Melbourne/Southeast Victoria - Australia

[bobotron3000]

I just found out that I've been to chosen to participate in a group study exchange for young professionals in March, 2014 for 4 weeks (at no cost to myself!). We'll be flying into Melbourne and then heading into southeast Victoria. We are supposed to put together a wishlist of tourist sites we want to visit and activities we want to do for those 4 weeks along with professional tours we want to take. Since I'm a Youth Services Librarian, I'm thinking about visiting libraries of course, but also zoos, museums etc. - anywhere I can see other educators working with kids and teens.

I would appreciate any and all recommendations on tourist and professional places I could visit - they told us no wish was too big so I'm hoping to come up with some good ones

[frlcb]

I loved Melbourne! We did the Great Ocean Road, Phillips Island (the penguins are totally worth it!), a winery tour and just stuff around Melbourne. It is a great city.

[dorothyinAus]

Where are you headed in Southeast Victoria?  I'm about 2 hours southeast of Melbourne on the coast.

I haven't really done too many touristy things, though I can recommend the Healesville Sanctuary.  I haven't done the Penguin Parade at Philip Island, but I have been to see the Seal Colony at The Nobbies and that was well worth it.  The Melbourne Zoo is really worth a visit if you have time as well.

Depending on what you want, the Victorian Parliament House in Melbourne has a great tour, and I found it really helps explain the Parliamentary system to someone who grew up in the US.  You may also want to suggest the Victorian State Library, as I know they have many exhibits and other educational facilities.  

I haven't been yet, but I have heard great things about Rippon Lea -- a historic house that puts on many period-inspired things.

You may also want to be sure to put the Shrine of Remembrance on your list of places to see in Melbourne.  It's the monument to those lost in war, and has a really cool design feature so that a shaft of light highlights a particular word in a carved quote at 11 am on November 11.  They simulate the effect throughout the day for tours with an electric light.

Though it's really more northwest of Melbourne, Ballarat is worth it for the gold-rush history.  We went to Sovereign Hill last year over school holidays.  It was interesting but would have been better when I was a child -- it's an interactive historic village, the kind of place where people dress up and act out history.  There is also a good exhibit on the Eureka Stockade, though we didn't see that.

Southeast of Melbourne was hit really hard by the Bush Fires in 2009, and there are many towns that have exhibits and information about that. And you will be in the area during the Bush Fire season, so please make a note to be careful and mindful of that.

In the town I am in, there is a historic coal mine which they have done up for tours and other things.  My FIL actually did his carpentry apprenticeship at that mine, so it was interesting for me personally.

If you have any specific questions or need specific information on areas, ask away and I'll see what I can find out.  This may help a bit with general area information:  Visit Victoria.

[bobotron3000]

Thank you for the replies, ladies!

And dorothyinAus - WOW. Thank you for the detailed and thoughtful info. It looks like we'll be in Melbourne, Yarra Valley and Dandenong regions, Mornington Peninsula, Phillip Island, and the Gippsland region according to www.visitvictoria.com

[stealthmom]

What's really special about Melbourne is how multi-cultural it is. I would inquire about community centers in the neighborhoos that work with kids as well. Look at the calendar and see if there are any cultural festivals going on while you're there. I also think the immigration museum is an absolute must for any visitor to Oz. It's the modern history of the country. It's a fantastic museum.