Victoria – this is the State I currently call home. I wasn’t born here but it has become the place I resonate with. It has a beautiful coastline, a great city, and you get to experience four seasons in one day (this I am not kidding about).

I have been fortunate enough to visit most parts of Victoria whilst living here; whether it be a road trip to Torquay to take the dogs to the Doggy Beach, take a drive to Phillip Island for the V8’s, stay for an extended weekend up in Echuca, go snowboarding at Mt Hotham/Falls Creek/Mt Baw Baw/Mt Buller, visit family in Ballarat, see the penguins at Phillip Island, take a roadtrip along the Great Ocean Road… I have covered just about everywhere!

Getting anywhere within Australia takes a few hours as it isn’t a large state, but it does have something to cater for everyone’s needs. During Summer, my husband and I love to take our dogs down to Altona or Torquay to go to the dog beaches and laze in the sun. Torquay is our favourite as it’s a proper beach and afterwards we generally pop down to the surf outlets to pick up some clothes or shoes, pop into Flippin’ Fresh Fish and Chips on the highway and grab a burger and chips before heading home; exhausted but happy.
In Winter, we try to head off to the snow at least once each season (as it is ridiculously expensive to go during peak season) and love Mt Hotham the most. Falls is great also but haven’t been there for about 10 or so years. Mt Buller is the closest to Melbourne so is generally the busiest as you can make a day trip out of it. Mt Baw Baw was good, but accommodation wasn’t the best and during the night we stayed there was a storm and we hardly slept.

Road trips to Ballarat were few and far between, mainly for Christmas, but another attraction which I have been to up there is Sovereign Hill. Sovereign Hill is a fun day out for young kids as you step back in time in this open air museum experiencing life back in 1851 in the midst of the gold rush. My favourite part about Sovereign Hill has always been the vintage lolly store – goodies made in-store such as lollipops and chocolate!

Phillip Island is a couple of hours from Melbourne and is a popular place for tourists, as there are seal sightings and penguin walks to entertain everyone. It use to be a regular trip for our family to Phillip Island as they use to have a family house down there, and sitting on the grass overlooking the beach was all we would do. Dinner would always be at ‘Isola di Capri’ Italian restaurant each and every night we were there, usually before heading to watch the penguin march or going home.

The other great thing about Victoria, is Melbourne itself. Melbourne is by far the best city in Australia, as it has a vast array of cultures rolled in to the one city, so your food options are limitless, as well as your shopping choices. But what I love most about Melbourne, is the sports!

I love footy season (AFL) to watch the mighty Essendon Bombers play, whether it’s at the MCG or Etihad Stadium. Then we have the season opener for the Formula 1’s, V8’s are always a big drawcard, then you have all the other sports including soccer, netball, rugby…

Melbourne also always manages to get big acts down here, with anything from comedy to music. What’s not to love?!