Como Park@South Yarra (My rating B)

Como Park is located on Alexandra Avenue, South Yarra.  The car park entry is via Como Avenue.  The park is an offleash park with playground, tables and benches, and toilet facilities.

The park is green and peaceful, with plenty of space for children to kick a ball, and dogs to run.  The park is also a home of many big trees, there would be no problem at all to find a shady place if the sun is burning hot.

The park isn't particularly wheelchair/pram friendly as it has stairs to go down to the oval.  And the other thing which isn't as good as the park itself is the toilets were a bit filthy when we were there on a Saturday morning. 

A day out in Kyneton (my rating B)

Kyneton is a town in Central Victoria, about 1.5hrs drive from Melbourne.  It is a nice town to explore and stroll on a sunny day with your kids and furry little one.

Our day tour starts at Kyneton Botanic Gardens (we park the car on Clowes St), we have a picnic lunch at the park. And afterwards, a short stroll in the gardens.  It is very pleasant and peaceful.  Dogs are welcome on-lead in the gardens.  There are toilets, tables and benches available in the park.

The Botanic Garden is next to Campaspe River, a riverside walk shall be relaxing.  There are 2 swings in the Gardens, FYI.

 

Turpins Falls and Trentham Falls are 2 of several waterfalls near Kyneton.  Each waterfall is about 30mins drive from Kyneton, but opposite directions.  Both Falls are OK with dogs.


Staff@Kyneton Visitor Centre suggests me to put "155 Shillidays Rd, Langley VIC 3444" onto my GPS for the direction to Turpins Falls, there is a sign on Shillidays Rd pointing to Turpins Falls, so you won't miss the  turn.

There is no amenities at Turpins Falls, however, there's a path to the river level, I'd suggest you to bring a hiking stick with you as the path to river level is quite steep and slippery when wet.

Trentham Falls@Trentham Falls Scenic Reserve is off Trentham Falls Road, there's a sign pointing to the Falls so you won't miss the turn.  There is a picnic ground at the Reserve, with tables, benches and toilet facilities.  It's a 70m short walk on a well defined path to the viewing platform. 
**** Extracted from Trentham Falls flyer *****
Trentham Falls Scenic Reserve offers you the best access to one of Victoria's highest single drop waterfalls.  Here the Coliban River plunges 32 meters over a sheer face of basalt rock.

No wonder you can hear the waterfall thunder from the carpark, and the view is spectacular.

You may also like to take the chance for a short walk in the reserve.  The walking map is available at the carpark.

There are other Points of Interests nearby, like Black Hill, Mineral Springs, and other waterfalls......... :)
We shall come back and explore more, for sure......


p.s.: It may be tricky to find a restaurant / cafe in a Sunday afternoon in a country town, thus we usually bring our own picnic lunch.

Greenmeadows Gardens at St Kilda East (my rating B)

Greenmeadows Gardens is in St Kilda East, it's a small garden with a fantastic playground.

The garden is beautiful, relaxing and peaceful, the grass is very green and comfortable.  There's no oval in the garden, thus no ball games.  But the open grassy areas are big enough for kicking a ball.

The shared path is good for scooters and in-line skates.  Drinking taps are available in the park.  The toilet is the "Exceloo", the computerized toilet.  Unfortunately the toilet wasn't in a clean state when we were there in a Saturday afternoon.

According to the sign and the Council Website, the park offers offleash area at the northern end (i.e.: Not the end where the playground is) between 6am and 9am.  Dogs must be on-leash all other times.

I was not made aware of the offleash time restriction until it was time to pack up and ready to go (when I read the sign).  However, Jessica stayed on the picnic rug all the time, so technically we didn't break the rule.  But I did see dogs run offleash, sniffing and wandering around freely, and apparently nobody made a fuss.  Looks like it's a friendly neighborhood.

Ardrie Park@Malvern East (my rating B)

Jessica's health has gone downhill noticeably.   There are days she's happy to have a walk, and mind other people's business;  There are days she sleeps a lot inside the house, and doesn't feel like to go out at all.  It often reminds me the book "Island of Blue Dolphins" by Scott O'Dell..... Remember?  The first dog the young girl adopts, he grows older and older, and he stops chasing the sea gulls on the beach.....  He spends most of time sun bathing on the beach...... One day, he never wakes up again........


Come back to my Jessica.  My goal now is to make each day as pleasant as pleasant can be for her.

This afternoon, after a good afternoon nap, she gets up at 4.30pm, feels like to go out.  Here we are, Ardrie Park at Malvern East, after a short 15mins drive from home.

The park is certainly a hidden gem.  Quietly suited among residential areas with no dedicated car park, this park is beautifully maintained.  Offleash on the oval, Onleash in other parts of the park, fenced playground suitable for young and school aged children.  Plus drinking taps, toilets, benches......... It's a fantastic spot for picnic and relaxation.

 

(Playground)

 

(Oval, offleash)

 

(Oval Offleash)