7 natural wonders to explore in Victoria

When you want to reconnect with the great outdoors, soak up these jaw-dropping views and adventures in every corner of our state.

Get a bird’s-eye view of the Grampians on the Grampians Peaks Trail.

The natural world has the ability to soothe and energise — the perfect antidote to a challenging year.

Here are some ways to help you reconnect and rekindle your sense of awe at our state’s stunning landscapes.

BLACK SPUR DRIVE

This 28km stretch of the Maroondah Highway is one of Victoria’s most beautiful drives.

Perfect for a day trip from Melbourne, the road winds from charming Healesville to Narbethong through a lush forest of tree ferns and towering mountain ash trees.

Take a picnic and dine alfresco at the bewitchingly sited Fernshaw Picnic Ground or continue on to the picturesque mountain town of Marysville to inhale the crisp air and feast your eyes on the beauty of nearby Steavenson Falls, one of the state’s highest waterfalls, and Keppel Lookout, with its sweeping mountain and valley views.

Steavenson Falls in Marysville. Picture: Jake Nowakowski

ABORIGINAL HERITAGE WALK

Journey into the ancestral lands of the local Kulin Nation and gain an understanding of indigenous people’s rich history, thriving culture and connection to plants during a guided walk at Melbourne’s beautiful Royal Botanic Gardens.

During the 90-minute walk with an indigenous guide, you will experience a ceremonial Acknowledgement of Country and learn how indigenous people used native plants for food, medicine and basket making.

This experience is for those aged 13-plus.

>> For more great Victorian travel and touring inspiration, pick up a copy of Space magazine in your Sunday Herald Sun today.

GRAMPIANS PEAKS TRAIL

In the state’s west, an ancient mountain range teeming with wildlife and home to most of the state’s Aboriginal rock art rises spectacularly from flat fields.

The Grampians is a breathtaking region with incredible hiking trails, impressive waterfalls, jaw-dropping panoramas and dramatic peaks.

Excitingly, the opportunity to hike the area has just gone next level.

The Grampians Peaks Trail — a world-class, 160km walking trail — is being created, connecting some of the park’s most majestic peaks.

Walkers will be able to experience the trail in sections or as a 13-day journey, gaining insight along the way into the traditional owners who have called these ranges home for thousands of years.

Parts of the trail are already complete, with highlights including the Pinnacle Lookout and Mt Rosea summit.

THE OTWAYS

Waterfalls tumble into idyllic ravines. Narrow roads weave through dense rainforest.

Platypuses glide through a peaceful lake surreally dotted with the trunks of drowned trees.

Welcome to the Great Otway National Park, otherwise known as the Otways, an area of exceptional beauty nestled behind the Great Ocean Road.

Walk among the treetops at the Otway Fly.

Don’t miss Lake Elizabeth, where you can take a platypus-spotting canoe tour with Otway Eco Tours, or picture-perfect Hopetoun and Beauchamp waterfalls.

The spellbinding Californian redwood forest is another must-see, with its magnificent stand of soaring trees, mysterious atmosphere and mossy fallen trunks crisscrossing a trickling river.

Want to add an adrenaline surge to your nature experience?

Check out Lorne Live Wire Park, billed as Australia’s most extreme zip line, or the Otway Fly Treetop Adventures, popular for its zipline and its elevated walk through the rainforest canopy.

DANDENONG RANGES

On Melbourne’s doorstep is a leafy, fairytale-like wonderland so enchanting it’s like a portal to another world.

The Dandenong Ranges is pure day-trip delight with its winding roads, charming villages, superb walking trails and sun-dappled canopies of tree ferns and mountain ash.

Alfred Nicholas Gardens in autumn. Picture: Stuart Milligan

With the arrival of autumn, be sure to tick these exceptional gardens to your list as the leaves turn intense, Instagrammable hues: the expansive Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden; the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden, with its quaint boathouse and footbridges; and the internationally renowned Cloudehill, which dazzles with its maze of garden rooms.

GREAT VICTORIAN RAIL TRAIL

Pedal through some of the state’s most gorgeous scenery by cycling Australia’s longest continuous rail trail.

Suitable for bike riders of most fitness levels, the 134km trail winds its way from Tallarook to Mansfi eld, with views of rivers, lakes, mountains and farmland.

Highlights include the Trawool Valley, classified by the National Trust for its scenic beauty, the Bonnie Doon rail bridge over Lake Eildon and awe-inspiring High Country mountain vistas. Wildlife, art galleries, shops, cafes, museums and markets are other attractions along the way.

The trail starts about an hour’s drive from Melbourne’s CBD and can also be explored on foot or by horse.

WILDLIFE WONDERS

Get Space magazine in your Sunday Herald Sun on March 21.

It’s always a thrill to spot wildlife in its native habitat. And that’s exactly what you can do on this magical trail where the Otways forest meets the Southern Ocean near Apollo Bay.

The site offers a 1.4km, 75-minute walk with a conservationist guide along a meandering, all-abilities walking path through bushland protected by fox-and cat-proof fencing.

You will enjoy learning the secrets of the bush and its mesmerising array of native plants and animals, from koalas and kangaroos to potoroos and bandicoots.

Local wildlife champions Lizzie Corke and Shayne Neal worked with Brian Massey, an art director on The Hobbit films and designer of New Zealand’s Hobbiton movie-set experience, to create the stunning wildlife walk immersed in the natural landscape.

For more great Victorian travel and touring inspiration, pick up a copy of Space magazine in your Sunday Herald Sun today. Discover more outdoor adventures around Victoria at visitvictoria.com/getoutdoors