Travel Victoria – tourism blog

Tag: sunshine

  • Queensland Vs. Victoria for summer holidays in the sun

    Sunset in Melbourne
    Sunset in Melbourne.

    Many have the impression that the perfect example of an Australian summer beach holiday is spending time in Queensland with family or friends. However, for those that love the daylight, your number one choice during summer should really be Victoria.

    With Queensland not observing daylight saving time, and being closer to the equator which ensures its summer days don’t get too long, both those factors ensure that sun lovers should consider Victoria for that summer beach holiday.

    Let’s compare the summer sunrise and sunset times for an iconic beach location in those two states:

    21st December 21st January
    Location Sunrise Sunset Sunrise Sunset
    Sorrento
    (Mornington Peninsula, Victoria)    		 5:54am 8:44pm 6:21am 8:43pm
    Surfers Paradise
    (Gold Coast, Queensland)    		 4:47am 6:42pm 5:09am 6:46pm

    If you’re planning to get the first rays of the morning sun on Queensland’s Gold Coast, you’ll need to ensure you’re up at the unearthly hour of 4:47am on 21st December. However, you can almost forget that evening BBQ in the sun, with darkness falling from 6:42pm.

    Compare that to a summer beach holiday at Sorrento, on the Mornington Peninsula in Victoria. Sunrise is at the more reasonable time of just before 6am on 21st December.  And you can still feel the warmth of the sun until just before 9pm at night – perfect for those evening meals, walks and swims.  Fast forward one month, and while the days are half an hour shorter near the end of January, all that lost daylight time is taken out of the morning, so you can sleep in a bit longer and still enjoy those sunny evenings.

    If your ideal summer holiday is evenings filled with daylight right up until quite late, then Victoria is a much better choice than Queensland…by 2 hours a night!

  • Chasing the sun in Victoria

    Sunset
    Sunset at the beach

    Despite the small size of Victoria compared to other states in Australia, there can be significant variations between the lengths of days, sunrise and sunset times, and actual periods of sunshine.

    Do you like things early?  Then Mallacoota is the place to be. Of all the towns in Victoria, it has the earliest sunrise at 5:36am around the 21st of December.  Mallacoota is also known for its early sunsets in winter – the sun will dip below the horizon at just 4:50pm on the 21st of June.

    Perhaps you like things late? Then head to Portland, in the far west of the state. Sleep in during those chilly winter mornings, with sunrise at a leisurely 7:51am on the 21st of June. Fast-forward 6 months, and you’ll definitely make the most of those balmy summer nights with sunset not occurring until 8:57pm.

    If you want to minimise or maximise the actual hours of daylight you experience, then it’s a toss up between the remote southern coastal extremes of Cape Otway and Wilsons Promontory.  For those craving light, visit Cape Otway and enjoy the longest day in the state on the 21st of December – 15 hours and 4 minutes. For those that love the nocturnal way of life, then Wilsons Promontory comes in with just 9 hours and 25 minutes of daylight on the 21st of June, resulting in a really long night of around 14½ hours.

    Mildura
    Mildura on the Murray River – the sunniest area in Victoria

    Of course, daylight hours for sun lovers means little if there’s cloud cover. The best places in Victoria to maximum your sun exposure are the towns along the Murray River from Wodonga westwards. The pick of the crop is Mildura which typically enjoys more sunshine that any other area in Victoria during those short winter days.