Hi Amanda
Carlton is a suburb on the East side of Melbourne. We are 70km (45miles) NE of Melbourne. Everyone (bikers) around Melbourne heads out our way on weekends for a blast through the hills. Miles and miles of great curves, through beautiful countryside and the roads have far less traffic than in England. Travelling a bit further - about 300 miles, so overnight accom' required - gets you up to the Snowy Mountains area. This is God's country and must have some of the best biking roads on the planet. Heading SW of Melbourne about 70 miles gets you to the start of the Great Ocean Road. An amazing ride that follows the coast line, with fantastic ocean views. It gets very busy with tourist traffic though from Dec to Mar. and is now heavily policed due to 'nutters' on bikes. And of course there's Phillip Island, about 70 miles SE of Melbourne, with regular ride days on the GP circuit, much cheaper than track days in England - about half the price!
Some links below may be of interest.
http://www.greatoceanrd.org.au/
http://au.travel.yahoo.com/great-outdoors/...snowy+mountains
http://www.phillipislandcircuit.com.au/superbikeschool.php
Something to think about. Lie on a beach in Crete, or do all of the above and lie on a beach if you want. Of course, it would cost a bit more and you would want a bike (or two) while you were here. If you came out here you would probably want to live here, so why not just move like we did.