Haven't read all the posts, but I live in Melbourne, and have now done a few tours in Victoria. A few quick points:

- The Grampians/Halls Gap *are* nice (just rode through there this weekend!) - a bit out of the way, but really interesting scenery.
- Gippsland can be very pretty, in a pleasant agricultural way - not as flat as one poster suggested. The Grand Ridge Road makes a very good scenic trip.
- The great ocean road is suicide during weekends or school holidays.
- There are more rail trails in Victoria than anywhere else in Australia.
Overall, most of the scenery I've seen from a bike in Victoria I would describe as "nice" or "pleasant" rather than "breathtaking" - I'd certainly be spending more time in Tasmania or NZ (esp South island) if I had the choice. And they're both well suited to cycling - compact, and sparsely populated.

>The Grampians are probably not a viable side trip on reflection.

About 3 hours on the train to Ararat, then a 50k ride from there to Halls Gap. We left Melbourne at 8am and were in Halls Gap by 4, having visited a winery. And some of the views up there are just stunning...

Steve