By way of background, I generally prefer outside of cities when I travel (all things being equal), but don't really find the GOR that special (compared to dozens of other ocean roads) and do find MEL to be more interesting (esp. as compared to US cities); so I would rather spend time in MEL than on the GOR. But then I also like MEL better than SYD from a tourist standpoint (most would disagree with that, though the bitter SYD/MEL rivalry really distorts the truth there). Actually I would rate several other parts of Victoria countryside outside of MEL as better than the GOR. Koalas in gum trees are a penny a dozen in most of Australia, hardly cause to make the GOR special.