You’d be forgiven for thinking this was in the middle of the Arizona desert. But Cactus Country is a succulent-strewn garden hidden three hours north of Melbourne and as the name attests, there’s a bumper crowd of cacti here, best explored after a bowl of nachos at the on-site Mexican eatery. You can bunk here overnight, so bookmark a stay during desert flower season (between October and November) and the after-sunset ‘Fright Fest’ on Halloween, when the night sky is the only guiding light in the prickly plot.  

Image credit: Visit Victoria