"Eat and Stay Local Near Melbourne At a misty lakeside retreat, on six acres of gardens and fruit orchards roughly 70 miles from Melbourne, chef/co-owner Alla Wolf-Tasker serves such locally sourced goodies as vegetable tagine and truffle pecorino tarts. Guests can enjoy full-day cooking classes with leading Aussie chefs before retreating to their waterfront cabins or the treetop spa."

"Break (sourdough) bread in Melbourne The stunning Baker D. Chirico does some of the best bread in Melbourne. This place is all about quality, premium bread, and that means high prices. But with those prices and at that standard, it comes with a pretty stunning design and store fit out. Unlike the other Daniel Chirico store in St Kilda, this store has no coffee machine, deli or other distractions. Wonderful curving wood infuse light and warmth into the space, and one wall is pared back to its rustic stone and scratchy paint. Black and white floor tiles are reflected in the packaging. The store, the building and the various packaging designs were a collaboration between FOD, architects March Studio, artist and fashion designers PAM and Daniel Chirico, the stellar artisan bread maker. According to team that worked on the project, there was a focus on “the juxtaposition between age-old tradition and craft, and contemporary design thinking with a surreal twist”, the store creates a unique, welcoming and inspiring experience. Even if design isn't your thing, it's worth picking up a loaf or two here."

"When you need a break from all the laneways and urbanscapes, head to the sprawling Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. Here, 93 acres of landscaped gardens feature more than 10,000 species of native and exotic flora species. On sunny days, locals tend to gather on the grassy slopes that surround the ornamental lake or jog along The Tan (a nearly 2.5-mile walking track that loops around the gardens and past the striking Shrine of Remembrance). If you’re a first-time visitor, however, be sure to also explore the Australian Forest area, Trig Point Lookout, and the Rockpool Waterway. And families will love the interactive Children’s Garden."

"The Great Ocean Road's Spiritual View Australia’s Great Ocean Road tops the world’s coastal drives with its dramatic coastline from Melbourne to Adelaide. Rough waves and wind relentlessly beat against the harsh cliffs and leave behind battle wounds of bizarre limestone rock formations like The Grotto, London Bridge and the pictured Twelve Apostles. Twelve Apostles is a bit of a misnomer as the stacks continue to erode and in 2005, the closest one crumbled leaving us with eight. No matter the number, their presence is powerful like a fleet of ships protecting the land. Try to get there just before sunset to watch the light sandy structures morph into ominous figures cloaked in shadows."

"The Perfect Wave I have always been obsessed with Bells Beach even before it was dramatized in an often overlooked gem of a film called Point Break starring Patrick Swayze and Keanu Reeves (don't forget the great cameo appearance by Anthony Kiedis of the RHCP). I digress. I was lucky to grow up a with a parent who lived in Hawaii, which sparked an early obsession with all things surfing! Bells Beach is home to the longest running surf competition in the world, the Rip Curl Pro Surf Classic! The waves here are magical and during my morning here it was like an endless series of perfect sets. The drive to Bells on the Great Ocean Road is magnificent and offers opportunities to spot kangaroos and colorful birds (possibly a koala bear!). It is a surfer's paradise but worth a visit even if you aren't hitting the waves or paddling out to surf Point Break."

"This is Melbourne: Melbourne Museum Besides being home to the largest IMAX theater in the world, which plays documentaries in both 2D and 3D, the Natural History Museum's fauna displays are unique because of Australia 's location on the globe; extremely large snakes, reptiles, and several varieties of butterflies are abundant and preserved wonderfully in the huge modern space. A complete skeleton of a Blue Whale (pictured) is a showstopper for all visitors. My favorite exhibition detailed the differences between kangaroos, wallabies, and other marsupials. Not to mention all those colorful butterflies. Of course, no visit is complete without a stop into the Bunjilaka, a space for learning about Victoria’s Koorie (southeastern Aboriginal) people. The Museum and the shop is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. every day, except major holidays. By Stacy C. Uebelhor"

"Nestled into the base of Mount Sturgeon, at the southern entrance of Grampians National Park roughly three and a half hours from Melbourne, the Royal Mail Hotel combines a bush experience with world-class food and wine. The property is a slow-paced reprieve at the site where the town of Dunkeld was first settled. Accommodations range from minimalist mountain-view rooms bedecked with furniture and light fixtures by Melbourne designer Jardan to the Mt. Sturgeon sheep station, home to a six-bedroom homestead as well as eight dog-friendly sandstone cottages with bathrooms built inside old water tanks. Gardens play a prominent role in the Royal Mail experience; the hotel has the largest kitchen garden in Australia , which supplies the restaurant with nearly all its organic produce, and a 24-acre private garden is home to many rare indigenous and non-indigenous plants. With the Grampian Mountains and their year-round waterfalls right at the hotel’s back door, the Royal Mail is also a prime base for exploring the wilderness and its native wildlife. After a day in the woods, guests can indulge in an eight-course tasting menu with matched wines from one of the top-ranked cellars in the world."

"World’s Longest Lunch at Marylands Country House The Australian food festival calendar is peppered with events across the country, showcasing homegrown and foreign dining trends. Grab a seat at the world’s longest lunch at the Melbourne Food and Wine Festival. For three weeks in March, more than 200 events fill Melbourne’s network of restaurants, laneways, basements, and rooftop venues across the city and regional Victoria. It is the perfect time to enjoy fresh seasonal produce, bustling food markets, innovative chefs, and their award-winning restaurants and expert winemakers. Sponsored by Tourism Australia"

"Fine-dining Fitzroy for foodists As if Cumulus Inc. and Golden Fields wasn't enough, Andrew McConnell's Cutler & Co does the chef's same extraordinary things with perfect produce. They've given new life to a former metalworks factory, with cement columns and exposed brickwork that draw on the building’s industrial past. On menu, there's McConnell's usual imaginative twist with flavours. We love the tuna sashimi served with ginger, shaved squid & kimchi. There's hay-baked carrots served with goat’s curd, puffed rice and walnut. WA marron - a little like a freshwater yabbie - is done with a green sauce, spring vegetables, hazelnut and jamón. And there's a roasted suckling pig (1/4 beast) served with vegetable gratin, baby cos salad with dill pickles & ranch dressing ($220 to share, pre order)."

"Supernormal Melbourne Every discerning visitor to Melbourne goes straight to Cumulus Inc, another Andrew McConnell restaurant. The chef has become one of the leaders in the Melbourne food scene, and a booking at one of his restaurants is an insurance that great food is about to go down. The relatively new Supernormal does some of the best food in town. Order the New England lobster roll, a hot buttered brioche with a couple of thick slabs of cold poached crayfish, Kewpie mayonnaise and watercress ($15). The raw bar is inventive, fresh, delicious. Cubes of raw tuna topped with a puréed dot of avocado, a twig of fried saltbush and the greenest possible kombu dressing is a must try. The white cut chicken, with silken noodles and a sesame dressing, wombok and chilli oil, is a masterstroke. The dish is so tender, so elegant, creamy, crunchy and fresh, I could come in for a plate of it every day. This Asian twist is McConnell at his most wonderful. The pan-Asian menu draws on the chef's years spent working in Shanghai and Hong Kong , where he was exposed to a broad range of food in people’s homes, on the streets and in restaurants. It’s a large concrete box of space with a neutral fit out; pale wood paneling, white booths, a long zinc bar and a basement that includes a karaoke room, less tacky than its counterparts elsewhere. Sydneysiders wish McConnell would deliver interstate."