Van-Tastic Victoria Adventures

What's so Van-Tastic about Victoria?

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Pick up: Sydney, Drop off: Victoria

Van-tastic Victoria gets straight-As for Adventure And Adrenalin Activities, providing the world with over 30 National Parks complete with mountain ranges, rivers, waterfalls, walking trails and pristine beaches.

If you want to do the wild thing, don your Drizabone, head for the High Country and make like the Man From Snowy River: whether you’re on horseback or on Shanks Pony, you’ll ford rivers, scale ridgebacks, crack a few whips and (somehow) end up at a pub.

There’s also rafting, caving, mountain biking and, if you’re suitably equipped or suitably insane, Bell’s Beach. ( Bells Beach surf is the stuff that Keanu Reeves was last seen disappearing into at the end of Point Break.)

Of course Van-tastic Adventurers cannot live on adrenalin alone. Which is precisely why God gave us Melbourne, coffee capital of Australia. The city is also known for its high art, great food and full-on Aussie rules football. Geoff recommends: “Doing a tour of the tiny back-alley bars in inner-city Melbourne. Hip ‘n’ happnin’

Our Van-Tastic partners will look after you! Check out these FREE activities on offer for our VIC team...

	Phillip Island- The penguins! The penguins! Can’t get enough of the Aussie wildlife? Check out the Penguin Parade at Phillip Island Nature Park where Little Penguins parade the beach each night. Snuggle up to a furry friend at the Koala Conservation Centre or enjoy an ocean rafting adventure around Australia’s largest colony of fur seals with Wildlife Coast Cruises. For the more daring, experience Grand Prix adrenalin by gokarting on a replica track of the world famous Phillip Island Motorcyle Grand Prix Circuit or a A "Self Drive Experience" around the real track! After working up an appetite on the track, "fish for your dish" indoors by catching and cooking your own rainbow trout, at Rhyll Fishing Park.
	Lush it up on the Mornington Penisula Time to revive those palettes you blunted on cask wine! Take a tour of the Mornington Peninsula wineries, sample fresh produce and innovative wines at T’Gallant and Red Hill Estate, then wash it all down with a coldie at the Red Hill Brewery . Get lost in Australia's oldest & largest hedge maze at Ashcombe Maze and Water Gardens or enjoy a beach horse ride with Gunnamatta Trail Rides. Afterwards unwind in Natural Hot thermal pools at Peninsula Hot Springs, followed by a night tour of Australia's nocturnal fauna at Moonlit Sanctuary where you can see the Eastern Quoll and the Eastern Bettong, which have become extinct on mainland Australia. Catch the ferry across from the Mornington Peninsula with SeaRoad Queenscliff-Sorrento Ferry Service to picturesque Queenscliff and swim with wild dolphins and seals with Sea All Dolphin Swims. Snorkel amongst the Sea Dragons on the Mornington Peninsula with Bay Play.
	Surfs Up! The Great Ocean Road Live the life of a surfer at the famous Bells Beach (so Point Break!) with Great Ocean Road Surf Tours. Need to perfect your surf technique? Visit the largest surfing and beach culture museum in the world, Surfworld Museum. Experience the world's longest tree top canopy walk, the 600 metre long Otway Fly Tree Top Walk. Jump on a mountain bike tour through the Otway National Park or take a dusk/dawn platypus canoe tour (includes magical glow worm walk!) with Platypus Tours. See the magnitude of the fantastic rock formations that make up the Twelve Apostles and Loch Ard Gorge in an awe-inspiring flight by 12 Apostles Helicopters. Participate in truly Indigenous cultural experiences including spear and boomerang throwing, and traditional ceremonies at the Tower Hill State Game Reserve followed by a surf kayaking tour to a seal colony with Apollo Bay Surf Kayak.
	The Grampians These spectacular rock formations, created more than 400 million years ago are home to Aboriginal rock art, waterfalls and an abundance of native animals. Enjoy a rock art tour, or boomerang throwing and bushtucker walk & tasting at Brambuk. For adventure of a different nature play 18 holes, at Grampians Adventure Golf.
	Mmmmm...Melbourne Good coffee, good food, good shopping and …football! Start exploring Melbourne’s infamous bar scene at Chill on Ice bar, where everything is made of ice (don’t lick the walls!) Explore the chilling environment of the Old Melbourne Gaol, the scene of 135 hangings, including that of the infamous Ned Kelly, in a Hangman’s Night tour! Blend in with the locals and develop a healthy appetite for sport with a kite boarding lesson on the iconic St. Kilda foreshore with Katani or take a Sports Lovers Tour with Melbourne Sports Tours. Experience Melbourne from the highest public vantage point in the Southern Hemisphere, at Eureka Skydeck and The Edge,(a glass cube that projects 3 metres out from the building - with you in it!) For those who can’t help themselves… the infamous Neighbours tour and the Neighbours Pub Trivia night where you can meet some of your favourite neighbours star. Layback literally and experience Melbourne's Port Phillip Bay on an afternoon "layback" fishing trip with Melbourne Fishing Charter.
	Festival Time! Head to this picturesque coastal town of Queenscliff, just over an hour's drive from Melbourne for the Queenscliff Music Festival and see more than 200 performances over three days. Brush up your world, roots and local indigenous music at the World Music Expo in Melbourne. Discover why Melbourne is the Theatre Capital of Australia with free tickets to Broadway's multi-award winning smash hit musical, Jersey Boys.
	High Country & Yarra Valley For the beer lovers, check out Bright Brewery or for some more palette-ballet, Epicurean Tours will treat you to some of the best wine tastings in the area - De Bortoli Winery, Yering Station Winery, Produce store and Art Gallery, Coldstream Hills Winery, Yarra Valley Dairy and Domaine Chandon for some lunch and bubbles!. Skydive over the Yarra Valley with Melbourne Skydive. Re-enact your own "Man from Snowy River" scene on a Snowy River Horse riding winery tour with Adventure Victoria or for a change of pace, paddle with a Platypus, with Adventure Victoria. If Mountain biking is your thing then visit Victoria's most accessible alpine resort for a River Spur scenic mountain biking ride on Mt Buller -which comes alive in summer.
	Gippsland Take a bushwalking sightseeing tour of Wilson's Promontory - the 3rd oldest park in the world and Southernmost point of mainland Australia. See the Prom's diverse natural wildlife; birds, koalas, wallabies & wombats with Bunyip Tours. Sail on Australia’s biggest and most beautiful expanse of inland waterways, Gippsland Lakes -over 400 square kilometres of lakes, rivers, lagoons and islands with Riviera Nautic.
	Accommodation on the road For accommodation with a difference, enjoy an overnight cruise aboard the a Murray River Paddle Steamer - P.S.Emmylou. A Parks Victoria Annual Parks Pass will provide entry to the following Van-tastic Victorian National Parks, where camping is available: Wilsons Promontory National Park, Mount Buffalo National Park, Mornington Peninsula National Park, Baw Baw National Park, Yarra Ranges National Park.

Where could you go on your VIC Van-Tastic Adventure?

Coastal Drive – Sea, Sand and SunSelf-driving from Sydney to Melbourne can take you along the stunning coastline of Eastern Victoria. Yes, even in Victoria you can experience white sandy beaches, awesome surf and wildlife, whilst enjoying fine food and wine along the way. Alternatively, travel inland through the spectacular Great Alpine Road, a 308 kilometre route stretching from Gippsland into Victoria’s High Country in the North-East.
Land of Contrasts – Great Ocean Road and Grampians This itinerary will then take you through to one of the world’s most famous and spectacular scenic coastal drives, the Great Ocean Road! The 300km Great Ocean Road stretches all the way from Torquay to the South Australian border.Travel inland from the Great Ocean Road across the Western District to Victoria’s outdoor adventure hub, the Grampians.
Mountain Drive – High Country Adventure and wineries Finish your loop of Victoria in the mighty Victorian Alps, a haven for outdoor enthusiasts before leisurely strolling down through one of Australia’s best wine regions, the Yarra Valley, on your way to Melbourne.