When summer rolls around, the heat turns up. From reviving swim spots to refreshing ice creameries, these cool places will keep your temperature down and your spirits high.
Frosty treats
Stay cool and sweeten your summer road trip with a scoop of artisan gelato from one of the region's premier gelaterias like Il Piccolo Gelato in Ballarat or the Timboon Ice Creamery along the Great Ocean Road. Taste fresh ice cream bursting with just-picked berries at The Berry Dairy in Gippsland or Rocky Creek Strawberry Farm on the Mornington Peninsula. So tasty it won’t have time to melt.
Coastal swims
Victoria’s large sweep of breezy coastline has plentiful local beaches that are perfect for beating the heat.
Swim, splash and paddle your way to cool at Lorne, Point Lonsdale and Anglesea on the Great Ocean Road. These are ideal for sheltered, patrolled foreshore dips – and easy access to another ice cream or cold drink.
Dive (literally) into an art deco swimming enclosure at Geelong's Eastern Beach – the brisk water is an all-ages reviver.
Crank the air-con and head to Norman Beach at Wilson's Promontory. Go wild swimming at pristine pink-granite Cape Woolamai near Phillip Island or at Point Addis on the Great Ocean Road. Dip beneath waves in the salty surf, paddle from wide sandy shores, and muck about with the kids in tepid rock pools.
Inland dips and cool trips
Away from the coast? No sweat. Victoria’s High Country has naturally lower temperatures. You can float your overheated limbs on the region’s many tranquil lakes, or chill in rock pools at the misty cascades of Gooram Falls.
Dip into the Buchan Caves Reserve in Gippsland, where the turquoise-hued AE Lind limestone rock pool awaits with reviving (super cold) stream water. Balance it out with an exploratory walk through the Buchan Caves.
Slide into the cool river waters at secluded Nigretta Falls in the Grampians. Bring your chiller bag and emerge refreshed for a waterside picnic.
Or keep dry with a cool walk through tree-shaded gullies, past mossy rocks and trickling water in the Dandenong Ranges and The Otways.
