Localing Private Tours Australia — Local services in Melbourne

Joe was our guide and driver for the city and country tour. He and his colleague Sandro met us on time in front of our hotel and began our walking tour of the city. We walked no more than two storefronts away from our hotel to the first Italian coffee shop in town where we got to know each other and went over the plan for our amazing day.

From the coffee shop we walked down the street where Joe pointed out several important buildings and discussed a lot of the history of Melbourne. Originally the name of the area was Naam, then Batmainia then Melbourne. Gold was discovered in the 1850's and thus began the boom of Melbourne. We walked through a couple of shopping arcades the second of which was The Block Arcade. Sandro mentioned that the Block Arcade was where everyone would dress up and show up to mingle and be seen. At the Block Joe introduced me to a Magical Coffee and my wife sampled a red velvet rolled pastry that was just a work of art!

We walked some more and saw some other cool things like the clocks and a legal street art district where taggers are encouraged. There were some really good works of art including a large mural of an aboriginal girl with the city reflecting in her eyes. I thought it was very profound.

We then got in the car and drove out to the country where our first stop was to photograph a decent mob of kangaroos! It was incredible how close we were able to walk up to them to take pictures! I think some of them were posing... One mama roo had a joey peeking out of her pouch.🙂

We got back in the car and Joe dropped us off for lunch at Yering Station winery and restaurant. I will tell you that the meal I had was truly one of the best meals I have had in my entire life! For the entree I had the cured tuna which was absolutely incredible and for my main I had the fish of the day which was Blue Eye. Once again the chef dialed up the magic because the food was delicious! I also sampled the Off Dry Reisling and the Reserve Chardonnay. I enjoyed both wines very much.

We departed Yering for Oak Ridge Winery where we did a tasting of some very tasty wines. My favorite was the Rose.

We departed Oak Ridge and then finished our country tour with a cheese tasting at the Yarra Valley Dairy. We sampled four delicious cheeses that were very fresh. My favorite was the Persian Feta!

On the drive back to the city we stopped for a look at hundreds of fruit bats hanging from the trees just waiting for nightfall.

Joe was a great communicator, was very knowledgeable of the history of the city and shared personal experiences of working in the city that made everything super relatable. If you're into dad jokes - Joe is your guy too!

Sandro was equally personable and relatable telling us of his experiences through his twelve years of living in Melbourne.

It was our final day of a two week holiday in Australia and I can't think of a better way to end...

We had a wonderful walking tour of Melbourne with Paul through Localing. He is very knowledgeable, personable, and engaging. It is easy to see that he loves Melbourne and wants to share that with those he guides. He asked what we were interested in and then made sure to cover all that - and more.

He explained the history of Melbourne, including its aboriginal heritage, settlement by the British in 1835, the gold rush in the 1850’s and how it has evolved into the major city it is today.

We rode the trams and walked the streets. Paul took us through several of Melbourne’s laneways from the funky to the upscale. And also to a number of historical buildings - explaining the architectural design, their preservation and how they have been repurposed. Especially stunning is the State Library, built 1854. It is a beautiful building, both inside and out. It’s also very popular and well used by the people of Melbourne. We think it is a “must see.”

Lastly, Paul gave us a map of the central area of Melbourne, pointing out some recommended restaurants and other places of interest, and then showed us how to use the free tram system in the CBD to get to them.

We had a great walking tour with a great guide. We heartily recommend Localing for tours...

We spent a great day with Dandy touring the Great Ocean Road. Beyond being witty, charming and a fount of interesting information, he knew the area cold. He knew where to stop to look for koalas in trees (he has an uncanny knack for spotting them), the best place for lunch, the best uncrowded viewing spots. In short, it was a terrific day, and we would recommend him and Localing to anyone touring around Melbourne.

In addition, we spent 3 fabulous days with Noah in Tasmania touring Mt. Field National Park, Maria Island, a couple of great restaurants, and some terrific farm stands along the way. Noah is a super interesting person, great to talk with, but also did a great job of listening to our preferences and adapting the days to fit them. In particular, he was able to arrange on short notice a tour of the very old synagogue in Hobart. He also knew lots of inside stuff like where we could see the game of Real Tennis. Absolutely phenomenal.

Finally, we also spent a great day with James touring the Yarra Valley. Once again, he was interesting, personable and adaptable to our preferences. Localing really seems to know how to select and hire great people who really enjoy their work; we were certainly the...