Melbourne on my mind

Melbourne Cricket Ground

MCG is Australia’s biggest and most popular stadium, hosting cricket, Australian football, rugby and soccer, and also events such as concerts and social functions. It is a compulsory pilgrimage for any sports fan and a must-see for any visitor to Melbourne. MCG is intricately linked to the history of the city; it has been managed for over 160 years by the Melbourne Cricket Club, which was formed only three years after the city was established, in 1838. The top attractions are the National Sports Museum, the MCC Long Room, the player change rooms and the cricketers’ viewing room. And for cricket fans from India, there is something that is not to be missed: the portrait of Sir Donald Bradman and Sachin Tendulkar, of which only three official copies exist — one at The Don’s home, one at Tendulkar’s house and the third at MCG. You can also sneak in a look at the shoes used by Ian Thorpe, Australia’s most famous swimmer, at the Olympics, which are among the world’s biggest at size 17.

The Nobbies and the Phillip Island Nature Parks

The Phillip Island Nature Parks were created by the Victoria government in 1996 and comprise over 1,800 hectares. Located only 90 minutes from Melbourne on the southwestern tip of Phillip Island, there are some superb views from lookout points at the Nobbies. Around 1 kilometre offshore is Seal Rocks, home to Australia’s largest colony of fur seals, where you can watch the creatures sun themselves, wrestle, or flop into the water, in other words just being themselves. Inside the Nobbies Centre, you can go on an ‘Antarctic Journey’, a fun interactive virtual trip to the Southern Ocean and the world’s most extreme continent. But the star attraction of the Nature Park is the penguin parade, with little penguins making their way up Summerland Beach at sunset every day like prima donnas.

A Maze’N Things

An award-winning theme park, A Maze’N Things is also located on Phillip Island, about one-and-a-half hours from the central business district of Melbourne. An exciting place full of optical illusions, mazes, puzzles and magic, it will entertain, intrigue and amuse adults and children alike for hours. The activities will test your motor skills, perception and memory. It also has Australia’s largest three-dimensional timber maze, with a labyrinth of twisting turns and dead ends. Watch out for managing director Geoff Moed, a prankster always on the lookout for unsuspecting victims.

Panny’s Amazing World of Chocolate

If it is chocolate that makes your world go round, this is one place you should not miss. A visit to Phillip Island would be incomplete without a dekko of this amazing place. So you like your chocolate dark and sinful, but do you know how it is made? Panny’s factory has the answer. An exhibition takes visitors through the process from plantation to the final chocolate bar, in a somewhat cheeky exploration, all the while providing one with a lot of trivia. For example: did you know that while cocoa is an ancient food, chocolate has only existed as we know it for around 200 years?

Also, that while most cocoa plantations are situated close to the equator in Central and South America and Africa, Australia has a small plantation. The best part of Panny’s is that they also give out free samples of the treats they make.

Adventure calling Snapshots of the great wide open  

Churchill Island

The island, a unique eco-tourism attraction located just off the coast of Phillip Island, is an important site detailing the history of European settlement in Victoria. It is also the site where the Europeans first started agriculture, and it has been farmed since the 1850s. The island is now maintained as a historic working farm and boasts of heritage gardens and old buildings. The restored structures and agricultural implements provide a glimpse into the lives of the early settlers. At the visitor centre, tourists can also witness farm hands go about their daily activities like shearing sheep, working the dogs and milking cows. Coastline walks here offer magnificent views of Phillip Island.

Moonlit Sanctuary Wildlife Conservation Park

Here you can see over 60 Australian species, including endangered ones, in a beautiful bushland setting less than an hour’s drive from the centre of Melbourne. You can see wallabies roam around and if you are not intimidated by kangaroos, you can feed them and even get photographed with them. It is very easy to get close to koalas if you are holding a bunch of eucalyptus leaves in your hand, though the kangaroos could pose some difficulties due to their size. Evening walks are conducted here, during which guides point out animals and birds in their natural habitats. The sanctuary is involved in several conservation breeding programmes, including for Southern bettongs, Tasmanian Devils, squirrel gliders and sacred kingfisher.

Ashcombe Maze and Lavender Gardens

Lavender garden   | Photo Credit: Robert Blackburn/Visit Victoria

Over 25 acres of gardens, a lot of pathways to walk on under the shade of ancient trees, fragrant plants and flowers, rock gardens, and waterfalls. What’s not to like here? The hedge maze is Australia’s oldest and most famous, the foundations for which were laid in the late 1970s, along with mass plantings of conifers and deciduous trees. The lavender labyrinth is set on a 3,000 sq m garden, and consists of over 4,000 plants. The winding paths lead to a viewing platform, from where one can look at the various types of lavender planted in the garden. The rose maze is the oldest circular maze in the world and consists of more than 1,200 bushes and over 200 varieties chosen for their colour and perfume. It is the best place for one to de-stress; take long walks, and while you are at it, stop and smell the roses.

Great Ocean Road

This 243-km-long road, along the southeastern coast of Australia between the cities of Torquay and Allansford in Victoria, is the world’s largest war memorial, dedicated to soldiers killed during the First World War. It was built between 1919 and 1932 by an estimated 3,000 soldiers who returned from the war, and was meant to connect isolated settlements on the coast and provide a boost to trade and tourism. There are many pullover bays along the scenic road and they are good places to halt and take in the views. They will be of special appeal to those obsessed with taking the perfect selfie. The road also plays host to the annual Cadel Evans Great Ocean Road Race, a one-day event in which both men and women participate, and the Great Ocean Road Marathon.

The writer was recently in Melbourne on the invitation of SriLankan Airlines and Visit Victoria