Thank Jimricho have all ready done the great ocean road . thinking Ballarat north and around Bright and back through Canberra .Queensland is our base

If Davo was here.....He'd say.....why bother...come to Sunny SA lol.....

Dave

G'day Brickies, now Ballarat is a city that can experience extreme in temperatures. Bl**dy cold in winter and bl**dy hot in summer. We have a lot of interstate visitors and a few from OS and we always take them to Ballarat, easpecially for the great time to be had at Sovereign Hill. Choosing a good time with visitors is difficult but when planning I would suggest either Spring or Autumn. Of course the vagaries of the weather is unknown as witnessed at the moment but autumn probably early autumn in Victotia can be magnificent. We did go to Ballarat on Australia Day weekend a few years ago and it was not too bad, a bit hot. There's my thoughts.

Terro

G,Day Brickie

I can only speak for the north east of Vic [myrtleford,bright ,yackandanda, beachworth ect]  the best time is April/June then Sep/Nov.
Bright and surrounding areas are very nice with the autum leaves  and the weather is kind. A place called Nug Nug out from Myrtleford [about 20ks] is a very tree covered area,  cheap rates but toilets and showers are ummmmm, from Nug NUG plenty of good sight seeing
I came for a week, so far stayed 40 odd years at  Myrtleford am i biased  "yep"

Thanks Drongo&Wendy and Dav06 you have both cover the two areas we were looking , now what about min time frame for these areas but iam sure we would not want to rush it .

ah!! now time frame is a whole different kettle of fish, I would allow a minimum of a week to do the great ocean road justice and that includes the surrounding hills, valleys, townships rainforests and lighthouses, dont be in a hurry along here, a couple of days could easily be spent in each little town all through here, there are a lot of secrets hidden away from the gor itself

Ballarat I would think three days maybe four, Echuca and surrounds probably 3-4 days, swan hill much the same,

the grampians I would spend, and have done, a very relaxing week there, the murray in general, well how much time do you have, a lifetime could be spent along there

goldfields/ ned kelly country and little desert country a couple of days to a week perhaps

but if you are fortunate enough to cross the border into south aussie then allow a lifetime to see half of what I could show you!

secrets abound here that have been seen by very few eyes

Being an X Victorian. I chose  long ago to live in South Australia. I would say first come to SA and on the way home have a look at Victoria. Then come back to SA to see what  you did not see the first time.So on and so on

Thanks G & K, I've bookmarked your site so I can go back to when the time comes to do some planning.

Jim

Paul keatings actual words were "the best way to see Darwin was at 30,000 feet on the way to France" he was on one of his carriage clock buying expeditions

I will never forget it, it is instilled in my mind almost as much as that arrogant mongrel Malcolm Fraser relaxing by his pool after freezing pay rates again saying "life was not meant to be easy"

I think Australia already has an entry point for an enema, take a look at the A.C.T., with all those arseholes there it would find a ready home

but I agree, south Australia is not for everybody, only those that have the nouse to recognise nature at it's finest, wildlife at it's most grandiose and biodiversity unrivaled anywhere else in aus., we have the finest wines, the best scenery bar none, the friendliest people (unless you prod us) the best footy teams, and the most livable city in the world, all this with a low population

if you want all luxury's laid on including vanilla slices 7 days a week then it is not for you, personally I dont, I much prefer the solitude that a vast state such as south Aussie offers, not many places left that one can sit in total isolation, maybe a little bit of N.T. and the Kimberley's but even they are becoming tourist traps

a lot of places in south aus do not have "line electricity" it is still free light and solar is coming to the fore in a huge way, still a lot of large diesel gennies out there thumping away 24/7

we need very little money not like the eastern states that charge to go and see a pothole

Gary & Kerry, please dont take any notice of what Dave06 has written, he must be enduring unspeakable torture to write that post.
Just so that you know the truth, when GOD came to Australia & did the BIG LAP with his little camper van, he settled in VICTORIA - so that why we here in Victoria call it Gods country now.....
Where else but in Victoria would they give you a job, then give you this little computer, hook it to the internet & let me talk to you magic people.. OOPS the boss is coming, must away..

Dave06 you did a great job in describing a trip around country Victoria . when i look at a map of South Australia i always think it all looks to hard could you point us none SA people how to navigate your fine state , I have thought it may be better to give ADELAIDE a miss because it look like you have to go a long way out of the way to get to just another big city they mostly look the same , it maybe just me but not many travelers talk about going there but sound like you like the place , Granny says it a great place but spends a lot of time in Queensland

Terry it all depends on your likes and dislikes mate and the way you are entering our great state, if you come in off the great ocean road then the first thing you will strike is mount gambier with all it's natural beauty, spend at least a week in this area, do the limestone coast and catch some fishies and sample the best cray's that you will ever encounter, enjoy the rugged coastline

the next is the adelaide hills, with its scenic beauty and olde worlde charm you will want a week up there as well, adelaide is built on grid system (colonel lights vision) with ample parks and gardens and of course the zoo, easy to get around in, the adelaide caravan park is central to the botanical gadens and the zoo as well as the mall and central market, all within easy walking distance from the c/park, very clean, tidy and very comfortable with excellent amenities

victor harbour is not far from here either, a good spot to spend a week or so!

from the adelaide hills/ city head on down the old main north road through the adelaide hills exiting at the holden museum at birdwood, head towards the Barrossa valley spend a week in amongst the wineries and history of the area

from there head to the clare valley, pull up in the clare caravan park allow a week to soak up the wineries and the history and the peace and tranquility of the region

from here stay on the main north road heading through yacka, gulnare, georgetown, gladstone to laura until you hit wirrabara, grab a cuppa and a pasty at the old stone hut bakery continue on to melrose, head out to the melrose showgrounds (groundsman on site) stay a few days just to soak up the area

continue to quorn and have a cuppa and a pasty at the four square store, take it to the little park and say g'day to the resident maggies, and if it's a sunday then the piuchi richi steam train will be running and you will be within ten feet of it, head out to the dutchmans stern conservation park then on to Warren gorge for a few days camp, c/van feindly, easy access and free, watch for the yellow footed rock wallibies on the scree early morning and dusk

continue on to hawker on the gravel road (good condition) past a lot of signicant landmarks including probys grave and take a look at the painters gallery at hawker, a lot of gorges in this area, spend a few days in and around this area

from here it is on to wilpena pound, allow a week here, it is a magical place, I wont say too much about it but expect to be amazed, take some of the tours and have a poddy dodgers hamburger

from there it is up to you how much of the outback you want to see, it is all open from there on up, leigh creek, birdsville, innaminka and beyond, no fences and no boundaries

I have left a hell of a lot out here simpy in the interest of keeping the post short, if you wish to free camp I can give you dozens in absolutely mind blowing spots suitable for a c/van and two wheel drive, or grab yourself a copy of the camps australia book, currently in it's fifth edition

I have made no mention of the murray, Kangaroo island, yorke peninsula, eyre peninsula or nullabor as they are a holiday all of their own!

if you wish more info give me a hoy, I got a million secret spots!

if victoria is the place to be then why is there so many of you buggers over here drinking all our beer!

mate any game that starts off with the players grabbing each others backside is no game that I want to be watching or involved in!

you bloody banana benders can have that all to yourselves!!!

ah planning is the fun part, no work involved there mate, I know my state inside out! anything you want to know give me a yell, I'm just going round and round! flat out at the moment she's a bit thin!

one thing about paul keating he had some bloody corker putdowns, especially dealing with "little Johnny" used to make question time worth watching