Question about shops in Victoria

[JustanAssistant]

I'm originally Australian but have lived in UK for 20+ years. When we visit home (Qld) we stay with family.

We're going home at Easter and doing a bit of a road trip, so I was thinking we'll need a picnic set/esky etc for meals when travelling (we'll be mostly self catering).

We fly in and out of Melbourne, and our first night will be in Torquay. Is there some where easy to get to that we can do a spot of shopping to get stocked up for Bbq/picnics etc? I was thinking maybe BigW or Bunnings (or something like that).

Also, in Qld BBQs in public picnic areas are electric and free. Is it the same in Vic or will we need to stock up for that too?

Thanks

Yes BBQs are free - generally need to be cleaned before use and you could go to virtually any supermarket (Coles/Woolies) or Big W or Kmart etc for picnic gear. Enjoy your trip and remember to pack some layers - Vic weather is always variable so dont just pack bathers :-)

Thanks - I was hoping it'd be as simple as popping into Woollies!

And thanks for the heads up on weather, I know Vic is more like the UK, so will come prepared with some warmer items. 😃🥶

You can get those silicone sheets that you put on a flat electric bbq to cook on if the bbq isn’t especially clean (and easier for you to clean after) at Bunnings.

Hi there, if you're going from Tullamarine airport to Torquay, you'll be passing through Geelong.

Geelong has every shop you could want! It used to be a smallish town but is now pretty much a small city. It has its own suburbs! I have relatives there and was amazed when I visited them last year.

There's a Bunnings, Woollies AND Coles, Target & Big W. You'd be pretty much covered!

Hope your trip goes well 😀

There’s a lot of shops at Hoppers Crossing/Werribee on the way, including a Bunnings and a Big W. Just off the motorway.

You’d pretty much bypass most of Geelong itself.

I forgot about Werribee, good idea!

There is a shopping centre called Airport West that has KMart, Coles, Woolworths that’s about a 10min drive from Melbourne airport.

Thanks for the locations. Werribee looks ideal - I think we'll probably want to avoid Geelong as we'll have done a long journey and just want to get to our accommodation as quickly as possible.

The mats for the bbq sound perfect - I have recollections as a (not very responsible) teenager and "cooking" all sorts on public bbqs! 😂

Closest Kmart to Torquay would be WaurnPonds, or Belmont, Geelong area.
Big W would be similar