Melbourne is a huge city down in southern Victoria

The classic road trip from Melbourne, perfect for a campervan hire holiday, is along the Great Ocean Road which is a 243 kilometre stretch of road between Torqay, just outside of Melbourne, and Warrnambool. This is a road of stunning coastal scenery, built by returned soldiers in 1919 and 1932 and very well-travelled by visitors to Victoria. One of the major landmarks along the road is the Twelve Apostles formation, a set of limestone stack formations just off the coast. The section of the trip after Princetown is known as the Shipwreck Coast. Loch Ard is the most famous of the wrecks, and it ran aground near the Port Campbell National Park. The two survivors were rescued in what is now called Loch Ard Gorge. Further along the same coast there are yet more things to see- amongst them are Portland,Victoria's oldest European settlement, and the Lower Glenelg National Park, where the Glenelg River has carved a spectacular gorge that reaches 50m deep in some parts. The coast to the east of Melbourne also has a lot to offer road trippers- Wilson's Promontory National Park at the southernmost tip of mainland Australia is well-loved by Victorians. It has campsites to park up a campervan, and a lot to offer holidaymakers, including great and extensive bushwalks, great diving in the marine park that covers the waters around the promontory, lots of beaches and other natural attractions. Camping in the summer is by ballot, so it is necessary to be in fast to secure a spot. Inland from Melbourne is the city of Bendigo, which was a boomtown during the goldrush of the 1850s. The area around this is heavy with goldmining history. The Central Deborah gold mine offers mine tours which give visitors an insight to the major influence that the precious metal has had in growing and sustaining the area.