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Suburb of Geelong, Victoria, Australia
Photo: Jade Craven, CC BY 2.0 via Wikimedia Commons
Lara is a country town in the Greater Geelong region of Victoria. It is home to a few historic buildings, some nice restaurants and the splendid Serendip Sanctuary. It is also the site of Melbourne's second airport, Avalon Airport, and the home of the Avalon Airshow. With a booming population and new housing estates popping up along its outskirts, Lara is increasingly becoming a suburb of nearby Geelong.
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A small historical museum run by locals. It is housed in one of the town's oldest buildings, the former Lake Bank Hotel, built by a Scottish immigrant in the 19th century.
This peaceful sanctuary is abundant with native Australian wildlife amongst its grassy woodlands and wetlands. There are a number of walks which offer close encounters with wild kangaroos, emus and variety of magnificent bird species. A free map and guide is available for download on the Parks Victoria website.
The You Yangs is a regional park in Lara, named after an Aboriginal word meaning mountain or hill, with a mountain chain of 4 mountains, the tallest being Point Flinders. Some things that you can do around the area is a walk to the top of the highest peak and see the view of Lara and half of Geelong, or around Point Flinders.
By train
Lara train station is in the centre of town, with Geelong Line services operating every 20 minutes on weekdays and hourly on weekends.
By car
Lara is easily accessed from the Princes Freeway exit signed 'Lara'. It's just under an hour to Melbourne's city centre.
By bus
A small network of buses ply the town's roads. Route 11 serves the east side of town, Route 12 the west, and Route 10 the central area, travelling onward to Corio in Geelong.
By plane
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Geelong/Melbourne · International · AVV
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