Victoria
Western Victoria

The mighty Murray River borders the state to the north providing irrigation for farmlands and wineries, a venue for a wide variety of watersports and a colourful past built around paddlesteamers and historic ports.

A visit to the historic area of the Goldfields offers the chance to experience the bygone days of the goldrush which made Victoria the wealthiest state in the nation. Towns such as Ballarat and Bendigo boast a wealth of historic architecture as a reminder of their wealthy past.

 West Victoria interactive map
Several roads run west from the goldfields to the South Australian border through the seemingly endless wheatfields of the Wimmera. 

To the west of the farming centre of Ararat is the major attraction of the area, The Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park, the southwestern tail-end of the Great Dividing Range. Stawell and Horsham – the latter regarded as the capital of the Wimmera – are good places to base yourself, but Halls Gap, inside the park, is even better. The massive rock outcrops and deep gorges of the Grampians provide a backdrop for and rich farming region which produces some of Australia's best wines.

North of Horsham are Nhill and Dimboola, close to Little Desert National Park and, like Warracknabeal further north, wheat centres. Beyond here is the least populated part of the state, the wide, flat Mallee with its twisted mallee scrub, sand dunes and dry lakes. This region, with several state and national parks, extends from Wyperfeld National Park in the south, right up to Mildura’s irrigated oasis on the Murray River. 

South of the Grampians is sheep country; following the Hamilton Highway from Geelong you’ll end up at Hamilton, the major town and wool capital of the western district, also accessible via Dunkeld on the southern edge of the Grampians.

Along the south-west coast, the Great Ocean Road traverses one of the most spectacular coastlines in Australia passing the renowned Twelve Apostles and some of the best surfing beaches in the country.

For more regional information on the regions in Western Victoria, go to: