Here is Melbourne

12/06/2024

Meanwhile on Mount Hotham ❄️❄️❄️

21/05/2024

Fantastic shot of the Safety Beach Jetty at the Mornington Peninsula taken by 📸 Mustang Sally Photography

Moody Sunset at Safety Beach Jetty, Mornington Peninsula, Victoria.

*Click on image for full view.

11/05/2024

The Alfred Nicholas Gardens situated on the Sherbrooke Road in the Dandenong Ranges are most famous for their gorgeous autumn colours, ornamental lake with three charming bridges and a very photogenic boathouse.
If you would like to catch the autumn colours this is the time to visit.
Open from 10am to 5pm, wheelchair accessible, dogs allowed on leash.
Address: 1A Sherbrooke Rd, Sherbrooke VIC 3789

06/05/2024

Warran Glen nursery located in the gold mining town of Warrandyte 24 km north-east of Melbourne's CBD is a very popular place on any day of the week.
The reason for this is that it is not just a beautiful nursery filled out with various plants and garden equipment, but also a fantastic gift shop with a huge selection of gift ideas, and a very popular cafeteria sitting on a hill with view of the creek and the entire property. The cafeteria is quite large and has some lovely courtyards and the very popular balcony. There is a cubby house looking like a train for the children in the main courtyard.
And the place looks beautiful at any time of the year but it is at its most colourful in autumn.
If you want to have a meal at the cafeteria it is advisable to book a table, because it is always quite buky.
Address: 373-383 Ringwood-Warrandyte Rd, Warrandyte VIC 3113
Open: Every day 8:30am - 5pm

26/04/2024

The Bright Autumn Festival has started today and will run till Sunday the 5th of May. The highlight is the Gala Weekend with a market, music in the streets and a grand parade on Saturday the 4th of May. At this time of the year you can see the deciduous trees in their colourful autumnal splendour.
The beautiful town of Bright is located three and a half hours' drive north-east of Melbourne in the High Country. It offers endless walking tracks, amazing scenery with vistas of the nearby high mountains, a river, several parks, fantastic food, wineries and breweries, and much more.

23/04/2024

The Macedon Ranges Autumn Festival is still on till the 28th of April.
The country bakeries are serving autumn pies and tarts, some beautiful private gardens are opened for visitors, art workshops are being offered. Or you can just admire the beautiful autumn foliage of this region.
For more information go to:
Visitmacedonranges.com/autumn-festival.
Try to avoid the famous Avenue of Honour on the weekend. It becomes extremely overcrowded.

21/04/2024

Many streets in Melbourne are as colourful as these ones at this time of the year. These are the streets in Vermont South, a lovely suburb about 25 km east of CBD.

15/04/2024

This is the last week of the KaBloom flower festival at the Tesselaar Flower Farm in Silvan, 40 km east of Melbourne.
The flowers are still at their best and the sunflower field is in its full bloom. The new chilli plot is delightful.
There is a number of activities for adults and children including the circus performances and the tractor train rides among others. There are food stalls and gift shops and many photo opportunities, of course.

Location: Tesselaar Flower Farm 357 Monbulk Road, Silvan
Opened from 10am to 5pm till the 21st of April

07/04/2024

The bridge on the Cement Creek Road leading to the Redwood forest in Warburton has been completed a while ago and this area is now accessible to cars.
The road to the car park has been re-surfaced. There is still no public toilet and the road from the car park is very rough.
There are works projected for this area, including the toilet, more car park spaces, weather shelter, some boardwalks and a viewing platform.

25/03/2024

Just over 15 years ago the Bruno’s Art and Sculpture garden and the artist’s home located in Marysville were completely destroyed in the Black Saturday Fires.
Bruno Torfs decided to rebuild his home and the garden. Most of his terracotta sculptures have been restored and some new artworks have been added to this unique, delightful and rich in fantasy sculpture garden nestled amongst the luscious rainforest setting.
There is now more than 120 pieces on display across the magical garden. They are wondrous creations which bring thousands of visitors each year.
The garden and gallery are located approximately 95 kilometres from Melbourne on Falls Road, in Marysville.
The garden is open 7 days a week 10am – 5pm (adults $10, children under 5 - 16 $5, under 5 free)
The gallery is open on Saturdays and Sundays only (adults $15 for both the gallery and garden)

07/03/2024

Some of you have recently seen the movie “Force of nature” based on the book by one of my favourite authors Jane Harper.
The principal filming locations were in the stunning and accessible locations across our state, including the Dandenong Ranges, the Yarra Valley and the Otways, some of my favourite destinations.
The waterfall in the movie is the Otways’s Hopetoun waterfall, but do not attempt to jump from the top of the waterfall, as happened in the movie. The bottom of the waterfall is rather shallow.
Photo locations stated in the comment under each photo.

01/03/2024

Today is the first day of the Autumn (meteorological), and these are some of the things to look forward to.
The locations are stated in comments under each photo..

18/02/2024

The sunflower season is starting at this farm in Dunnstown near Ballarat.

17/02/2024

Immerse yourself in bygone days by visiting the charming Mont De Lancey Historic Homestead located on the hill of Wandin North in the beautiful Yarra Valley less than an hour drive from Melbourne CBD.
There is a 1880s Pioneer Homestead furnished with items from the same period, a beautiful garden with palm trees, lots of flowers and a magnificent over 100 year old oak tree, a museum with a collection of photographs and artefacts and art pieces from the local area, a 1920s St Mary’s chapel, dairy, old farm machinery and an active blacksmith shop with beautiful metal pieces for sale.
There is also a cafeteria “Two Peas in Their Pod” with seating inside and out near the garden.
The tours cost Adult: $15, Concession: $12. The garden entry is by donation.
Opened Wednesday to Sunday 10:00am - 4:30pm
71 Wellington Rd, Wandin North VIC 3139

10/02/2024

It is probably old news to most of you but this beach claimed the title of the best beach in Australia for 2024. The choice from out of about 12000 beaches was made by the Tourism Australia’s official beach ambassador.
It is the Squeaky Beach located at the Wilsons Promontory National Park, a park which I have praised in one of my recent posts.
Some of the factors considered in the selection process were accessibility, cleanliness, wildlife, safety and beauty.
This is the first time a Victorian beach has taken the number one position.

05/02/2024

Free event at Federation Square. And it looks amazing.

30/01/2024

The Blue Lotus Water garden is in the middle of its flowering season just now and will be open till the 14th of April.
The 14 acres water garden is located in the Yarra Valley near Yarra Junction, 55 km east from Melbourne's CBD.
At this time of the year the garden is full of flowering lotus flowers including the golden lotus, lakes full of water lilies in various colours, and many other exotic and local flowering plants. One of the big attractions of this garden is one of the world's largest waterlily species, Victoria Cruziana which can get to 1.5 meters in diameter.
The garden offers lakes, ponds, lagoons, bridges, walking trails, fairy garden, fountains, many shaded picnic facilities, alfresco cafe and a gift shop.
Address: 2628 Warburton Hwy, Yarra Junction VIC 3797
Opening hours: daily from 10am to 5pm
Tickets: adult $24.50, concession $22, children 0-15 years free

22/01/2024

With the warmer summer days coming up a trip to the Wilsons Promontory National Park or "the Prom" would be a good idea.
The Prom is located about 200 km southeast of Melbourne and it is one of the most beautiful regions of Victoria.
It offers beautiful sandy beaches, amazing views, a large number of walking tracks across the bushy areas or along the coast, rugged granite mountains, rich flora and abundant wildlife, including kangaroos, wombats and emus.
A perfect place for a summer weekend away (weather permitting).

02/01/2024

With the photo of this lovely sunset at Docklands I wish you all a fantastic 2024.

22/12/2023

It's Christmas time in the City of Melbourne.
I hope you have a wonderful Christmas break and a happy 2024.
Thank you very much for every follow, like, comment and share. I appreciate every one of them.

08/12/2023

Walhalla, my favourite tiny town in Victoria gets to be famous all over the world as it becomes a set to a major Hollywood movie “Road 2: Road to the Sky” starring Liam Neeson. Walhalla’s Star Hotel and and the surrounding area will become a marketplace that mirrors Kodari in Nepal. The filming will take place in January. The Star Hotel, Walhalla Rotunda and Fire Station Museum are being painted for the film but they are to be returned to their original heritage colours after the filming.
It is hard to say what impact this will have on this tiny and remote town. Let’s hope it will be positive.
Walhalla is located in Gippsland about 180 km from Melbourne CBD.

28/11/2023

This event captured my attention today. Looks interesting.

14/11/2023

This looks very tempting. Ends on the 26th of November.

12/11/2023

This amazing garden probably looks at ist best at this time of the year. It is the Cactus Country located about 40 minutes north of Shepparton in Strathmerton.
Explore the 12 acres of gardens and admire over 4000 various cacti species with different shapes, sizes and colourful blooms.
The grounds are beautifully maintained, the staff super friendly and the charming Mexican style cafeteria with indoor and outdoor sections serves nachos, cactus cake and cactus ice cream, and a large selection of drinks including frozen margaritas.
It is definitely a unique and unforgettable experience.
Dogs are allowed on lead.
Opened Wednesday to Sunday from 10am – 5pm, excluding Christmas Day, Boxing Day and Good Friday.
Address: 4986 Murray Valley Hwy, Strathmerton VIC 3641

01/11/2023

The azalea’s flowering season is over at the Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden but most of the rhododendrons are still in bloom. If you want to experience the garden at its best, now it is a good time to visit, before all the rhododendron flowers are gone.
There is an abundance of other flowers in this garden, and the amazing new part, the Chelsea Australian garden is really worth a visit.
It all looks so fresh and vibrant at this time of the year.
Address: The Georgian Rd, Olinda VIC 3788

14/10/2023

Most of us are familiar with the wonderful 1000 steps Kokoda Track Memorial located in Ferntree Gully but not that many people know about the 1001 steps at Bayview Park in Narre Warren North.
The fitness track, built exactly with 1001 steps, was inspired by the 1000 steps and opened in 2019. It is very popular with the locals and visitors.
It is suitable for any level of fitness and ability. It also provides magnificent views of the surrounding area.
Dogs are allowed but must be kept on leash.
Location: 1001 Steps - Bayview Park, 188T Quarry Rd, Narre Warren VIC 3805

14/06/2023

Meanwhile at Mt Hotham...

06/06/2023

My favourite coastal town of Sorrento brought back the “Taste Sorrento” month-long winter food festival promoting locally produced food and beverages. It started on the 1st of June and will run till the 30th of June.
From food and wine events to store promotions and exhibitions the festival has something for everyone.
For all the events and activities follow link below:

https://www.tastesorrento.com.au/program-1?fbclid=IwAR34TBChS8SHGXQbeENwVEAgvM8ovBadDNJnbapdQtYtfzYjqtncrfXJUu0

29/05/2023

One of the amazing parks in Melbourne, the Wilson Botanic Park is located in Berwick, a suburb 41 km south-east of Melbourne's CBD.
The 39 hectare park has over 1000 plant species and is a home to a large number of birds, as well as turtles, frogs, lizards and unfortunately snakes.
The park has a large “Anniversary Lake” in its center and a smaller “Basalt Lake” facing a basalt rock face. There is additionally a smaller marsh area close to the entrance.
The park offers many walking tracks, some steep, some along the lakes and one leading to the Hoo Hoo Lookout Tower which has extensive views over the surrounding area.
The park facilities include picnic areas, BBQs, gazebos, cafeteria, and a playground.
From the 23rd of June to the 1st of July from 5:00pm to 8:30pm the park presents a laser light show spectacular called the “Botanic by Night”. The shows are hourly on the hour, and tickets cost $15 (15 and over) and $10 (2 - 15).
https://tickets.bunjilplace.com.au/overview/8512