Overview
The southernmost of the mainland Australian states, which mostly contains less dry areas. The exception in the north-west corner with Little Desert and Hattah-Kulkyne parks have some spectacular wildlife and birdlive, including for example Mallee specialists. Victoria is bordered in the north by New South Wales, in the west by South Australia, and in the south by Bass Strait and Tasmania.
The capital city, Melbourne, is a sprawling bayside city of over 3 million, with many parklands and remnant pockets of vegetation. It is bordered by grasslands to the west, and the foothills of the Great Dividing Range to the north and east. The Great Dividing Range contains Victoria's largest swathes of eucalyptus forest, although pockets of similar forest can be found in the Otway Ranges, to the south-west of Melbourne, and in the Strzelecki Ranges to the south-east.
The main geographical regions of Victoria are: the semi-arid to arid Mallee and Wimmera of the states west and north-west; the wet temperate areas of south-west Otway Ranges and Gippsland to the east; and the north-eastern alpine area.
Victoria is Australia's smallest mainland state, approximately the same size in area as Great Britain. Public transport outside of the capital city is generally reliable via train or bus to most of the major regional centres, but varies considerably outside of these places. It is highly advisable to hire a car if more than a small region needs to be visited.
Distances from Melbourne to the major centres range from 550km (340mi) to Mildura in the north-west; 307km (220mi) to Wodonga on the NSW border to the north-east, 520km (324mi) to Mallacoota in the east; to closer centres such as Ballarat (105km to the west), Shepparton (184km to the north) and Morwell (150km to the east). Between cities and towns, roads are all paved and in a good navigable state of repair. Most larger towns have motels and caravan parks where accommodation may be found.
The climate ranges from cold and (sometimes) wet in the winter (average max. temperature of around 15 deg. celsius) to hot and dry during summer, where heatwaves cause temperatures in excess of 40 deg. celcius
Birds
Around 470 species have been recorded in Victoria.
Notable Species
Little Penguin, Cape Barren Goose, Hooded Plover, Red-capped Plover, Short-tailed Shearwater, Plains-wanderer, Powerful Owl, Superb Lyrebird, Ground Parrot, Orange-bellied Parrot, Swift Parrot, Turquoise Parrot, Red-tailed Black Cockatoo (Southern subspecies), Black-eared Miner, Helmeted form of Yellow-tufted Honeyeater, Mallee Emu-wren, Southern Emu-wren, Pink Robin, Rufous Bristlebird and Pilotbird.
Rarities
Mallee Emu-wren, Rufous Bristlebird
Check-list
Avibase check list for Victoria
Other Wildlife
National parks are a great place to see kangaroos, glow worms, platypus, wombats and Tasmanian devils in their natural habitat.
Site Information
History and Use
Victoria is Australia's second-smallest state, covering 227,600 square kilometres – about the size of the British Isles.
Areas of Interest
Victoria has more than 100 parks and reserves which cover about 17% of the state or more than 4.1 million hectares.
Access and Facilities
Please see individual websites for each park or reserve's details.
Contact Details
There are 11 Visitor Information Centres throughout Victoria. Here is a link to the one in Melbourne
External Links
- Checklist for Victoria
- Search for Parks in Victoria
- Nature and Wildlife of Victoria
- Birdlife branches in Victoria
- Birding clubs in Victoria
- Visitor Information Centres
