Summer is over – the season of fun is done, right?
Wrong.
Autumn is the great all-rounder season, a perfect time to explore Victoria’s outdoors, whether it’s mountains, beaches, forests or deserts that you have in mind. Here’s why.
Pleasant temperatures
With the sting coming out of the sun’s rays there’s more of the day to enjoy being outside.
Autumn’s range of pleasant temperatures still means plenty of beach days at the state’s coastal parks but without the oppressive heat. Likewise, the mild conditions open-up more opportunities for walks, hikes, bike rides and other activities across the middle of the day.
Meanwhile, cooler nights make for more comfortable camping getaways, and for eager snow-bunnies even the chance to play among late-season snowflakes in the alps.
Long weekends
The first half of autumn is a golden period for public holidays: Labour Day (11 March), Good Friday (19 April), Easter Monday (22 April), ANZAC Day (25 April).
These bonus days and long weekends mean more time to explore Victoria’s parks and reserves, bringing those further afield into reach. For southerners, long weekends are a chance to head north and explore Victoria’s deserts, high country, and Murray River landscapes. For those in the state’s north, opportunities to marvel at some dramatic coastal environments.
Fewer people
With school and summer holidays over, even the state’s most popular destinations, like the busy Twelve Apostles and Wilsons Promontory, begin to quieten.
More campground space is available and the thousands of kilometres of tracks, trails and walks that wind through Victoria experience a drop-off in foot-traffic.
Take advantage of these quieter moments to get a dose of all the health benefits that come from being out in nature.
Fuller waterfalls
Plunge, cascade, punchbowl, horse-tail, fan – there’s a great variety of waterfalls out there, and Victoria’s got some of the best.
After slowing to a trickle during the long hot summer, waterfalls begin to come back to life during late autumn as rains begin to fill feeder-creeks and catchments.
While the Grampians, Great Otway and Alpine National Parks are stacked with options, there are less visited but easy to access stunners such as Trentham, Woolshed and Olinda Falls.
Autumn colours
This one is no surprise – but for good reason.
Autumn is a time of vivid colour, with a range of landscapes taking on beautiful new tones.
While the turning leaves of Victoria’s spa country, Yarra Valley and the Dandenong Ranges often claim centre stage, there are shades of red, orange and yellow to be found everywhere.
With lower temperatures and increasing rainfall, a green tinge also starts to show on our sunburnt country, softening the land and offering a new perspective to the outdoors.
Cosy campfires
It’s hard to beat a campfire on a crisp evening.
As autumn progresses, fire restrictions ease and darkness falls earlier, making it an ideal season to stack a bundle of wood and unpack the marshmallows.
Cooler weather, however, is no excuse to overlook campfire safety. About 10% of bushfires are caused by campfires that escape and spread into surrounding bush. Never leave a campfire unattended and always extinguish thoroughly with water, not soil.
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