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Popular Off the Beaten Path | Other Off the Beaten Path Tips | All Tips (267) ST KILDA - Where I would like to live if I lived in Melbourne.
I guess in many respects it's not "that" far off the beaten track, but it is about 20 minutes tram ride south east of the city on Number 16 & fractionally longer on Tram 96. I've stayed here twice now in two different hotels & have gotten to know it just well enough to be sure of what I've stated above in both the title of this tip.
It certainly does have something for everyone of all ages from kids through teenages, young adults, families & more mature people. Excellent coffee & cake at the cafes & cake shops & excellent eating abound in both Fitzroy Street & Acland Street.
I really enjoyed staying here at the Marque Hotel in Fitzroy St for the August 17 Melburne VT dinner meet at SoulMama's. Equally I really enjoyed staying here at the Novotel St Kilda with my family as it was just across from the beach & only a 5 minute walk to Luna Park & then a little farther on to Acland Street.
It has excellent shopping opportunities & for me it was absolute heaven finding not one, but two really top quality bookshops. There's clothing & shoe shops especially for women, but to a lesser extent also for men.
There are plenty of entertainment possibilites with pubs & nightclubs for the evening so, as I've stated above there really is something for everyone at St Kilda.
You could even base yourself here during a visit to Melbourne due to the convenience of the 20 minute tram ride to & from the city. Leave a Comment
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Melbourne is a city which grew rapidly with the gold rushes of the 1850s and was extremely prosperous in the 1880s. Much of the architecture reflects this time but this has been overshadowed in recent years by modern sky scrapers, mainly office blocks. The proportion of the city has changed and it is often necessary to look up for glimpses of the past.
This weather vane is a good example of what might be found. It may be seen at the corner of Elizabeth Street and Little Collins Street. Leave a Comment
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OK - so its a very long way out of Melbourne for a true 'off the beaten path' but all visitors to the city make a bee-line for the Great Ocean Road, one of the most spectacular coastlines in the world.
Head SW out of the city to Torquay (or thereabouts) and just simply drive west - its simply stunning as the road hugs the coastline. Pass through Aireys Inlet, Lorne (the most populated town on this stretch of coast), Apollo Bay and on to Port Campbell for the most spectacular part of the coast (12 Apostles - part of which featured in the photo) and on to Warrnambool, keeping an eye on the road and out to sea, where you may catch a glimpse of schools of dolphins or the odd solitary whale.
(See separate pages - Lorne, Apollo Bay, Port Campbell) Leave a Comment
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A 3.5 hour drive west from Melbourne will bring you to one of Victoria's natural highlights - The Grampians. Rugged mountains, wonderful waterfalls, indigenous sites, wonderful hikes all to be found in the National Park. They are the 'end' (or beginning) of the same rock formation (Dividing Ranges) that forms the Blue Mountains outside Sydney. Cute country towns and great vineyards are to be found in the immediate surrounds.
See also separate page - The Grampians Leave a Comment
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Basalt from the western areas of the city have contributed much to Melbourne's appearance. Varying slightly in colour, but known generically as bluestone, it was mined in Yarraville and more distant areas. While the stone is often dressed (smoothed) for public buildings, it may be much rougher in appearance especially in less important facades, as shown in this picture of a building in Little Collins Street. Leave a Comment
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An hour's drive from Melbourne is the Yarra Valley, famed for its vineyards and superb wines. Day trips can be organised from the city to take you out to the many of the best vineyards and to give you a real taste (literally and metaphorically!) of the wine growing area and regional Victoria.
(this picture is there to also point out that Australia is not all about red dust and perpetual sunshine!).
(See also State of Victoria pages) Leave a Comment
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another feature, another story to share, this one not so tragic as loch ard gorge, although to some it might be tragic!
as you can see in the photo, london bridge has broken away in one bit. before, it used to be a complete formation, linked to the coast, but now a chunk has gone.
well the story is that some years ago, before it broke apart, a young couple decided to walk out to the edge and decided to engage in "relations" in a natural earth kinda way!
as they were going at it like rabbits, they heard a massive crack and roar, they turned around to see that they were now stranded, the rock had broken away from the mainland.
so it came to be that the resuce helicopter had to come and pick them up, in front of numerous tv camera crews and news reporters. they were obviously highly embarressed. note to all: dont go walking on unstable looking rocks! Leave a Comment
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If you are looking for a little historical information on some of Melbourne's more famous buildings, then the Golden Mile tour is the one for you.
Head over to 114 Flinders and pick up the information on this walk from the Convention and Marketing Bureau and set off!
This mile should take you about half a day if you really enjoy all of the landmarks. Some of these include the Rialto Observation Deck, Immigration Museum, Old Treasury Building, St. Michaels and a few others! Leave a Comment
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as seen on the opening photo of this page, and this picture here, loch ard gorge is stunning, with beautiful clear water protected by high rocks.
sadly, it's history is not so calm. the story is of a young lad on a ship which gets shipwrecked, and he and one other lady survive. the rest of the people are battered against the razor sharp rocks.
the young man helps the lady, and they make it into loch ard gorge, only to discover there is no way up. after some days a local farmer was grazing sheep, and he heard their pleas for help. after getting ropes and whatnot, the couple are rescued by the farmer from one of the worst storms to hit the coast.
pretty cool story huh? nice to think of when it's sunny and pretty, but i can just imagine this place on a wild and stormy night! Leave a Comment
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a bit off the main road inland, and you can come across this beautiful ancient old temperate rainforest.
it was sooo quiet, peaceful and beautiful in here, no words can describe it! there were massive trees and ferns that are many hundreds of years old.
the boardwalk was built to protect the forest floor, which has its own little diverse living system operating. we might not see it, but there are lots of bugs and insects down there! so keep to the path, walk around the forest, and enjoy the trees, water and smells of the forest! Leave a Comment
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