Things To Do in Melbourne

Welcome to our beautiful city of Melbourne and Victoria. I can tell you right now it’s one of the best places to visit and live if you are thinking about migrating. My name is Nep Thach, I am a Kiwi from New Zealand, and I have recently moved over and been living here for the past eight years – I love it.

When I was working back in Nelson, New Zealand as a graphic and website designer getting paid minimum wage. I have a dream that I get to do a lot of things, and that’s when things changed for me when I decided to move after my relationship ended. Nothing says moving to a new city to get away from your troubles, huh?

Ever since I have been here and getting paid much better salary too. I have enough money to spoil myself on the things I wanted to do in the Melbourne region. I have spent most of my time taking new adventures like skydiving, rafting, caving, snowboarding, surfing, running marathons, cycling, mountain biking, hiking and lots more.

What’s New and Exciting Things to Do Melbourne?

I love being in the great outdoors and meeting new people from all walks of life. I have organised plenty of Meetup events to get people out and about like camping, cycling and hiking and BBQ in Alexandra Gardens right on the edge of the Yarra Valley river.

I love organising, thus is why I started a winery tour business taking people away from the city and over the hills to the wine region called the Yarra Valley. It is a short 1.5 hours from our Melbourne CBD.

In this beautiful region, you’ll see spectacular valleys, with lots of things to see, do and taste. Below I will name top 5 things to do in the Yarra Valley within an hour from Melbourne.

What to do in Melbourne, this case in the Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges

Wine Tasting Tours
Kokoda Track Memorial Walk – One Thousand Steps
Cycling Warburton Railway Track
Trees Adventure in Belgrave
Healesville

#1 Wine Tasting Tours

If you are a wine lover, maybe you prefer beer or cider or possibly spirits – you can join either a public wine tasting tours or more private winery tours from Melbourne to the Yarra Valley.

When you join a wine tasting tours, it is a full-day trip that will leave at your pickup location at 9:45 am and make a short scenic drive to the Yarra Valley. Your tour will be finished at 4 pm as you make your way back to the pickup destination.

Public Winery Tours: When you hop on this tour, you are bound with their itinerary, and that’s a good thing to have. Especially if you are new to the region and happy to see what’s available for your taste buds.

Private Wine Tours Yarra Valley: If the public tour bus is not your cup of tea, or this case a glass of wine. You can opt-in with a tour operator like us to organise and customise the day to suit your group. We will pick you up at your allocated location and drop you off.

What to Expect on your Wine Tours?

You will get to visit 3-4 wineries in the Yarra Valley. Costs can include pickup and drop off or add additional features such as wine tasting, cheese platters and lunch with a glass of wine.

Before you jump on a wine tasting tour, read 6 steps on how to taste wine like a professional.

You will spend at least 45 minutes at each vineyard as you continue to do winery hopping at your comfort thanks to your designated driver.

Why Would You Consider Using Us?

At Kangaroo Hopping Tours, we love what we do and one of our tour guides, that’s me (Nep Thach), has invested in a professional camera where I can capture the day to give back to you. You will have a dedicated photographer and videographer – this is unique, and it will cost a bit extra or choose to have us as a driver to save costs.

Whatever reasons, we have packages to suit all budgets.

#2 Kokoda Track Memorial Walk – One Thousand Steps

This is considered and must do in Melbourne, popular for all tourists and locals. The steps going up can be very challenging if you are not a fit person. I remember when it’s my first time going up, I had a tough time and stopped at least four times to catch my breath. Make sure to bring a bottle of water to keep yourself hydrated.

When you reach the top, you have the option to come back down the steps or walk around in the bushland tracks that will take you back to the carpark.

Once you finished your little hike, you can pop over to the cafe and reward yourself with a hot or cold drink. If you have friends and you did plan ahead, you can bring food for BBQ and soak in the environment – if it’s your first time, make it memorable.

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#3 Warburton Cycling Trail

If cycling is your type of activity, then you should consider riding the railway tracks from Lilydale to the Warburton. This is an 80 km return ride, but you can stop and make it as short as you pleased.

I have organised a winery tour on the bike using this track for the first time. We visit two wineries that day as one was closed for a special function. We stopped over at Whispering Hills to enjoy our wine and cheese platters.

We then cycled up a few hundred metres to Payne’s Rise for more wine tasting. I love it here at Payne’s Rise, I been here a few times now since I started taking tour groups out. The owner Narelle is such a wonderful host, and you get to meet her and enjoy their fruits of labour.

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#4 Trees Adventure in Belgrave, Melbourne

I have organised for this fun event with my Meetup group. It’s perfect for all fitness level, but if you are scared of heights, this activity may not be the thing to do in Melbourne. If you love the idea of climbing trees and love to be a kid again, then this is for you.

There are three different levels, and you need to pass the Green to migrate to the next level and so forth. The higher the level the difficulty will increase, the obstacles can be tough and challenging, but it is worth every dollar spent. You get to have 2 hours of exploring the trees obstacle courses, the faster you go, the more turns you get.

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#5 Visit Healesville Township

I love exploring this cute little township, and its popularity keeps on growing with tourists and locals alike. Following our wine theme, in this town, we currently have two fantastic distilleries to keep you satisfied: the Four Pillars and The Alchemy – both within walking distance.

The best time for me is to visit in the warmer months, really early in the morning and enjoy your breakfast and coffee at the cafe. My favourite spot for coffee and almond croissant is at Habituel, right in the town centre or you can also walk on over Beechworth Bakery Healesville for pies and lots of desserts to keep your eyes and tummy happy.

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Healesville Sanctuary

To make the most of your day, you can pop on over to the Healesville Sanctuary if you are a lover of animals. Explore the bushland haven and see native Australian wildlife and take photos and video for souvenirs.

Cost for general admission:

Adult: $38
Child: 4-15 is $19, but it is FREE if you take them on the weekend and public holidays, how wonderful is that?

I have not set my foot on the Healesville Sanctuary, if you do go and explore the bushland, send me an email or comment and tell me about the experience.

That’s the TOP 5 things to do around Melbourne.

I would love to hear about your experience in any of the activities mentioned above, what’s the most memorable part?