One of the best ways to explore Victoria is to jump in a car and drive the Great Southern Touring Route where you'll see many of Victoria's most popular natural attractions, a diverse range of Victoria's historical and natural treasures and some of Victoria's most iconic attractions. Beginning in Melbourne the Great Southern Touring Route does a grand loop through western Victoria.

There's a series of cultural and nature based highlights including:

• Werribee Park Mansion and the State Victorian Rose Gardens
• Great Otway National Park including Erskine Falls and Melba Gully
• Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park
• Port Campbell National Park including the 12 Apostles
• Grampians National Park

Werribee Park, Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula

The drive out from Melbourne you'll pass the outer western suburbs, home to the picturesque Werribee Park with its stunning rose gardens and historical mansion built in the mid-nineteenth century. This lasting mark of an Australian pastoral empire makes for a fitting and picturesque first stop in you tour.

Heading clockwise along the Great Southern Touring Route your next stop will be Geelong and the Bellarine Peninsula. While in the area make sure to check out some of Victoria's best dive sites. Whether you've never dived before or you're an experienced diver there is a range of options to view spectacular marine life in Port Phillip Heads Marine National Park and the nearby wreck of the ex-HMAS Canberra. For the more experienced diver, the ex-HMAS Canberra offers an artificial reef specifically created for divers to explore including flight decks, bridge, engine rooms, galley and the accommodation quarters. Marine life continues to colonise the wreck, transforming it into a spectacular reef.

A short ferry ride away is Point Nepean National Park where you can explore Australia's military history and the heritage quarantine station with a self-guided audio tour allowing you take a step back into Victoria's past.

The Great Ocean Road and Great Otway National Park

Once you've dried off you'll head south west through popular surf towns like Torquay and Anglesea where you can explore Australia's surfing culture ahead of the Great Ocean Road - one of the world's most stunning coastal drives. Along the Great Ocean Road not far from the town of Lorne is the Great Otway National Park.

The Great Otway National Park is the home of the magnificent Erskine Falls and features dramatic rugged coastlines, sandy beaches, rock platforms, windswept heathland, tall forests, ferny gullies, and tranquil lakes. Two of the more popular attractions are the lush Melba Gully with its spectacular glow-worm population and the Great Ocean Walk, one of Australia's greatest hiking trails.

Beyond the Great Otway National Park, you will continue following the Great Ocean Road until you reach the iconic rock stacks and towering limestone cliffs of the awe-inspiring Twelve Apostles within Port Campbell National Park.

Further along the Great Ocean Road is the coastal town of Warrnambool where there's a chance you will see southern right and blue whales as they swim just offshore and can be seen from beachside viewing platforms the during winter months.

Just outside of Warrnambool is the Tower Hill Nature Reserve, an enormous volcanic crater where you can spot koalas, kangaroos, emus and native birds and experience indigenous Australian culture. The Tower Hill visitor centre is managed by the Worn Gundidj Aboriginal Cooperative who offer guided walks about local Aboriginal culture and bush tucker.

Grampians National Park

Heading inland the Great Southern Touring Route will take you to the town of Halls Gap which nestled inside the picturesque Grampians National Park. Rising abruptly from the surrounding Western Plains, the Grampians (Gariwerd) is a series of rugged sandstone mountain ranges and forests rich in wildlife and popular for camping, rock climbing, scenic drives, bushwalks and the striking picturesque scenery.

Guided tours explore the rich history of ancient Aboriginal rock art sites throughout the Grampians and a visit to the Brambuk interpretive centre provides a fascinating journey through local Aboriginal history and culture.

The Goldfields of Ballarat and Daylesford

Heading east towards Melbourne just past Ballarat is the town of Daylesford you'll discover Hepburn Regional Park where you will find natural mineral springs and relics of the gold mining era set in delightful bush surroundings. It's a great place to take a break followed by a quick visit to Trentham Falls a little further up the road where a spectacular waterfall plunges from a height of 32 metres, an idyllic final stop before the last leg of the drive back to Melbourne.

For more information on Victoria's spectacular parks call Parks Victoria on 13 1963 or visit www.parks.vic.gov.au