I spent a week visiting Melbourne, exploring Phillip island and Wilson’s Prom on an independent wildlife, ecotourism and adventure trip. Here’s my itinerary from the trip!
Starting and finishing with a few days in Melbourne I took a car and drove the short journey down to Phillip Island for surfing, go karting and meeting the local wildlife. From there I ventured east to hike around the Gippsland region and Wilsons Promontory Marine National Park.
I stayed in a range of accomodation on the trip including hotels, hostels, guest houses and luxury tent (at Wilson’s Prom).
How to use this itinerary
For more in-depth articles and photos from this trip scroll down toward the bottom of the page. You can click on itinerary entries and it will be located on the map, where available you can see the street view for the location by clicking on the street view button.
Please note this is only a sample itinerary to give you an idea based on what I did whilst in Melbourne, Phillip Island and Gippsland. It’s meant to give you some inspiration rather than be followed exactly.
Starting from: Melbourne
Ending at: Melbourne
Amount of time: Around 7 days
Itinerary
Day 1 – Melbourne – Food & Drinks
46 Eau de Vie
Looking for a classy cocktail bar in the city? Well, Eau de Vie is the perfect place! There are private booths and a extensive whiskey menu just be warned its wooden front entrance is unlabelled and hidden away. The place is styled like a prohibition speakeasy and there’s also a hidden lounge behind a bookcase, if you can find it!
45 Cumulus Inc.
A buzzing high end bar/restaurant Flinders Lane. It’s a place you can stop by for a drink and end up dining too!
Day 2 – Koalas & Kangaroos
42 You Yangs Regional Park
I took a tour with Echidna Walkabout to see Kangaroos and Koalas in the Wild. They pick up from the city and take visitors out to the You Yangs to spot Koalas. It’s a really informative tour with excellent guides.
41 Serendip Sanctuary
The Echidna Walkabout tour also takes you to the Serendip Sanctuary a protected area near to the You Yangs that’s teeming with wildlife, including troops of kangaroos.
39 Chin Chin
Walk-in causal dining thai/asian/fusion restaurant in the style of hawker dining halls in Asia. Chin Chin has interesting dishes but be warned you may face a length wait for a table (at busy times) in their go go cocktail bar.
Day 3 – Driving from Melbourne to Phillip Island
36 Pelican View
First stop on Phillip Island is Pelican View where you can watch the Pelican feeding at noon. If you’re ready for lunch you can also grab some fish and chips at the family view restaurant.
35 Smiths Beach
Looking to try a bit of surfing? Well Smith’s Beach is the perfect place if you’re learning. The beach is also patrolled during the summer months.
34 Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit
Looking for some karting fun? Well Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit also has its own 750 metre karting track
I was lucky enough to catch some of the V8 Supercar Championships on the main racing circuit which also hosts the Australian Motorcycle Grand Prix, check their website for dates.
33 Rusty Water Brewery
A great little stop off on Phillip Island. I stopped for dinner and to sample a taster of the different local beers brewed on site.
32 Nobbies Centre
Visit the Nobbies the stunningly rugged coastal area to the West tip of Phillip Island and watch Australia’s second largest Fur Seal colony basking on the rocks.
31 Phillip Island Penguin Parade
Phillip Island is famed for Penguins so no trip to the island would be complete without watching the Penguin Parade the third largest visited natural attraction in the whole of Australia!
Day 4 – Phillip Island & Gippsland
28 Koala Conservation Centre
Walk the elevated boardwalks and koala spot at the Koala Conservation Centre, a place that was established to protect the koala populated on Phillip Island from human dangers.
26 Venus Bay Beach 1
After leaving Phillip Island I stopped off at Venus Bay Beach 1 a long sandy stretch of beach popular with swimming and surfing. The beach is patrolled but be careful of rip tides.
25 Walkerville South
Walkerville South is at the start of the Cape Liptrap Coastal Park, which is apparently a beautiful coastal walk. Unfortunately it was closed due to landslides when I visited.
Day 5 – Wilson’s Prom
24 Wilsons Promontory National Park
The southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilson’s Promontory is a national park of huge granite headlands, fern, forests and mountains lining the 130km coastline. It’s worth taking at least a couple of days here to hike and explore. I’d recommend hiring a wilderness retreat tent or camping.
More information: Wilson’s Prom – Parks Victoria
Day 6 & 7 – Melbourne – Coffee & Eating Out
There’s a lot of coffee here, I don’t expect you to visit them all but hopefully it gives you a selection to choose from!
16 Tonka
Tonka is a modern Indian restaurant just off Flinders Lane, bookings are recommended but they also have an area for walk-ins.
14 Manchester Press
Vintage decor, decent coffee, serves breakfast and bagels too.
13 Patricia Coffee Brewers
Minimalist and standing room only artisan coffee bar with a decent ice coffee. Door is quite hidden and hard to find.
9 Hosier Lane
If you’re looking for a spot of urban art in Melbourne then a visit to Hosier Lane (check out street view on the map) must be on the cards! The pedestrianised laneways here are surrounded by graffiti that changes by the day, you’ll even find artists painting as you wander.
8 Fitzroy
Fitzroy, an area of Melbourne undergoing some gentrification. It’s got a fascinating mix of bookshops, art galleries, studios, cafes, bars and some sporadic graffiti.
7 Brother Baba Budan
Quirky coffee shop with chairs hanging from the ceiling. Good coffee in a cosy environment.
6 Krimper
Krimper is a cozy French styled converted warehouse cafe, serves breakfast too.
4 Night Noodle Markets
Worth visiting if you’re in Melbourne in November, the Night Noodle Market runs for 18 nights. This year (2015) from the 12th November.
2 Lau’s Family Kitchen
I went to Lau’s Family Kitchen with a foodie blogger friend of mine (Eat Like A Girl – actually she kind of dragged me!). It’s a smart little chinese kitchen in St. Kilda, a little pricey but the dishes had great flavours. I’d definitely seek it out again when in St. Kilda. Check out the street view on the map at the top of the page to see what it looks like inside!
And… Flight home time!
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