Hotels in Portland, Australia

A little about Portland...

The city of Portland (38°20′S, 141°36′E) is the oldest European settlement in what is now the state of Victoria, Australia. It is the main urban centre of the Shire of Glenelg. It is located on Portland Bay.

The Great South West Walk is a 250 km walking track that begins at the Visitor Information Centre, Portland. Designed as a long distance walking track, it is also ideal for short walks and day walks. The walk travels though forests, river gorges, cliff tops and sublime bays. Established in 1981 the walk is administered, maintained and promoted by 'The Friends of the Great South West Walk Inc', a wholly volunteer organisation, in partnership with Parks Victoria.

The Portland Cable Trams was established as a community organisation in June 1996, with the view to laying light rail to carry refurbished diesel powered trams, as both an outlet for rail and heritage enthusiasts and a tourist venture. The tram is now on track and has carries passengers along the scenic route from Henty Park to the RSL Memorial Lookout, at the old North Portland Water Tower. The route takes in the natural wetlands (tidal) of Fawthrop Lagoon Park, the foreshore, cliff tops and botanic gardens. The Portland Cable Tram group is planning additional tram carriages and engines, for greater capacity and to provide more reliability and maintenance support options. Volunteer drivers and conductors provide a commentary about Portland's significant past and present day buildings, harbour and sights. Over 12,000 passengers were carried on the tram during the 2006-07 financial year.

Transport:
Road - Portland is 362 km west of Melbourne via the Princes Highway. It is connected to Hamilton by the Henty Highway.

Rail - Passenger rail and freight cartage: Portland was served by a broad gauge branch railway, which has since been converted to standard gauge. Passenger movements are by coach to Warrnambool where passengers transfer to rail. Grain is the most common commodity delivered by rail from the Wimmera.

Festivals: In November during the weekend preceding the Melbourne Cup, the city comes alive with the Portland Bay Festival - featuring the 'Break Fest', a youth rock concert, a major annual Rotary Art Show (in the Civic Hall) and the celebrated 3 Bays Marathon, Relay & Walk.