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.

Hepburn Regional Park (my rating A)

Hepburn Regional Park is in Hepburn,  near Daylesford, about 1.5hrs drive from Melbourne City.

Most of people think about springs and SPA resorts when hearing "Hepburn" or "Daylesford", yes, Daylesford is "SPA centre of Australia", but SPA isn't the only thing Hepburn/Daylesford can offer,  Hepburn Regional Park is a big GREEN area, offering many walking tracks. (Dogs are expected to be on-leash)

 

 (Yes, Hepburn Regional Park features springs as well)

We parked at the Hepburn Mineral Springs Reserve, and walked to Argyle Spring and back. It took us about 2 hrs return, including rest and refreshment.  There is a bench half way to Argyle Spring, but  Mum found some 'informal' resting spots - fallen tree logs along the track.

 

(Sign at the car park, the car park is roomy)

 

(the walk we did today, map from Park Victoria website)

The walk itself was relaxing, refreshing and satisfying.  even though no heartbreaking view.  We had many chances to study the plants, and trees, and birds.  We also met Little Jonny and Miss Minne, 2 funny cute "creepy" crawlings like caterpillars.

 

 (Little Jonny)

(Miss Minnie)

In my opinion, the walk requires reasonable fitness, as there're numerous steps: natural ones and man-made ones.  Thanks to the walking stick, Mum managed the steps and slopes.

There're quite some spiky plants throughout the track, guess it's the way the plants protect themselves.  You might want to wear long pants and long sleeve tops to avoid the cuts.

  

(These plants are very popular in this park, mind your bare skin)

As the ground is very uneven, a pair of proper hiking boots would be really helpful.

 

(Walking Track)

When we were there, we saw quite a few trees uprooted (or fallen), and also heard the trees cracking.  It's always a good idea to have the ears wide open, for the enjoyment of birds chipping, and potential danger of the trees falling.

 

(Broken Tree Trunk)

 

(Sign on the back back to car park)

Suggest you to go to Daylesford Visitor Centre to get a copy of the map.  The staff there are very helpful and friendly.  The visitor centre is located at 98 Vincent St, Daylesford.

Sunbury Recreation Reserve@Sunbury (My Rating A)

 It's not easy for me to find a Skate Park that ticks off all my requirements, which says:
offleash, playground, grassy, children friendly (or beginner friendly, I should say), and toilets.

This one, Sunbury Recreation Reserve, I picked purely by judging the facts provided on Hume City Council website, is the ONE that ticks off all the requirements.

Sunbury is a suburb in Melbourne, near Melbourne Airport.  We went to this park after the walk at Woodlands Historic Park (just 15mins drive from Greenvale)

Big offleash grassy park with ample space for dogs to run.  2 nice playgrounds, one on each side of the bridge, toilets are near the playground near Aqua Centre.

The Skate Park which is suitable for all levels (looks like to me, coz my kids love it, and I see some big kids doing amazing tricks on their BMX bikes),  The BMX dirt track is just next to the Skate Park, featuring different ramps.  A patchy grassy area (under trees) near the Skate Park where I set up my picnic rug and made myself comfortable.

I knew this park to be on my A list when I heard the kids say "Mum, can we come to this park again?"

 

(My baby exploring)

 

(The playground that close to the Skate Park, the other one is even better)

 

(a Skate Ring)

 

(Ramp to the BMX dirt track)

 

(BMX dirt track)

 

(Skate Park)

 

(Skate Park)

See the blog entry of Woodlands Historic Park.

Western Reserve@Castlemaine (My rating C)

Castlemaine is about 1.5hrs drive from Melbourne City.

The Western Reserve at Castlemaine features a skate park.  The reserve itself is an offleash park.

We went to this skate park after visiting Maldon, on the way back to Melbourne.

The skate park is suitable for my kids, meaning, not too advanced, and doesn't scare my kids off.

 

(skatepark)

 

(skatepark)

 

(This is what my baby was doing while the kids were on the scooter)

We visited the Mt Tarrangower, Anzac Hill, Playground at Maldon while we were at Maldon.

Playground@Maldon Visitor Centre (My rating C)

Maldon is a town near Castlemaine, about 2hrs drive from Melbourne City.  If you visit the town for a day, the playground at Maldon Visitor Centre (behind the visitor centre) is a good spot for the kids to have a chance to run and burn some enegy.  The picnic tables and benches are available, as well as the toilet facilities.

We were there on a Sunday afternoon, though the kids enjoyed the play there, I found the food 'leftovers' especially bread and donuts on the grassy ground, not sure if people deliberately left the food there for the birds, or just didn't bother to bin it.

I had to keep a close eye on Jessica my baby cavalier, as she loves food, and she takes every opportunity to vacuum the food from the ground.

 

(the playground behind the visitor centre@Maldon)

We went to Mt Tarrangower and Anzac Hill @Maldon.

On the way back to Melbourne, we stopped by at Western Reserve@Castlemaine, there's a skate park there, and the kids had fun on their scooters in the skate park.

Mount Tarrangower@Maldon (My rating C)

Maldon is a town in Mount Alexander  Shire Council, near Castlemaine.  It's about 2hr drive from Melbourne City.

Mt Tarrangower is within Maldon Historic Area Reserve, managed by Park Victoria.

I was hoping to hike from Maldon Town to Anzac Hill to Mount Tarrangower Lookout, but it was 1pm by the time we arrived at the Visitor Centre@Maldon, and got map of  Maldon Historic Area Reserve.

After a light lunch, it was too late to hike.  So, activated plan B, which was to drive to Mount Tarrangower Lookout, and drive to Anzac Hill (it's 4WD track between Mout Tarrangower Lookout and Anzac Hill).

Driving along the High Street, you'll see the Brown Tourist Sign "Mount Tarrangower" on your left.  Turn Left and keep going straight, you'll come to Mount Tarrangower Lookout, the road is all sealed, by the way.

 

(Lookout Tower at Mt Tarrangower, you can climb)

 

(View from Lookout Tower)

 

(View from Lookout Tower) 

We followed the "Fountain Track" to go to the Anzac Hill.  The track shown on the map above is "Adair Track", another 4x4 track.  To go to Fountain Track, keep driving straight from the way you come from (you'll have Adair Track on your left, and the Lookout Tower on your right), you'll then see the track (it's well labled)

 

(Anzac Hill)

 

(Map downloaded from Park Victoria)

The view was nice, but didn't make me say "wah!!!!!!!".  And I was glad I didn't do the hiking, as by judging the track, it would be a bit boring on foot.  Driving to Anzac Hill was good though.


When we were there (on the Father's Day), Maldon was quiet and peaceful.  the staff at Visitor Centre were very helpful and friendly.

We went to the playground behind the Visitor Centre after Anzac Hill.  The kids enjoyed the play there.

On the way back to Melbourne, we stopped by at the Western Reserve@Castlemaine, there's a skate park there, and the reserve is offleash.

 The visitor centre: 93 High Street Maldon

Mt Tassie@Balook (my rating C)

Mt Tassie is about 2.5hrs drive from Melbourne,  is located about 17km south of Traralgon via the Traralgon-Balook Road or about 3km north of Balook and the Grand Ridge Rd.

Mt Tassie, at 750m,  is the highest point in the Strzelecki Ranges.

We left home about 10.30am, arrived Traralgon at lunch time.  We had our picnic lunch at Newman Park (Oh yes, we re-visited the park today, the kids just love this playground.  Though it was Sunday and the car park was over-full, it didn't feel crowded. The only queue when we were there was for the mini-steam engine.)

We set our journey at 2.30pm, went onto Grand Ridge Rd via Gormandale,   the drive was really pleasant.

It was 3.30pm when we arrived at the guest house at Balook, and had the scones there.  Ummmm, yummy scones, especially the cream & jam!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!  We sat the outdoor dining area, overlooking the forest, everything was just peaceful and relaxing, it felt like the time had stopped, and all I wanted to do was just sitting there, sipping my coffee and listening to the sound of the nature.

Anyway, the kids were too busy to enjoy the 'timeless' moments.  Back to the road at 4.30pm, heading towards Mt Tassie.

It was a bit of guessing game to locate the Mt Tassie lookout.  We had a few wrong attemps and made us "no, guess not this way, let's U turn".

Eventually, we got it right, and here we were, on the summit of Mt Tassie.

So, if you go to Mt Tassie from Traralgon, via Traralgon-Ballok Road,  you'll see the sign "Mt Tassie" on your left,  (You won't see any sign pointing to "Mt Tassie" if you head from Balook, unless you do your head check).

 

(The sign "Mt Tassie", you only see the sign if you head from Traralgon)

follow the left path up the hill, and then you'll see the path split, follow the left path, you'll then see the lookout!

 

 (You'll then see the road split, stay on the left path, the right path leads to a dead end)

 

 

(Congrats, here you are, at the lookout) 

The path that leads to the lookout is a bit exciting!  Thank to Lucien, my 4x4, we moved on without hesitation. :-D

Richard Grayden Memorial Reserve@Philip Island (My rating A)

Richard Grayden Memorial Reserve gave us a wonderful surprise and a real good fun.

It is near the main bridge (Address: 2-4 Forrest Ave, Newhaven), a very nice playground with a few rare-seen play equipments besides the BBQ and Toilet facilities.

 

(map from Council Website)

 

(Playground)

 

(Flying Fox?)

 

(Playground and Basket ball Hoop)

 

(Climbing Frame)

 

(What's this?  How to play? Can you guess it out?)

See other places to go with your inseparable pooch.