After lockdown, did we dare to think about a few days away? Regional Victoria was once again open for
business and judging by traffic out of the city those first couple of weekends,
every Melbournian and their dog hit the road.
With a few days off at Christmas, and no plans, we thought the Gippsland coast would be lovely. An area affected by the bush fires, so we’d be helping the local economy. Obviously, everybody else had the same idea. OK, we weren’t fussed, a few days anywhere would be nice. Our criteria were up to 4 hours away, dog friendly and not costing an arm and a leg, so with limited options we went with a cottage on a large property in Hoddles Creek.
To be honest, we had no idea where Hoddles Creek was, but a quick check and our holiday destination was just 75 km away in the Yarra Ranges, surrounded by the Kurth Kiln Regional Park. Not quiet as exotic as the Maldives or even Portsea if we were looking closer to home, but a holiday is a holiday.
Christmas morning, we packed up the Christmas Eve dinner leftovers and a few other essentials, bubbles, beer and doggy treats and off we went. Through the lovely towns of Cockatoo and Gembrook in the Dandenong’s and then of course the obligatory getting a bit lost. Never trust a GPS or your navigator on winding, gravel roads.
Settlers Ridge. Owned by the lovely Marie and Dieter, is a 100-acre property overlooking Mount Donna Buang and the Yarra Ranges. They’ve lived there over 35 years, first in a caravan, next in the cottage we stayed in and then in the larger house they live in now. They have an underground fire shelter. It’s pretty cool.
Gorgeous spot, very peaceful, we visited Maggie (the pony), said hello to Mr Rooster and his girls and checked out the magnificent Highland Cow, which I have since been reliably informed is not a ‘cow’ but a Hielan Coo. Coo it is then. Long horns, cute beatnik haircut and friendly. Bonnie, the large wolfhound cross, also came on a few walks around the place with us. Afternoons were spent relaxing, napping, bird watching, reading, and having a few drinks. Spotting a beautiful large goanna that then ran to climb a tree was pretty special.
Mornings we’d set off to explore the local area getting to
know those gravel back roads to the Warburton Highway. Stopped off at Yarra Junction, Milgrove and
the gorgeous Warburton, although most things were closed. It is getting harder to travel with Lola as she
can only walk so far, and the purple pram is not exactly an all-terrain
model.
Another day we headed in the other direction to Wandin, checking out the 10 acre Warratina Lavender Farm (open 9am to 5pm Wed – Sun), Cherry Hill Orchards (cherry picking season has now finished) and Rayners Orchard to stock up on stone fruit. Stopped in Seville (no relation to Andalucia and no flamenco). Came across the most gorgeous herd of alpaca doing a might fine job of looking after their goats, I wanted to take one home with me.
And then visited a place I’ve been wanting to go to for ages
(and a tick of the list). The Blue Lotus Water Garden just out
of Yarra Junction. Not doggy friendly,
Emilio decided to go check out a couple of fishing spots with Lola while my
partner in adventures B decided to come and join me.
The beautifully landscaped grounds, spread out over 14 acres is currently open for their annual season from 26 December 2020 until 18th April 2021 between 10am and 5pm. The ponds, lakes and lagoons filled with thousands of lotus and waterlilies are magnificent. The largest of the lakes, Monet's Lake, contains over 11 million litres of water and its pathways are 500m long. Of course, Claude Monet’s original waterlilies are a feature.
The in-house fairy was MIA at the Flower Fairy Garden, but there were lots of spots to have picnics. The Lily Pond Café is on-site and the large Blue Lotus Plant & Flower Nursery is open a large range of water plants are garden ornaments.
Here’s a bit more info in an article I did a while ago for Weekend Notes Blue Lotus Water Garden - Melbourne (weekendnotes.com)
Definitely worth a day trip.
Adults: $22.00
Senior & Pensioners: $19.50
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