THE BUTT OF MANY weather jokes, Melbourne is the gateway to many great attractions, from wineries to eateries, parks and beaches. The Great Ocean Road is probably the most famous of these, and deserves more than a day on a bus.
Back in the big city, prepare your stomach for a feast, wonder through galleries and laneways, make some friends at the zoos, enjoy some live music or some sport.
Just bring a jacket. Even in summer.
Melbourne, capital of Victoria: sport, coffee and spray painting walls. Some mediocre beaches, but gateway to some hills, ocean scenery, wineries.
It is a multi-cultural city, and has come a lon way from its Anglo meat & two veg past.
French, Thai, Italian, Ethiopian, Greek, Turkish, Spanish, Maltese, Chinese, Vietnamese, Burmese, or, a U-beaut mixed grill Lebanese.
Melbourne's best falalfel plate, Half Moon Cafe, Coburg.
Melbourne has three first class zoos: Werribee in the west has many African species; Healesville Sanctuary in the east focuses on Australian; and Melbourne Zoo in the middle of Melbourne.
Great for getting a close up of our famous koalas, Healesville is probably my favourite.
Black handed wallaby at Healesville, in the ranges east of Melbourne.
Healesville plays an important role in attempts to save the Tasmanian Devil, which is threatened by facial tumors ravaging its numbers in the wild.
While many people argue the merits of zoos in the 21st century, their research and rehab functions are a vital. Species like echidna are very hard to see in the wild, too.
Healesville's many walk through aviaries allow close ups with native Australian birds.
There are plenty of characters ranging free, outside the zoos, like red rumped parrots.
Melbourne Zoo has a good range of big cats in good enclosures.
A zoo membership allowed me to spend a lot of time watching, most of it in the huge lemur enclosure.
The quieter and longer you sit, the more relaxed they become.
Emus. Evem stranger than ostriches, if that is possible.
Melbourne Zoo has an excellent walk through aviary as well. Make sure you close the door.
Another of my favourite sections of the zoo, meerkats, cuddling up against the cold.
One of Australia's most beautiful birds, the Gouldian Finch, again, at Healesville.
It doesn't get much more meerkat than that.
African wild dogs can be seen at two of Melbourne's zoos, the main central one, and Werribee.
Kennett River, on the Great Ocean Road, is one of the best spots to see wild koalas. (I was probably snapping the cockatoo and didn't see sleepy in the trees.)
The Great Ocean Road is a must-see for visitors to Victoria, and Kennett River has become famous for koala spotting.
Cockatoos, king parrots and other native birds at Kennett River play second fiddle to the stars in the trees.
Lorne Falls is another attraction on the famous drive.
A young family of possums in the wild near Lorne.
But the bus loads of tourists are not coming for the falls or the possums. The spectacular coastline is the draw, and spots like the 12 Apostles have been overcrowded.
London Bridge collapsed a decade or so back, when the waves eroded the arch, which fell into the sea. Two tourists were rescued by helicopter.
Too many people "do" the scenic drive in a day, when plenty of overnight options are available in Lorne, Apollo Bay and many other towns.
The Great Ocean Road is the world's longest war memorial, built not only in memory of, but also by returned soldiers, between the two great wars of the 20h century.
Lorne is a good place to stay and get acquainted with the locals.
Away from the sights and the carparks, forests on Victoria's western coastal areas are thick and peaceful.
While Covid means I can't travel, at least my stomach can. Mssive mixed plate of lamb and goat from New Somali kitchen, Flemington. 10/10 for taste!