Geelong's sparkling waterfront precinct is a great place to stroll, with plenty of restaurants set on scenic piers, plus historical landmarks, sculptures, swimming areas, playgrounds and grassy sections ideal for picnics. In summer you can cool off at popular Eastern Beach ( GOOGLE MAP ), which features a sandy beach and art deco bathing pavilion with classic European-style enclosed bay swimming, complete with diving boards, sunbathing area and toddler pool.

With over 4000 works in its collection, this excellent gallery has celebrated Australian paintings such as Eugene von Guérard’s View of Geelong and Frederick McCubbin’s 1890 A Bush Burial. Also exhibits contemporary works and has free tours on Saturday at 2pm.

More interesting than it may sound, this museum showcases the importance of the wool industry in shaping Geelong economically, socially and architecturally – many of the grand buildings in the area are former wool-store buildings, including the museum's 1872 bluestone building. There’s a sock-making machine and a massive 1910 Axminster carpet loom that gets chugging on weekends.

On the road to Torquay in Grovedale, on Geelong's far outskirts, this Aboriginal cultural centre has didgeridoo performances (or play it yourself), a boomerang-throwing gallery and a native garden. Daily tours are at 11am and 2pm, and its gift shop sells Indigenous books and music.

Volunteer-led city tours show Geelong's historic architecture and landmarks. Prices include a ride on the waterfront carousel, tea and cake and two-for-one admission to the National Wool Museum. Book one day in advance.

The perfect starting point for those embarking on a surfing safari, this well-curated museum pays homage to Australian surfing, from Simon Anderson's ground-breaking 1981 thruster to Mark Richard's board collection and, most notably, Australia's Surfing Hall of Fame. It's full of great memorabilia (including Duke Kahanamoku's wooden longboard), videos and displays on surfing culture through the 1960s to '80s.

Hires surfing gear, sells secondhand equipment and offers lessons (cheaper with advance booking).

Serious surf school.

Reputable Westcoast Surf School offers surf lessons and board hire.

You can watch kangaroos graze on the fairways from the big glass windows at the clubhouse here, or, even better, pair your sightings with a round of golf.

Long-established surf school that runs lessons and hires out boards, SUPs and kayaks.

Scale the 136 steps to the top of the beautiful 'White Queen' lighthouse for sensational 360-degree views. Built in 1891, the 34m-high lighthouse is still operational (though now fully automated). It's only accessible by booking a tour.

People come from around the world to hop on a Blazing Saddles horse and head along the stunning beach or into the bush.

Head out of town to see this lovely waterfall. It’s an easy walk to the viewing platform, or 250 (often slippery) steps down to its base, from where you can explore further or head back on up.

Offers surfing lessons, and is big on kayaking and mountain biking.

Cape Otway lightstation is the oldest surviving lighthouse on mainland Australia and was built in 1848 by more than 40 stonemasons without mortar or cement. The Telegraph Station has fascinating displays on the 250km undersea telegraph cable link with Tasmania, laid in 1859. It's a sprawling complex with plenty to see, from Aboriginal cultural sites to WWII bunkers.

The most iconic sight and enduring image for most visitors to the Great Ocean Road, the Twelve Apostles provide a fitting climax to the journey. Jutting out from the ocean in spectacular fashion, these rocky stacks stand like they've been abandoned to the ocean by the retreating headland. Today only seven 'apostles' can be seen from a network of viewing platforms connected by timber boardwalks around the clifftops.

There’s pedestrian access to the viewing platforms from the car park at the Twelve Apostles Visitor Centre (more a kiosk and toilets than an info centre) via a tunnel beneath the Great Ocean Road.

The best time to visit is sunset, not only for optimum photography opportunities and to beat the tour buses, but to see little penguins returning ashore. Sightings vary, but generally they arrive 20 to 40 minutes after sunset. You'll need binoculars, which can be borrowed from the Port Campbell Visitor Centre.

These 86 steps, hacked by hand into the cliffs by 19th-century landowner Hugh Gibson (and more recently replaced by concrete steps), lead down to wild Gibson Beach. You can walk along the beach, but be careful not to be stranded by high tides.

Close to the Twelve Apostles, Loch Ard Gorge is where the Shipwreck Coast’s most famous and haunting tale unfolded when two young survivors of the wrecked iron clipper Loch Ard made it to shore. There are several walks in the area taking you down to the cave where they took shelter, plus a cemetery and rugged beach.

Just outside Port Campbell, en route to Peterborough, London Bridge has indeed fallen down. It was once a double-arched rock platform linked to the mainland, yet it remains a spectacular sight nevertheless. In January 1990 the bridge collapsed, leaving two terrified tourists marooned on the world’s newest island – they were eventually rescued by helicopter.

The world-class Flagstaff Hill precinct is of equal interest for its shipwreck museum, heritage-listed lighthouses and garrison as it is for its reproduction of a historical Victorian port town. It also has the nightly Shipwrecked (adult/child/family $26/14/67), an engaging 70-minute sound-and-laser show telling the story of the Loch Ard’s plunge. The village is modelled on a pioneer-era Australian coastal port, with ye-olde shops such as blacksmiths, candlemakers and shipbuilders.

Get to know some of Warrnambool’s quiet beach spots on horseback.

Located across the bridge from the picturesque harbour, Battery Hill is worthy of exploration, with cannons and fortifications positioned here in 1887 to protect the town from foreign warships. You'll also encounter resident black wallabies. It was originally used as a flagstaff, so the views are good.

Pick up a range of maps and brochures at the visitor centre that will guide you through various aspects of the town's heritage. It also has maps for the popular Maritime & Shipwreck Heritage Walk, while architecture buffs will want to buy a copy of Historic Buildings of Port Fairy.

Surf school and stand-up paddle board tours.

The grassy precinct overlooking the harbour has several heritage bluestone buildings. The History House (%03-5522 2266; Cliff St; adult/child $3/2; h10am-noon & 1-4pm), located in the former town hall (1863), has an interesting museum detailing Portland's colonial past. Customs House (1850) has a fascinating display of confiscated booty, including a stuffed black bear. Also here is the 1845 courthouse, the 1886 Rocket Shed, with a display of ship rescue equipment, and the 1889 battery, built as defence against feared Russian invasion.

The tourist office offers several self-guided walking-tour brochures, including a heritage building tour and one that traces the steps of St Mary MacKillop's time in Portland.