After leaving South Australia, we drove into Victoria, the second smallest state (after Tasmania). Tarragal Cave overlooking Bridgewater Lake was our first stop, followed by the blowholes and petrified forest of Bridgewater. Then we took a detour up north to visit Grampians National Park. This majestic mountain range is home to wildlife and spectacular scenery. Highlights of our visit to the Grampians included seeing the impressive MacKenzie Falls, admiring panoramic views from the Balconies lookout, watching kangaroos feed on the football field at Halls Gap, and hiking to the Pinnacle lookout point via the Grand Canyon trail. From the Grampians, we backtracked towards the coast to check out Port Fairy and Warrnambool. The famous coastal drive along the Great Ocean Road was up next, and we lucked out with a beautiful day to admire the panoramic views of the cliffs, beaches, headlands and sea stacks. The scenery along the Great Ocean Road is definitely one of Australia’s highlights and we took our time along this section of our road trip. Wild kangaroos and koalas made a surprise appearance at Cape Otway! From Cape Otway, we visited Maits Rest Rainforest Walk where the spectacular tree ferns took our breath away. A couple of waterfalls (Sheoak and Erskine) in Lorne caught our eye before we hit the bustling city of Melbourne. Too bad we didn’t budget enough time for this amazing city as we only managed to squeeze in quick reunions with our friends Ben from Antarctica, Tig from our Xian to Singapore trip, and Becky’s cousin Charlie. Melbourne’s amazing street art, colorful bathing boxes at nearby Brighton Beach, and excellent restaurant and bar scene could absolutely tempt us for a repeat visit. Our friend Rebeca joined us for the next portion of our road trip (Melbourne to Cairns) so we had to upgrade our campervan to a Mighty Deuce Plus 3 Berth to comfortably accommodate 3 people. After a thorough walkthrough of our new home on wheels, we hit the road and stopped at the colorful town of Benalla, dubbed the “Street Art Capital of Australia”. It certainly lived up to its name with amazing murals decorated on dozens of buildings in the compact town center. A nearby Benalla silo art trail also caught our eye as we were able to see several painted silos in north east Victoria. Just before exiting the state of Victoria, we made one final stop at Glenrowan, which was the site of Ned Kelly’s last stand in 1880. The Australian outlaw still lives on today in Glenrowan, which has capitalized on this enigmatic figure. After our fill of Ned Kelly, we drove towards Canberra (the capital of Australia), the next stop on our Melbourne to Cairns road trip.

View from the Tarragal Caves

Cape Bridgewater blowhole

Petrified forest (found out later to be hollow tubes of limestone)

Bridgewater Beach

The sacrifices made by Gunditjmara servicemen and women are recognized in a new Indigenous war memorial on the Heywood Water Tower

Wild emus by the roadside

MacKenzie Falls

MacKenzie Falls is the most iconic and spectacular waterfall in the Grampians

Robby on a trail at the MacKenzie Falls

Reed's Lookout provides expansive views across the Grampians

The Balconies Lookout

Kangaroos feed daily on the Halls Gap Football Field

Kangaroos on the football field at Halls Gap

Kangaroos are often on roads at dusk and dawn

Grand Canyon loop at Grampians National Park

Sandstone Mountains of Grampians National Park

View from the top of the Grand Canyon Loop at Grampians National Park

Stairs leading up to The Pinnacle at Grampians National Park

The Lady's Hat rock formation at Grampians National Park

Silent Street at Grampians National Park

Robby at Silent Street; Grampians National Park

Silent Street; Grampians National Park

The Pinnacle Lookout at Grampians National Park

Becky at a viewpoint near The Pinnacle; Grampians National Park

Selfie at The Pinnacle lookout in Grampians National Park

Eastern water skink

Wall mural at Halls Gap

Battery Hill at Port Fairy

Sailing boats anchored on the Moyne River at Port Fairy

Port Fairy vacation rentals

Yield to Echidna sign

Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve

Warrnambool Botanical Gardens

Little wattlebird at Warrnambool Botanical Gardens

Blue lily

Eurasian coot

Warrnambool Botanic Garden

Warrnambool Bridge

Canon Hill Lookout

Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village

Worm Bay

Stairs leading to The Grotto

The Grotto, an iconic sight on the Great Ocean Road

London Bridge

Tom and Eva Lookout

Loch Ard Gorge Lookout

Loch Ard Gorge

Mutton Bird Island

The Twelve Apostles

Sea stacks near Gibson Steps

Snake warning sign

Selfie at Gibson Steps

Robby on the trail at Castle Cove Lookout

Maits Rest Rainforest Walk

Becky in a tree at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk

Tasmanian Tree Fern

Robby fits inside a tree trunk at Maits Rest Rainforest Walk

Koala in a tree at Cape Otway

Artwork under a bridge at Smythe's Creek

Steps near Sheoak Falls

Sheoak Falls

View from Teddy's Lookout

Sulphur-crested cockatoo

Erskine Falls

Becky by the Memorial Arch at Eastern View on the Great Ocean Road

Melbourne street art

Drinks with our friend Ben at Naked For Satan's rooftop bar

Melbourne skyline at dusk from the roof top patio of Naked for Satan

Souvenir t-shirts for sale at Queen Victoria Market

Christmas display at the Queen Victoria Market

"Woman Life Freedom" mural in Melbourne

Emu street art

Artwork on AC/DC Lane

Chinatown Melbourne

The Jungle Funk by Mike Makatron

Kangaroo artwork

Chinatown archway

Aboriginal Lives Matter

Koala Christmas decorations

Funny mural on a building in Brighton Beach

Checking out Brighton Beach with Becky's cousin Charlie

There are are 93 beach huts on Dendy Street Beach in Brighton, called the "Brighton Bathing Boxes"

Becky by one of the Brighton Bathing Boxes

Charlie and Becky by the Brighton Bathing Boxes

Underpass wall mural near Brighton Beach

Underpass wall mural in Brighton

Shinoya by Fin DAC in Melbourne

Sculpture of "Three Businessmen Who Brought Their Own Lunch"

Melbourne wall mural on AC/DC Lane

Charlie and Robby eating ice cream from 7apples Gelato

"Stay in Skool" artwork on AC/DC Lane

St Paul's Cathedral, Melbourne

Indigenous Boy Portrait by Street Artist Adnate

Reunion with Tig at at Father's Office bar

State Library Victoria

Artwork outside the State Library Victoria

RMIT University in Melbourne

Melbourne's CBD skyline

Stocking our new campervan, a Might Deuce Plus 3 Berth, with groceries for a road trip from Melbourne to Cairns with Rebeca

Artwork in the mural town of Benalla

Wall mural in Benalla

Benalla wall mural

"An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind" - Gandhi mural in Benalla

A mural by Australian street artist Matt Adnate in Benalla

Zoe Davis by Matthew Davis

Wild Cat with Blue Tongue by David Lee Pereira

Artwork by Jagung in Benalla

Goorambat silo art

Devenish silo art

St James Art Silo

Devenish Public Toilets Mural

Tungamah Art Silo

A buff kangaroo flexes its muscles

A kangaroo feeding in a field next to a "yield to kangaroo" sign

Caution wildlife sign

Winton water tank art

Rebeca and Becky by a Ned Kelly statue in Glenrowan

Ned Kelly's last stand, a rustic style watering hole offering beer and cocktails