Ten things to do in Victoria for $10 and under

Australian Traveller Australian Traveller
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If the best things in life are free, then the second-best things must cost just under ten bucks. To that end, budget travel hound Sarah Tierney has come up with some great ideas for saving money on travel in these lean times.

1. Ride the city circle on Melbourne’s trams

See the famous sights of the city from the inside of the iconic car. The city circle tram stops at sights such as Parliament House and the Princess Theatre. Best thing? It’s free.

2. Drink a beer with Chloe

Visit Young and Jacksons Hotel, one of Melbourne’s oldest and sit in the bar with the legendary Chloe, a nude portrait by Frenchman Jules Joseph Lefebvre that caused scandal when it was shown at the national gallery during the 1800s.

3. Explore the hidden laneways of Melbourne

Find hidden art, little cafes and shops, entries to secret clubs and bars in the little lanes around the city. The most popular is the ACDC Lane, named after the Aussie rockers or visit the Croft Institute, in Croft lane, which is an out of the way quirky bar. One level holds a lab, another is a hospital themed waiting room and the top level is a 1930s gymnasium, which features a grass bar.

4. Choose a weird pizza from Mojo’s Weird Pizza

Okay, maybe this one is $11, but it’s totally worth it if you can scrounge up the extra dollar for Mojo’s Weird Pizza. With names like Dog’s Breakfast (not real dog food), Royale With Cheeze (yes, it is a burger on a pizza) and Go Banana (banana and bacon) how can you go wrong? They even have dessert pizzas.

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5. Go whale spotting

Logan's Beach, Warrnambool
Logan’s Beach at Warrnambool is a great place to see whales from July.

The whales visit Victoria in July and the best place to see them is on Logan’s Beach at Warrnambool, about a 3.5hr drive from Melbourne, or 7hr drive on the Great Ocean Road. Stand on Logan’s Beach and see the whales and the calves as they frolic in the ocean.

6. Try visiting a different museum

Australian Centre for the Moving Image
Head to the Australian Centre for the Moving Image

The Australian Centre for the Moving Image celebrates moving pictures rather than still ones. They have free entry to the normal museum, plus some exhibitions (Len Lye is free) and the cinemas there show all types of films from $8.

7. See Melbourne from above

To see Melbourne from the sky usually involves paying for an expensive trip up to the top of a building to crowd around with heaps of people, hoping to catch a glimpse of something. We’ll let you in on a little secret. Catch the elevator up to the 35th floor of the Hotel Sofitel on Collins St and go to the bathrooms, where you can quietly take in the view of Melbourne’s south side.

8. Art & Culture walk in Geelong

Head down to Geelong and pick up an arts and culture walking trail map. The map has plenty of walks you can do that go past historic and interesting sites in Geelong –the Old Post Office, Corio Villa, The Carousel (one of 200 wooden carousels in the world), and sculpture trails to name just a few.

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9. Learn all about Melbourne’s history at the Old Treasury

The Old Treasury, Melbourne.
Learn all about Melbourne’s history at the Old Treasury.

From the beginnings of the John Batman settlement, through the goldfields of Victoria and all the way up to the invention of the bionic ear. Entry to the Old Treasury Building in Melbourne is just $8.50 for an adult.

10. Rock along to the Digital Media Street Festival

For the week of July 3-10, Gertrude Street in Fitzroy will become a free gallery at night. The festival will have projections of moving and still images as well as installations designed to surprise the audience. The Digital Media Street Festival runs free from 6pm – 12pm.

 

 

If you have a great Victorian experience under $10, share it by adding a comment below.

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This geological wonder is hiding in the heart of Victoria

    Michael Turtle Michael Turtle
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    Mythical, historical and most of all, spectacularly beautiful, Buchan Caves demands you take your time – and a tour. 

    In the pools of water, so still they could be mirrors, the reflections of the stalactites make these limestone towers seem even taller. Almost 400 million years ago, an underground river carved through the rock to create the Buchan Caves. Now, artworks created by dripping water adorn these subterranean galleries: stalactites hanging from the ceiling, pillars connecting some to the ground, even curtain-like wave formations clinging to the stone.

    Caves House
    Visit the caves for the day or stay onsite in the campground or at the self-contained Caves House. (Image: Ben Savage)

    “This is called the Fairy Cave because it’s full of fairy dust,” a guide tells visitors as they enter a cavern glittering with “calcite that’s solidified into thousands of tiny little diamond shapes”.  Buchan Caves is Victoria’s largest cave system, but Fairy Cave is a highlight and, along with nearby Royal Cave, is accessible only by tour. Naturally cold, naturally dark, these caverns deep below the surface light up as the local experts tell their stories. 

    couple walking in cave
    You’ll need to book a guided tour to see the caves. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the hundreds of caves, some can be easily accessed from the surface. For instance, a casual stroll along the FJ Wilson Interpreted Walk, as kangaroos watch on from beneath acacia trees, leads into the 400-metre-long Federal Cave and its natural steps of white limestone. A slightly longer track, the Granite Pools Walk heads through soaring forest down into moss-covered gullies where the calls of lyrebirds trill through the leaves. 

    A quick history lesson on Buchan Caves 

    Buchan Caves
    Buchan Caves are a must-visit attraction in Gippsland. (Image: Tourism Australia)

    Among the geology and the nature are millennia of history. This part of East Gippsland connects the high country to the coast and was long a place of refuge for the local Gunaikurnai people on seasonal migrations to the mountains. Archaeological studies show humans lived here up to 18,000 years ago, with artefacts such as small stone tools found around the site. But not too far into the caverns – oh no! The Gunaikurnai didn’t dare venture deep into the dark at Buchan Caves, telling stories they were inhabited by gnome-like nyols (small grey-skinned creatures that could steal memories). 

    Buchan Caves Hotel
    The Buchan Caves Hotel was rebuilt after burning down in 2014. (Image: Jess Shapiro)

    By the early 1900s, more people had started to hear about these incredible caves and so the Moon family set up home at the site and started to run tours below ground for intrepid visitors. More than a century later, their historic residence is available as accommodation, with the three-bedroom house sleeping up to eight people and now equipped with modern amenities the Moons could only have dreamt of. 

    But whether you stay overnight or just spend the day here, it’s worth taking your time to explore more than just the main caves, to get a deeper understanding of one of Victoria’s fascinating geological attractions.