigo (150kms/93 miles) from Melbourne.

For another piece of nostalgia, hop aboard the ‘Puffing Billy’, a train of bright red carriages which runs from Belgrave to Gembrook through the Dandenong Ranges.

In the east of the State is Gippsland Lakes, a lush fertile region dotted with lakes and parkland. The west is drier, with huge sheep-grazing lands. Towards the center are the Grampian Mountains, famous for wild flowers, birdlife and offering some of the world’s finest rock climbing. Victoria is also home to Brambuk, a cultural center exhibiting the arts, crafts and historical records of the Western Aboriginal people.

Phillip Island Nature Reserve, 140kms (87.5 miles) from Melbourne, is famous for its rich wildlife, particularly birds, koalas, fairy/littlest penguins and fur seals (large colonies of which can be observed at the Seal Rocks Sea Life Center).

Another famous wildlife sanctuary is in the Wilson’s Promontory National Park, southeast of Melbourne, on the southernmost tip of the Australian mainland. The Port Campbell National Park, southwest of Melbourne, contains some of the most striking coastline in Victoria. It is here that the awesome rock formations, The Twelve Apostles, can be seen from the famous Great Ocean Road.

Bushwalking is also a great way to explore Victoria. The best-known destinations include Bogong National Park (with a possible six-day walk including the ascent of Mount Bogong, from October to April only); Mount Feathertop (a two-day circuit offering scenic mountain views, requiring walkers to be prepared for snowfalls at any time of the year); Wilson’s Promontory (locally known as ‘the Prom’, a three-day circuit through beautiful stretches of coastline); and the Grampians (a spectacular region of sandstone mountain ranges, forests, valleys and heaths, particularly famous for its displays of wildflowers between August to November). Several mineral springs can be found around nearby Daylesford, known as Australia’s spa center.

Victoria has over 350 wineries, and tasting tours are widely available. Outstanding wine-growing regions include the Yarra Valley; the Mornington Peninsula; and the Rutherglen region in the Grampians.

Victoria’s High Country is one of Australia’s most visited winter sports destinations, with the main snowfields only about four hours by car from Melbourne. The best destinations for downhill skiing and snowboarding include Mount Buller, Falls Creek, Mount Hotham, Mount Buffalo and Mount Baw Baw, all of which have excellent facilities. Other resorts, such as the Bogong High Plains, Lake Mountain, Mount St Gwinear or Mount Torbreck, are specifically designed for cross-country skiing.

Home to regular international regattas (such as Sail Melbourne), Melbourne’s Port Phillip Bay is one of the world’s great yachting waterways. There are also some good beaches nearby and even better ones at Westernport Bay, Ninety Mile Beach (in the Gippsland Lakes area) and along the Bellarine Peninsula near Geelong.

The best diving destinations include Wilson’s Promontory (access to the sites is mostly by organized boat tours); Cape Liptrap (good for beginners); Cape Patterson; Phillip Island; Cape Schanck; Apollo Bay; Cape Otway (known for its crayfishing areas); Port Fairy (around which lie the wrecks of up to 30 stranded ships); and Portland (Victoria’s westernmost town).

Catch the whales around Warrnambool, 263km (163 miles) west of Melbourne, best seen between May and July. Surfing enthusiasts may head to Bells Beach and Jan Juc on the Great Ocean Road near Torquay, where the Rip Curl Pro & Quit Classic, a world-reknowned international surfing contest, is held annually for a period of seven days over Easter. Woolamai in Phillip Island offers excellent surfing for the more experienced surfer.

Australian Rules Football, or ‘Aussie Rules’, a mixture between football and rugby, originated in Victoria. The climax of the season (starting in March) is the Australian Football League Grand Final, played in September at the famous Melbourne Cricket Ground, which also plays host to the highest standard of international and national cricket matches, and is ranked amongst cricket’s most sacred grounds.

The first Tuesday in November is declared a public holiday for the running, at Flemington, of the 3.2km- (2 mile-long) Melbourne Cup, the highlight of Australia’s racing year. This prestigious horse race offers the highest prizes in the southern hemisphere.

Weather and Climate

Victoria’s climate is generally favourable to plant growth, providing a combination of adequate rainfall and warmth, in most parts of the State. In winter, growth may be restricted by lower temperatures, whilst in summer, rainfall may be insufficient to meet plants’ demands for water. If irrigation water is available in summer then the productivity of pastures, crops, orchards and vineyards can be high as plants grow vigorously through long days of sunshine and warm temperatures. The climate of Victoria is influenced by seasonal weather patterns as well as topographic features.

Victoria differs from other mainland Australian States in that it lies furthest South and has its major mountain ranges running east-west rather than north-south. Its southerly position and maritime influence have a moderating effect on climate, which is particularly evident in winter. Snow rarely falls at altitudes below 600 metres. To the west and north of the Great Divide the land flattens out to the dry inland plains. It is in the Mallee where the highest temperatures in the state most commonly occur during summer, and where the annual median rainfall drops below 300 mm.

The coastal strip, south of the ranges, is generally wetter except for areas around central Gippsland and to the west of Melbourne, where hilly terrain upwind reduces the effectiveness of rain-producing systems. Rainfall here drops below 600 mm.

Seasonal Variations

The weather of Victoria is primarily influenced by weather patterns originating in the Southern Ocean. There is a general west to east movement of high pressure systems across or north of Victoria throughout the winter months from April to November. These high pressure systems are interspersed with low pressure systems or cold fronts which bring moist airstreams and showers or rain to many parts of Victoria. When these systems link with tropical moisture from the north, rainfall can be significant, even over the dry northern plains.

In Spring, weather systems are more mobile and the location and extent of anticyclonic cells is more variable. This results in Victoria’s weather being more variable from September to November, compared to the winter months.

During the summer months from December through March, high pressure systems from the Southern Ocean move further south. Warmer conditions are moderated by the passage of cold fronts which are associated with cooler southwesterly changes and isolated showers in the southern half of Victoria. Thunderstorms or the influence of tropical systems to the north can provide significant rainfall in certain circumstances.