Victoria is sensational for 4WDing and Camping
Crossing into Victoria from South Australia, I was very unsure about what we’d see, and where we’d go. This was amplified considerably when we pulled out a map of Victoria, and for the first time had very little idea of what to see, where to go and how we should plan our route.
Up until now, we’d been fairly confident with our trip. South Australia is incredibly similar to the bottom of Western Australia, and we wanted to explore the entire coastline (which we did), and see the Flinders Ranges.
We did a few random dog legs around the place, but for the most part we sort of knew what to expect, and where we were going.
Victoria was a polar opposite, and sometimes I feel when you have no expectations, you have the most fun possible. It took under 24 hours for us to fall in love with Victoria, with our first night at the free camp at Fort O’hare, which was beautiful.
Almost every camp site we’ve been to since then in Victoria has been at least good, and if not, spectacular.
We spent nearly 3 months exploring Victoria, and only left because we had organised to meet family in NSW. I actually felt sad that we had to ‘rush’ our trip through the Victorian High Country (despite spending nearly a month there), because it was so unbelievably awesome.
Skip Victoria
We’ve heard it said so many times; Victoria isn’t worth a visit, or you should skip it. I’m going to be brutally honest here, and say that I probably enjoyed Victoria more than South Australia, and that’s no small call to make.
The rainforests, free camps, ability to have fires in summer, spectacular water holes, creeks and 4WD tracks just blew my mind time and time again, and I have no idea how anyone could possibly recommend you skip Victoria. Yes, South Australia is amazing too, but coming from WA, we’re very familiar with epic beaches, and great coastline
We’ll be back for a lot more of Victoria at the start of next year, and can’t wait to finish off the places we missed (and we didn’t get to a heap).
Victoria is king of free camps
We did a lot of free camping in South Australia, but nothing compared to what we did in Victoria. I could not comprehend how so many awesome camp sites (often with good amenities too), were completely and utterly free, and it was a huge surprise for us.
In WA you get nothing for free, except the mandatory roadside stops, which are very far from an amazing camp site.
What did we like most in Victoria?
There really wasn’t too many places in Victoria that we went to and thought, ugh, should have skipped this.
The Great Ocean Road was fantastic, but we fell in love with the inland portion even more than the hugely touristy coastal section. Don’t get me wrong; the coastal section is amazing, but there are so many great spots inland that don’t get hardly any attention, and we did nearly 3 weeks exploring this area.
Places like Aire Crossing, Beauchamp Falls, the Redwoods and Lake Elizabeth are beyond beautiful, and we had so much fun exploring them.
From there, we moved across fairly quickly (we completely skipped Melbourne, as I’ve been to the city and it really doesn’t excite any of us), into the Victorian High Country, and this place was by far the most surprising that I’ve ever been to. My expectations were of a big, dry and hilly place, and I was so off the mark.
It’s massive, beautiful beyond words, spectacular in summer with its running creeks and stunning scenery, and has more 4WD tracks and camp sites than I could ever begin to share with you.
I lost count of the amount of times that we looked at the map and felt dizzy with the sheer number of choices that you have.
The tiny, historic towns are like nothing I’ve ever seen before, and the shock of pulling into Woods Point had me chuckling for some time.
We loved Walhalla, Coopers Creek Campground, the 4WD tracks nearby Lake Eildon and so many other places nearby, and I was devastated that we didn’t get enough time to see Dargo, Omeo and plenty of the 4WD tracks.
I have never felt the urge to buy an old 4WD that is set up for hardcore 4WD tracks, and to head into the high country for a month, with no destinations in mind and just the desire to hop from 4WD track to 4WD track, and that might just happen in the future!
Victoria has been the ultimate surprise for us, and we have thoroughly enjoyed every minute here. We’ll be back to see more, but if you are considering doing Victoria, you should; its sensational!
