Victoria's Yarra Valley offers visitors a bucolic getaway in the nation's agricultural heartland, and the urban delights of Melbourne are just an hour away, Yang Feiyue discovers.

Many Chinese affectionately call Australia a big farmyard, with the state of Victoria at the front and center. Accounting for just 3 percent of the country's total land area, it contributes roughly 30 percent of Australia's food exports.

A one-day tour of Yarra Valley offers a good view of the superb local natural environment and its food, as well as a sense of how locals live off the land.

The valley is roughly a one-hour drive from Melbourne, the second biggest city in Australia.

The blue sky feels close above our heads, meeting the sea at the end of the horizon thanks to the vast flat landscape and impeccable weather conditions.

Our first stop, at the Yarra Valley Dairy early in the morning, was very relaxing and intimate.

The dairy was built on a 100-year-old milking shed on the farm, right beside a cheese factory. There is a free sampling of the entire collection of its fresh handmade cheeses in Italian and French styles.

For a large group of visitors, a fee can be charged.

"Most people will come here for some cheese, or simply the experience, since it was an old building," says Jack Holman, the senior cheesemaker and factory manager with the dairy.

He gave us a tour of the factory, which featured modern equipment and delicate manual work.

The 10-kilogram rounds of hard cheese were an eye-opener. Each was dated and some have been there for two years.

Its rich taste is popular with chefs and many cheese lovers, Jack says.

The cozy shop offers distinctive local wines and a range of delicious regional and specialty produce, including jams, delicate houseware and gifts.

"We have many individual wineries nearby, and many of their products won't be found at public supermarkets since they can't supply enough," Holman says.

Visitors can purchase and eat the goodies while enjoying the nice views of the farm and herds through the window.

The two goats right at the entrance of the farm fear no humans. They come close to the fence and let you caress their faces and heads.

The dairy is a great stop for visitors to enjoy coffee, tea, biscuits and regionally produced ice cream.

Wine and chocolate

The tour of Domaine Chandon, our next stop, provides a good understanding of winemaking. The technical process was vividly demonstrated in a video, and food lovers can enjoy a meal at the spacious restaurant, with an unhindered view of the vast vineyards and pastures of the valley.

Visitors can taste a variety of wines and purchase their favorites.

Chocolate lovers should not miss the Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery. It offers visitors free entry and plenty of free chocolate tasting. The facility is surrounded by picturesque vistas, including a vast orchard and sweeping lawns. Premium chocolates are on display and for sale and visitors can watch European chocolatiers handcrafting chocolates.

The homemade ice-cream is out of this world. Several young women traveling with us were bitten by an Australian ice-cream bug after they tried it. They were looking out for ice cream for the rest of our trip.

Our last stop at the Healesville Sanctuary turned out to be a great supplement to our wine-and-dine experiences.

Iconic Australian animals like koala, kangaroo, platypus, dingo, wombat and emu can be seen there.

"If you have limited time and just want to see Australian animals, the sanctuary is the place to go," a Victorian government official tells us.

We patted and fed the kangaroos, which were very friendly, and we looked at the cute koalas sleeping on a tree at close quarters.

Other highlights include letting parrots land on your arm to feed, and seeing platypus roll, dive and tumble in their tank.

Urban thrills

While the Yarra Valley offers a countryside experience, for those who long for the excitement of a modern city, Melbourne is just a one-hour drive away.

The Eureka Skydeck 88, the highest point locally, is a thrilling and fast way to take in the broad landscape scenery of the city.

We experienced altitude changes in our ears when taking the allegedly fastest lifts in the Southern Hemisphere.

It takes less than 40 seconds to get to the 88th floor, where visitors can see Melbourne from glass windows on all sides.

Myriad buildings are surrounded by the boundless blue sea. Great patches of green add vibrancy to the landscape.

For daredevils, an observation deck - literally a glass cube that projects 3 meters out of the building, provides the experience of walking on the air above Melbourne.

Those who love nightlife should definitely come out on Friday or Saturday nights. Many locals receive their salary on Thursdays, so they will go out and celebrate.

Restaurants, pubs and other entertainment facilities are usually packed, which makes it an ideal time to experience the vitality of the city's night life.

For Chinese visitors, the Chinatown in the CBD area is worth touring.

The museum at the entrance of the town presents the culture and history of the first Chinese immigrants and their descendants in Australia. There are also many Chinese restaurants for those who long for home food in this foreign land.

If time permits, the ancient steam train can take you through the lush woods and you can hang onto the window frame and stick your legs out.

The Queen Victoria Market and Direct Factory Outlets entice shoppers with good bargains.

Locals half-jokingly tell us that they have to be extra careful driving back to their suburban homes to avoid running over the wild animals, which are big enough to overturn their vehicles if angered. Joking or not, it is proof positive of Victoria's harmony with nature.

There were 490,000 Chinese visitors to Victoria in the year ending December 2015, a 25.5 percent increase over the previous year, according to the local tourism authority.

A total of 952,000 Chinese visited Australia during the same year. The number of visitors from China increased at an average rate of 17.6 percent annually between 2010 and 2015.

With the 10-year multiple-entry visa expected soon and the direct flights connecting major cities in China, such as Beijing and Shanghai, more Chinese are bound to visit in near future.

Contact the writer at yangfeiyue@chinadaily.com.cn

Clockwise from top: A view of the green farm at the Yarra Valley Dairy; Jack Holman holds the 10kilogram hard cheese; the ancient steam train at Victoria's Belgrave takes passengers through lush woods. Photos By Yang Feiyue / China Daily

(China Daily USA 05/25/2016 page9)