33 random facts re regional Victoria

Random facts, talking points and fodder to ponder. How well do you really know Victoria?

Even those who think they know Victoria’s regions pretty well, may be surprised by some of these lesser know facts and stats about the State.

Nature & wildlife

• Although the State comprises just 3% of Australia’s total landmass, Victoria is home to 30% of Australia’s native animals.
• There are 36 National parks and 13 Marine National Parks – that’s a lot of space to wander.
• Victoria’s parks are home to more than 4300 native plants and 948 native animal species. There are at least: 111 mammals, 447 birds, 46 freshwater and 600 marine fish, 133 reptiles and 33 amphibians including twelve dragons and eleven legless lizards.
• There’s an island with more koalas than people. Raymond Island, accessed by a small ferry from Paynesville, is home to a sizeable colony of the cute and cuddly natives.
• Phillip Island is home to the largest collection of penguins in Australia. There are reportedly 32,000 breeding pairs of Little Penguins, with almost 2000 wadding up Summerland Beach every evening for the famous penguin ‘parade’. These diminutive creatures broadened their international acclaim as the stars of a Big-Brother style documentary, Penguin Island, in 2010.
• Australia’s rarest bird, the black-eared miner, is found  – though perhaps not easily – in the Murray-Sunset National Park.
• There’s an extinct volcano at Tower Hill.
• There are pink lakes!
• There’s a monolith that is reputedly 1.5 times the size of Uluru. Unlike its better world-renowned sister rock, Pine Mountain in the Burrowa-Pine Mountain National Park is largely ‘under-wraps’ both literally (it is shrouded in vegetation) and figuratively.
• The Grampians National Park encompasses an area that is more than 500 million years old, 100 kilometres long and 50 kilometres wide. This one park alone has over 1000 species of plants, shrubs and wildflowers of which 22 are endemic to the region. 
• The Jardwadjali and Djab Wurrung people of Gariwerd (the Aboriginal name for the Grampians) recognise six seasons across this ancient region, each named after the arrival of various flora and fauna throughout the year – eels, honey bees, cockatoos, nesting birds, wildflowers and butterflies.
• The Gippsland Lakes are the largest inland network of waterways in Australia, spanning some 354 square kilometres.
• More than 60 nineteenth century ship wrecks and four sunken World War 1 submarines lie at the bottom of Port Phillip Bay, making it a diver’s treasure trove.
• 180 ships have come to grief along the treacherous stretch of coastline around Warrnambool not-just-coincidentally known as The Shipwreck Coast.
• The Great Ocean Road is one of the world’s largest war memorials. It was built by hand over a 14 year period by returned soldiers from WW1 to honour the fallen.
• The iconic 12 Apostles are just 25 minutes from Melbourne, by helicopter. Honestly.

Adventure

• Mount Buller is home to the only ‘Epic’ status mountain bike track in Australia while nearby Mt Baw Baw boasts what is arguably the toughest stretch of sealed road in Australia for cycling. The ‘hors categorie’ climb is the final challenge in the Mt Baw Baw Classic and is feared by racers and recreational riders alike.
• Victoria in fact home to a whole host of Australia’s only/longest/biggest/best/hardest when it comes to sport from the world’s largest open water swim (GMHBA Lorne Pier to Pub) and the world’s longest running professional surfing contest (Rip Curl Pro) to Australia’s leg of the Worldloppet long distance cross country ski race (Falls Creek Kangaroo Hoppet), the oldest and richest short distance running race in Australia (Stawell Gift), the only horse race that genuinely stops the nation, and many more to boot.
• Mount Arapiles is regarded as the top rock climbing destination in Australia. With more than 2000 recognised rock climbing routes, the impressive monolith with 360 degree views over the Grampians region holds its own as an international climbing Mecca.
• The 600 metre long and 30 metre high Otway Fly Treetop Walk is the longest and tallest walkway of its type in the world – the perfect place for a treetop wander.

Indulgence

• Regional Victoria is home to the only two regional restaurants included in the country’s top 10 award-winning restaurants list, Lake House and Brae (AGFA 2016).
• Victoria boasts more wine producers than any other state in Victoria, with more than 850 wineries in 21 distinct regions. That’s a lot of wine!
• Victoria is Australia’s most bountiful food bowl and there are a plethora of foodie festivals that pay homage to pretty much all of the State’s produce – from the overarching Melbourne Food and Wine Festival with its regional program to those that cater for specific cravings – Trentham’s Spudfest, the Murchison Tomato Festa and Wandiligong Nut Festival to name but a few.
• A fruitful fact: The Murray produces 95% of Australia’s dried fruit, 69% of table grapes and 21% of the country’s citrus.
• Victoria is home to Australia’s hunt for the Great Australian Vanilla Slice Triumph and what is allegedly the best Vanilla Slice in Australia in Ballarat.
• The Daylesford Macedon Ranges region is home to more than 80% of the known natural mineral springs in the country.
• Peninsula Hot Springs in the Mornington Peninsula are the only natural thermal mineral springs bathing and day spa facility in Australia.
• There are accommodation options to suit almost every budget, expectation and most whims with some of the more unusual options including lighthouses, treehouses, converted train carriages and water tanks, safari style tents, Mongolian-inspired Yurts, Japanese retreats, underground, under the stars, and even up in the sky perched on top of a pole 4o metres above sea level.

Arts, culture and history

• Victoria’s diverse landscapes are increasingly featuring as stars of the silver screen with The Grampians and Mount Rothwell (Little River) starring most recently alongside a stellar cast in the Australian feature film The Dressmaker. 
• The charming historic village of Clunes in Victoria’s goldfields is Australia’s only International Booktown and one of only 17 official booktowns in the world.
• Nine Levels of Darkness (228 metres underground) at Bendigo’s Central Deborah Gold Mine is Australia’s deepest underground mine tour.
• An artist by the name of “Spanner Man” who creates enormous sculptures – as the name suggests – entirely from spanners, now attracts about 10,000 visitors a year to the small town of Boort.
• Marilyn Monroe is flapping her skirts over Bendigo – an  8-metre high sculpture of the silver screen siren is making her first international outing to watch over the city hosts a world-first Marilyn Monroe exhibition (5 March – 10 July 2016).