Things We Learnt In:

An hour and 40 minute drive from Melbourne sits Phillip Island. An easy day trip, this small island off of the Southern coast is connected to the mainland by a small bridge. It offers unrivalled opportunities to view some Australian wildlife both in a conservation setting and in a natural environment. Koala Conservation Centre We started our day trip at the Koala Conservation Centre. For $12.80 per adult you have access to the ecotourism attraction's two raised boardwalks, allowing you to walk among to the trees to try and spot the koala's that live in the conservation centre. Watching the koalas in their natural habitat is enchanting. Seeing how they studiously ignored all comers was my favourite thing about them. You can watch their ears move as they listen your conversation, decide it is not interesting enough to warrant their attention, and carry on their naps. Koala's sleep for up to 18 hours each day, conserving their energy to digest their fibrous an...

Based in the beautiful Dandenong Ranges, an hours drive from Melbourne, is the Puffing Billy Railway. Running between Belgrave and Gembrook, carriages built in the early 1900's haul passengers up and down the line, passing through tall gum trees and man sized fern forests. A one way journey for the entire line takes approximately 2 hours and 35 minutes. If time is tighter, there are options to exit the train and explore at a number of stops along the route. For $57 AUD per adult we opted to travel between Belgrave and Lakeside- a 55 minute scenic journey that Health and Safety forgot. Boarding a packed train we were able to find a spot to undertake the traditional approach to Puffing Billy travel- hanging our legs over the side. It is only fair to mention at this point that some casualties did result from this approach to the journey- we saw one forlorn looking trainer, one accidentally discarded flip flop and a dropped baseball cap on the side of the trac...