MARVELS OF MELBOURNE
There is plenty to see and do in Australia's must-see destination
It doesn't take long to be won over by Melbourne.
Australia's cultural capital has buzzy little laneways overflowing with cafés, great galleries and spacious parks.
Add to that the oh-so-easy access to a stunning coastline, beautiful countryside and unique wildlife and it's clear why this is a mustsee destination.
I start by exploring the city centre, which is known for its coffee culture — meandering through the pedestrian-only lanes where locals gather for drinks and nibbles.
I end up browsing specialty shops in the airy and elegant Royal Arcade, which was built following the gold rush that saw Melbourne become the second-largest city in the British Empire in the 1880s.
Today the city, with architecture that juxtaposes the old and the new, is often rated as one of the best places to live in the world. Its population of 5.1 million is made up of people from about 200 different countries.
To learn a little more, I join a tour with Janet Gray, a guide with Foodie Trails. It starts in the Immigration Museum, which tells the story of how one-third of Australians were born overseas, and Gray explains how their tastes have shaped the culinary scene.
We sample everything from Shanghai-style pork dumplings at Mr. Bo's restaurant to Lebanese moussaka at Mama's Canteen. Along the way, Gray points out places such as the Mitre Tavern, rumoured to have underground tunnels to bypass custom duties back in the 1830s, and Mabu Mabu, an Indigenous restaurant that serves everything from emu to kangaroo.
International influences can also be seen in the National Gallery
of Victoria, which is holding its blockbuster Triennial exhibit until April 7. The vast show includes everything from robotic dogs by the Polish-american artist Agnieszka Pilat to an impressive floral installation by Tokyo-based artist Azuma Makoto.
There's plenty to do in the city, which spreads out from the very cool Fed Square — the go-to meeting place with abstract, angular buildings, a massive public screen, and attractions such as ACMI (Australian Centre for the Moving Image), which is full of interactive displays, and the Koorie Heritage Trust, with exhibits celebrating the First Peoples of southeastern Australia.
The beautiful state library, dating back to 1854 and one of the first free libraries in the world, is a must-see for anyone with a passion for books. Its reading room has a wonderful glass dome ceiling, holds several first editions and hosts a range of exhibits.
And the Royal Botanic Gardens, which boasts 12,000 species of native and imported plants and trees spread out over 40 hectares, is one of several beautiful green spaces.
Inspired, I take a day trip to Bulleen, a suburb east of the city, to learn about the country's contemporary art scene from the 1930s at the Heide Museum of Modern Art. Its galleries feature more than 3,600 works of art.
For lunch I head to the café and have a delicious cauliflower and grain salad. And in the afternoon, I check out the sculptures spread around the 6.5 hectares of parkland and gardens on the property.
Next up is an island-hopping tour with Explore Australia to see some wildlife. After driving about 80 kilometres southeast of Melbourne, we take a ferry from the Mornington Peninsula over to French Island.
The little-known, off-grid island is relatively undisturbed and home to about 110 people.
Two-thirds of French Island's 170 square kilometres is a protected, national park.
Not only are there hundreds of flora and fauna species and more than 200 Indigenous birds, there are also about 8,000 koalas.
Going along the dirt path, it doesn't take long to see the cute koalas hanging out in eucalyptus trees. We have lunch at Mandalaye Park, a historic homestead, and learn more about life on the island, before catching the ferry to the nearby, more popular holiday destination Phillip Island.
The island with a population of about 50,000 in the summer (December through February) and 15,000 in the winter (June through August) has some great beaches, fantastic coastlines and unique wildlife (think birds, seals and wallabies).
We head to the Nobbies on the
southwestern tip. The rugged coast is an important nesting ground for birds such as the Pacific gull, crested terns and Cape Barren geese. And the country's largest colony of fur seals is about a kilometre off the coast.
The Nobbies are a great place to watch wildlife, but nighttime is coming, so we head to the Penguin Parade, a centre with viewing grandstands, at Summerland Beach.
Phillip Island is home to an estimated 32,000 little penguins and at sunset hundreds of them come out of the water, waddle across the beach and go to their burrows.
I'm spellbound as I watch the world's smallest penguins, which grow to just 33 centimetres, make their journey.
To make the most of my time in southern Australia, I also join Go West Tours to see the Great Ocean Road, which runs for about 240 km along the coast west of Melbourne from Torquay to Allansford.
We make a few stops on the stunning drive — taking in a surf competition in Torquay, a scallop pot pie lunch at Apollo Bay and a detour for a walk through the lush Maits Rest Rainforest in the Otway Ranges.
But the highlight is definitely Port Campbell National Park, which has some of the most spectacular geological formations. The 12 Apostles, a series of 45-metre high limestone pillars, rising out of the water are fantastic. As are the Gog and Magog pillars, which I marvel at as I walk along the quiet, sandy beach after a downpour.
The nearby Loch Ard Gorge, the site of an 1878 shipwreck that killed all but two, with sheer limestone cliffs surrounding a small, sheltered sandy beach is also remarkably beautiful. As is the Razorback rock shelf, a short 10-minute walk away.
Years of erosion and the wild ocean have sculpted this coast into a breathtaking sight that leaves me wanting to see and explore more.