Werribee is a huge sprawling satellite city to Melbourne and is moving fast to join the gap, with growing suburbs of Mambourin, Hoppers Crossing, Cocoroc, Point cook and the farmlands of Werribee South. Werribee is home to many who commute daily to Melbourne, with the M1 Freeway link which joins Geelong with Melbourne and VLine and suburban rail services Werribee is in an easy 30 minute reach of the city.
For the visitor to Werribee the city is an ideal place to explore the surrounds and very good base to explore the Geelong, Bellarine and Surf Coast areas, the Brisbane Ranges to the west and the big smoke of Melbourne. Werribee itself has some of the state’s premier attractions with the magnificent Werribee Park Mansion which dates back to the 1870’s and is a must for any visitor. The Werribee Open range zoo, is another must, here visitors come face to face with some of Africa’s most amazing animals without fences, there’s giraffes, hippos, antelope, zebra and some of the most magnificent rhino. Special buses take you out on the safari plains and you come within only a few metres of these beautiful and endangered animals. Werribee Zoo is one of the few zoos in Australia which give you a chance to see the animals roaming freely in an environment very close to their own.
The Werribee Park Mansion is also home to the National Equestrian Centre and Victorian State Rose Garden. The rose garden is a beautiful sight over summer when it is in full bloom, there are over 250 different types of roses and some very interesting and rare plants. Admission is free. The Equestrian Centre is one of Australia’s finest and is used for equestrian events and polo attracting the world’s best. Even polo loving royal Prince Charles has played the course. Werribee is home to much of Melbourne’s water treatment works making the soils very fertile, much of the eastern side of the M1 motorway has become farmland growing much of the states cabbages, lettuce and other green leafy vegetables. Having such a large growing population the Werribee area has great amenities and plenty of shopping.
The huge Werribee Plaza shopping centre in Hoppers Crossing has many of the country’s big brands and there are row after row of large warehouse style stores hugging the M1 at Hoppers Crossing, selling furniture, hardware, homewares, carpets and the like.
