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…more beautiful places around Melbourne

Jaspal Singh - 29 July 2021

Updated on October 7th, 2021

If you are planning a tour for two or three days, you can add Grampians National park and Ballarat and Sovereign hills as both destinations fall on the same route if you are going from Melbourne. At 235 km west of Melbourne, Grampians National park is an oasis of diversity, having an abundance of things to see and do, including Aboriginal art sites, bushwalking, wine-tasting, native wildlife spotting, waterfalls, and mountains. Other activities in the Grampians include cycling, rock climbing, and fishing. The Grampians are also home to many kangaroos, koalas, emus, and so many birds. There are so many stunning lookouts and free-flowing waterfalls, all adding to the region’s natural beauty. A wide range of recreational activities like bushwalking, rock climbing, horse riding, fishing, and bird watching can make your trip memorable.

Ararat: A Beautiful Town

If driving from Melbourne, head towards the gold mining town of Ballarat through the Western Freeway; Ararat is the next important destination on the way. It is an attractive and old gold mining town. A Chinese discovered gold here in 1857, and soon, people shifted here, and this town came into being. After finding of goldmines, this place turned into a boomtown that continued till the beginning of the 20th century. Ararat is surrounded by several mountain ranges, including Grampians National Park, Mount Langi Ghiran, Mount Cole, Mount Buangor, Ararat Hills Regional Park, and the Pyrenees Ranges. All this makes Ararat an ideal base for visiting these natural attractions. There are so many wineries in the surrounding of Ararat. If you are in your vehicle, you can stop for a while and taste different wines.

Halls Gap

Another beautiful place near Ararat is Halls gap which provides an ideal base for exploring the region. It is famous for fine dining while you are in the area. There are several motels, hotels, and caravan parks in town providing accommodations if you are staying for few days in Grampians Park. Waterfalls are another attraction of this region. McKenzie Falls is one of the best waterfalls, which attracts tourists. Halls Gap is home to Aboriginal Cultural Centre. In the picturesque township of Halls Gap, there are so many restaurants catering to fine dining. You can also enjoy the use of the Halls Gap swimming pool in the summer months.

Sky High, Melbourne — *Night View of Sky High. Glittering Lights of Melbourne city are visible on one side.*

Dandenong Ranges

Like the Grampians region, another destination with abundant opportunities to be close to nature is the Dandenong ranges. Just at 35 km east of Melbourne, it can be your party time destination whenever you feel. Dandenong has an abundance of beautiful things where you can escape to breathtaking beauties. The scenic attractions of Dandenong are outstanding, and you can’t stop yourself praising them. Enjoying nature, exploring wildlife, and other outdoor activities like walking, hiking, cycling, golf, and camping can be your favourite things to do in Dandenong. Several locations throughout the ranges offer excellent views. Mt Dandenong provides you with a beautiful skyline from where you can see the whole of Melbourne city. Fairytale-like forest makes the entire region a perfect destination for a romantic weekend.

For nature lovers and outdoor adventures, this place is like heaven. As it is just on the doorstep of Melbourne, I used to go there frequently. You can experience nature by cycling, walking, skiing, camping, golfing, ballooning, and other outdoor activities. You can also disappear in a mystical forest to breathe more fresh air, to see the beauty of birds, listen to the sound of thundering waterfalls. This place is also known for its flair with food and atmospheric eating-places like tearooms and restaurants with stunning views. Being a popular destination for weddings, Dandenong has many things to make you more romantic.

Sky High is a popular restaurant where you can arrange your romantic dates with your partner. This place is Melbourne’s unique ‘special occasions‘ venue. You can enjoy your day at this beautiful place. A deep forest surrounds beautifully landscaped gardens where you can sit and enjoy different cuisines with coffee or wine. After sunset, you can see Melbourne’s skyline from the heights of Dandenong. The glittering lights of the city seem like stars and diamonds glowing from one horizon to another.

Puffing Billy Train

Dandenong ranges are full of wonders and excitement. The famous Puffing Billy Railway, a steam engine tourist railway, runs through the southern parts of the Dandenong. Just 40 km east of Melbourne, this fantastic steam train runs every day except Christmas Day from Belgrave to Lakeside and Gembrook. Throughout the whole track, the train passes through scenic forests and breathtaking views.

Puffing Billy is now a major tourist attraction. You may plan your one-day picnic trip to this place. Hanging your legs outside or wrapping arms over the window safety bars, you can feel fresh air on your face.

The trestle bridge is a famous point on this track. Its timber bridge is having 15 spans, 91.4 m and 12.8 m in height. It offers a thrilling feeling when the train passes on this bridge.

Lakeside (Emerald Lake) is a usual stoppage of the train to fill the locomotive water tanks. This place is lovely to spend a few hours in the surrounding forest, a gigantic pool with paddle boats, tracks for pleasant walks, and some cafes around.

The Puffing Billy Railway line has been in operation since 1900. This train was used to transport vegetables, fruits, and other farming goods in the early days.

Puffing Billy Train Route — *Train Route from Belgrave to Gembrook*

Phillip Island

Mt Buller, Phillip Island, Yarra Valley wineries, and Great ocean road are a few more important destinations you can’t miss visiting.

Phillip Island, situated approximately 130 km southeast of Melbourne, is a major tourist destination, attracting surfers to its beaches. We know Phillip Island for its coastal scenery, best surfing conditions, and world-famous penguin parade. It’s the world’s largest colony of little penguins. Thousands of little penguins emerge from the sea with sunset, march across the beach to their dune burrows.

The day I visited this place with my friend, it was drizzling and freezing. They made fenced platforms from where you can see moving penguins. I still feel the romance of waiting for little penguins. Thundering sea, darkness and drizzling were making those moments really memorable. As we did not have an umbrella, we were covering our self with our long jackets. Suddenly few little penguins appeared from the sea, and in a few moments, there was a full parade of thousands of penguins. It was really amazing to see them moving towards their natural shelters.

As a whole, the surrounds of Melbourne have an abundance of things to see and to do. I am in love with this city. I wish to be there soon. Not once, but again and again.

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Australia Partner Visa, few insights you must know

Jaspal Singh - 16 January 2021

Updated on September 30th, 2021

If you plan to join your partner in Australia or have already applied for a Partner Visa, this blog can give you few insights into this visa category. I am not a registered migration agent but working in a related profession for over two decades, having offices in India and Australia. I regularly interact with different registered migration agents, talk to colleagues, and read other professional blogs, so I based the information shared here on my own experiences and research. This blog unpacks the partner visa clauses and few common mistakes you should avoid when applying for a partner visa.

Partner Visa, when lodged Onshore:

The Partners Visa subclass 820 & 801 is lodged, while you are inside Australia. This Visa allows the individual to live in Australia, the spouse or a de facto partner of an Australian citizen or Australian permanent resident. The temporary Partner Visa subclass 820 is granted initially. It lets you stay in Australia. Whereas the permanent Partner visa subclass 801, once granted, you can live in Australia as a permanent resident and further work to get your citizenship. There are other requirements on age, health, and character ground for this visa to be granted.

Partner Visa, when lodged Offshore:

Other clauses for Partner Visa are subclass 309 & 100. We can apply for these visas while the applicant is out of Australia. Partner Visa (Provisional) under subclass 100 is a temporary visa that allows the partner or spouse of an Australian citizen or permanent resident to stay in Australia. This Visa is the first step towards permanent Partner Visa subclass 100.

There is another Visa that later can lead to Partner Visa. This Visa is Prospective Marriage Visa subclass 300. This Visa is for those who want to enter before marriage. To apply for this visa, your fiancé must be an Australian citizen or permanent resident. This Visa has a duration of 9 months, within which visa holders need to marry. They can apply to convert their visa to Partner Visa once they get married.

How do Partner Visas work ?

As discussed above, the partner of an Australian citizen or permanent resident can apply for a partner visa either onshore or offshore. When applied onshore, the applicant gets the bridging visa to remain in Australia during the processing time. The applicant is not entitled to a bridging visa when it applied offshore. The applicant has to remain in their home country during the processing time or visit Australia as a tourist for a short time. On tourist visas, they get no working or study rights like other applicants who apply onshore. The Visa fee in both cases remains the same. Presently it is $7715. As per Migration law, those who lodge an offshore application must also be outside Australia when their visa is granted.

Few mistakes that people normally do

Now I will share few mistakes that people usually make while lodging this visa. I have seen so many small and big reasons behind refusals of Partner Visa applications. This Visa is the most expensive, so everyone wants to get it right the first time.

It is not mandatory to lodge this visa with the help of a migration agent. You can file it yourself, but I suggest taking the help of professionals. Otherwise, you need to invest a lot of time in researching various details of partner visas. Because of a lack of professional advice, they refuse many applications. Department refused 47% of Partner Visa applications without migration agents in the financial year 2015-16. It was 53% in 2016-2107. So keeping in mind such a big rate of refusals, I suggest we take professional advice for better outcomes of visa applications.

Importance of Information stated in form 888s

Form 888 is an essential part of Partner Visa or Prospective Marriage visa applications. Your family, friends, or colleagues made this statutory declaration witnessing your relationship. It would help if you took care that the information mentioned in this form should not contradict what you had stated in your application. This declaration considers the social aspect of relationships. If you do not write statements, sometimes the information given does not match with the application. So we need a proper check while lodging a visa application.

Lack of sufficient evidence is one reason

Lack of enough information and evidence can be another reason for the refusal of a partner visa. There is no parameter to say what evidence is acceptable. But you will need to provide evidence to prove your claims in your application. Proving the genuineness of your relationship is an essential part of a successful visa application. Visa Officer, while deciding the application, may look into various facets of your lifestyle. This includes but is not limited to financial interdependence, mixing of finances, financial planning, social conduct, sharing social life, shared properties, home duties, travels, how the relationship was maintained when the couple was separated, and how others view the relationship, etc. We need to provide evidence of all facts to help the case officer to access your application.

Dates are very important in any visa application

All dates related to your relationship mentioned in your visa application must be consistent with each other. Forgetting dates can give visa officers a chance to question the integrity of your relationship. While filling the forms, you must take proper care of all dates. I have seen so many applications where a minor mistake about dates was the reason for visa rejection. You and your partner must know the fact that proper timeline and dates of relationship history.

There is no last list of such mistakes. Here, I just tried to recall a few of them. I suggest proper research on your visa application to be aware of each detail. Otherwise, I recommended the professional services of experts. In case of the department contacts you, you must provide such information within a timeframe. Make sure that you keep checking your Immi account and emails regularly.

If planning to file Partner Visa or any other Visa, drop a call at +91-9216 310 310

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