Hi guys,

So I'll be ending my time in Oz (this time around anyway) in Melbourne. It was a fly by the moment decsion and honestly I am not sure what to check out there.

Suggestions needed. I'll be there four days. No worries, I'll be giving the "Neighbours" tour a miss

What I like: animals, immigration, diversity, good times lol lol---sorry just random nouns and adjectives to get it started....

Cheers,

Samantha***

Well if you like animals the zoo is handy to the city centre. There is also a fairly interesting aquarium more or less in the CBD. Then there is an open range zoo at Werribee about 1/2 an hour out of Melbourne.

You can out to day trips out to the Dandenong ranges



Or to Sovereign hill at Ballarat. It is about gold mining, civil rebellion and a blood stained southern cross.

There is an immigration melbourne on flinder's st right opposite the main train station and the aquarium. Sounds perfect. Grampians has good hikes if you can get there.

Spazza

4 days:

Good times - chapel street, the CBD, and st. kilda are great places to just walk around...loads of shops and just a nice taste of the city i think.

Also st kilda has a "beach," not really an ocean beach more harborish but nice.

All accessible by tram...

also flinders lane in the cbd (not flinders street) has loads of clubs that are bunched together in a really narrow almost side street (look up on map)

Footie is over, cricket should be on (might be interesting)

these are all suggestions under the "good times" requirement. Gosh i spent several months in Melbourne and miss it so much talking about OZ and that great city...

Enjoy...If i think of any "must do's" i'll post

Sam,
Melbourne is a great town and has some great surrounds, the Dandenongs as geok has mentined being one of them.
You could take a suburban train from Flinders St. out to Belgrave and then have a walk through the Sherbrooke Forest, a good day in itself, and maybe even find somewhere out that way to stay and then look at taking the Puffing Billy to Emerald Lake.

Also, if you've never seen fairy penguins, get a day trip down to Phillip Island, and you can see some Koalas there too.

Have not got their web details here as away from home and google "bunyip tours' as they could get you down to Wilsons Promontary, great wilderness place and maybe take in the penguins on way home.

A great freeby in Melbourne is the botanical gardens, one of the worlds best, and also fitzroy gardens and take the free city circle tram, and that will drop you at the Fitzroy gardens, also Exhibition Gardens and a nice walk down along the Yarra to get to Botanical Gardens.

take the city circle tram around the city - (old maroon coloured one) sometimes has live commentary otherwise a recorded one. a trip up the rialto - 30min movie of victoria is quite good then further up 360 degree views of melbourne.
a tour of the mcg, is very interesting if you are into sport, especially cricket and aussie rules.
cheap souvenier shopping - Queen Vic market.
factory outlet shopping - Bridge Road and Church Streets Richmond - (other good streets as well just can't remember names!)
if you head to Ballarat to Sovereign Hill I would also stop at the Ballarat Wildlife Park - free range 'roos, koalas and wombats brought out at specific times for photo opportunities (11.00 a.m. and maybe another time in the afternoon)
if you head to Werribee Zoo stop off at the Mansion as well, good history there.
Geelong - waterfront area good for walking along and checking out the bollards - all history related. Then maybe onto Torquay - factory outlets there as well.
Capt. Cook's cottage in Fitzroy Gardens - it's okay