U.S. Student in Melbourne, what to do on break?

[mjw2]

Hi All,

We are from the US (New England area), and my daughter is in her second year of grad school in Melbourne.  She will soon be on break from school and we are looking for vacation ideas in the Melbourne area. 

I wanted to do something nice for her and pay for a few days away.   My thoughts were along the line of maybe going north a bit, to a beach area for a few days.  Or they like also like to hike.  I told her I would ask here as you are all so wonderful about sharing ideas on the areas you are from!

They do not have a car, (she has her boyfriend with her, also from US), so would need to travel some other way, maybe by train?  So if you were a student on break in Melbourne, where would you go?

Thanks very much!

[JonGirl]

I live in Melbourne. Welcome! 

There is plenty to do here, you're spoiled for choice.

http://www.onlymelbourne.com.au/things-to-do-in-melbourne.php

This link will tell you what you need to know!

[oz diva]

If she wants to go north and see some sun, then I'd recommend Queensland. She'll have to go to Cairns for real heat at this time of year. I doubt Southern Qld will be particularly warm. But if that's not a consideration then I recommend the Mornington Peninsula. Can they drive? If so, I'd hire a car. There are beautiful beaches, wineries, horse trail rides, cafes.

If they can't drive then maybe Ballarat, they could take the train there and visit Sovereign Hill. It's a recreation of a  19th C gold mining town.

Or, she could find a tour to Bendigo or the Grampians or the South West Coast, eg 12 Apostles. Which university is she studying at? They might have some tours planned for their overseas students.

[mjw2]

Thank you JonGirl and Ozdiva for the great website, and suggestions.  She's at the University of Melbourne so she will check with them and see if they have anything going on.  We skyped this morning and looked at all kinds of possibilities, thanks to you both!  They may rent a car and travel the Great Ocean Road, maybe staying in Lorne, then Port Campbell, then on the way back stay in Apollo Bay.  So if there are any tips you have for that please let me know!  Does that sound like a good plan?

Melbourne is such a beautiful place, we did visit her last summer, her winter, and had an awesome time.  We were only there for 5 days so only did day trips, not enough time for Great Ocean Road.  But we loved it, my favorite thing was going to Healesville Sanctuary.

Thanks again!

[oz diva]

The Great Ocean Rd is beautiful, that sounds like a great trip. If they want to go further, Port Fairy is great and then Tower Hill which is an extinct volcano swarming with koalas, kangaroos and emus.

What is she studying? Is she having a good time?

[Shopaholic]

The Great Ocean Road is amazing.
We were there in early October and it was very cold and windy, but the views were spectacular.
Tower Hill is wonderful. We got there really early in the morning and got to see a lot of wildlife close up (including boxing kangaroos!), but didn't do any of the trails because I was too cold to move.

We thought about heading out to Phillip's Island to see the penguins, but we were too limited time-wise. It was highly recommended by the good people on EHell.

[mjw2]

Hi Oz Diva, JonGirl , and Shopaholic,

She is studying for her masters of education, so has been teaching for a couple of days a week in a local primary school.  She loves it!  While getting her bachelor's here in New Hampshire (US) she was studying psychology and had the opportunity to do the study abroad program for a semester in Sydney,  and fell in love with Australia.

I always knew she would go back, and once she got accepted to Grad School, there in Melbourne, she did.  I'm just so happy that she has her boyfriend with her.  He has promised me that he will bring her back, haha!  Seriously, I think by December she will be looking forward, after two years, to coming home.  Although, after being there for a few days I definitely see the appeal. 

Thanks again!

[Brisvegasgal]

Depending on how much you can spend how about Perth? Western Australia is an interesting place.  Just so you know Brisbane (Queensland) is pretty cool at the moment but you can still wear a t-shirt during the day. As a Brisbane girl I think this is the best time of year to visit Queensland...less insects, fewer blue bottles in the ocean, it rains less and the heat of the day is much more tolerable.

[mjw2]

Thanks Brisvegasgal, that's a good idea, too.