“Victoria's most well-known volcanic crater is Tower Hill, 13km west of Warrnambool, which is thought to have erupted about 32,000 years ago”
Volcanic activity over untold centuries has shaped much of the landscape in south-west Victoria and South Australia's lower south-east, a landscape punctuated by many conspicuous hills and circular lakes, the remnants of more than 400 volcanoes. The most recent eruption is believed to have occurred at Mount Gambier about 5000 years ago.
Victoria's most well-known volcanic crater is Tower Hill, 13km west of Warrnambool, which is thought to have erupted about 32,000 years ago. Tower Hill's formation is known as a “nested maar” – crater lake – and, at 3.2km wide, is the largest of its type in Victoria. Today the dormant volcano is known as the Tower Hill Wildlife Reserve, home to prolific wildlife and birdlife including emu, koala, kangaroo, echidna and wedgetail eagle.
The Great Ocean Road, the 243-kilometrelong road that winds spectacularly along Victoria's southwest coast between Torquay and Allansford, 12km east of Warrnambool, is one of Australia's most popular tourist destinations.
Many who travel this legendary coastal journey conclude the drive at the southwest's rural city Warrnambool, visiting sites such as Tower Hill, Flagstaff Hill Maritime Village and, from June to September, Logan's Beach for a spot of whale watching.
From Warrnambool, the 158-kilometre drive to Nelson near the South Australian border in the state's far west is far less busy than the Great Ocean Road, but no less fascinating, featuring towering cliffs, pearly-white beaches, wetlands, woodlands, interesting towns, and rich history.
Warrnambool to Port Fairy – 26km
Eight kilometres west of Warrnambool is the turnoff to the Belfast Coastal Reserve, a 20-kilometre-long sliver of
