Hey DDC, the above info is all good.
There's also many of us that meet up and go out to the Golden Triangle (not far from Melbourne ~2 to 2.5 hours from Melb) during the weekends (and some during the week). It's a huge area, covered by historic Gold towns. Some camp and some stay in motel rooms (around $90 per night).
Most of us met by being members on this forum. I've met around 30 or so, and many I now consider great friends - on the goldfields, but not sure of at the town dance
Arranging to meet with some on these outings could be good value for you, with good tips on ground types, mineralisation, past workings, vegetation types to look for etc etc. They may even have transport. Watching the bush telly whilst telling despicable gold detecting lies with a good red is always entertaining
The ground there is generally heavily mineralised (iron), so not sure how a VLF machine will fare, but the 3500 will be a killer with the right coil and operator.
October will be heating up (a little), so camping may be the go, although as a Canuck you're probably well seasoned.
We've all been well supported by others from this forum, so it'd be like "paying it forward" for many of us.
Best of fortune on your travels, and stay in touch.