Day trips From Melbourne by JD on July 9, 2009

Melbourne is so fortunate that it contains an amazing range of landscapes surrounded by one to two-hour drive, providing you many choices when planning day trips from Melbourne. You may travel around the gold rush, the magnificent winery and discover the world renowned beach or bushwalk in the dazzling National Park.

Day trips from Melbourne

• A popular day trip is to the Dandenong Ranges, just an hour to the east of the city. The drive throughout the Dandenongs is remarkable due to its high mountain ash forests, temperate rain forests and fern gullies. Walking or driving through the entire forest is truly breathtaking. The other sights in this mountain range are the small communities, such as Sassafras, which has craft and art stores and intimate restaurants and cafes.
• If you are looking for a little elegance, have a tour to of the Yarra Valley winery, located about an hour drive north-east of Melbourne. The colors and scenery surrounding Melbourne are exceptional. You can witness lush greenery lit up by a golden light, especially when the sun starts to poke through on a cloudy day. Beside the beautiful scenery, there are a lot of excellent wineries in the regions of the Yarra Valley where you can wine taste. This is an ideal place to visit for lunch, wine tasting, balloon flight and art galleries.
• You can also stop by the popular Hanging Rock in northern Melbourne. It is a beautiful rock pattern, which forms the top of the mountain. The Hanging Rock is well known for the mystifying disappearance of the group of school girls and their teacher in the 1900 and was the subject of a film and novel. From here, it is not far to the Daylesford, a gold mining town with character, which also boasts mineral springs.
• Driving to the northwest of Melbourne, you will find the gold rush municipality of Ballarat. The town was at the center of the gold rush, and once oozed riches and money. It is also the home to Edwardian Heritage and Grand Victorian buildings and tree-lined streets could bring you back to its glory days in 19th century. The most famous attraction of the Ballarat is Sovereign Hill. It is a 35-acre outdoor museum reminiscing the gold mining days, which includes old buildings and actors in costumes doing the 1850s activities. All of these are truly are worthy day-trips and excellent for kids also.
• The list of day trips from Melbourne will not be complete without a visit to the beach. There are numerous surf beaches on either sides of the Port Phillip Bay in Melbourne. An excellent day trip is heading to the south-west of Melbourne to Torquay. This is where surfing competitions are frequently held.