The Olinda Tea House is one of my favourite nearby award winning tea houses and restaurants. It’s probably no more than 20 minutes away! It’s not long been opened (landscaping is still underway) and the contemporary architecture, combined with its layout and building products, make it an environmentally sustainable venue. It brings the beautiful outdoors of the Dandenong Ranges, indoors!

If you’re ever in the  area to enjoy the attractions of the Dandenong Ranges, you must include stopping here for lunch or a cuppa.

Frankston has now hosted the Sand Sculpting Australia exhibition three years in a row. Frankston is a southern, bayside suburb of Melbourne and an easy drive on Eastlink. I’d been keen to visit in previous years but it never eventuated and so was determined not to miss it this year!

The theme was ‘Toytopia’ and delighted not just the kids but the grownups also! Twenty-three sculptures from all over the world participated to create a total of 16 solid sand exhibits or ‘piles’ as they were referred to in the Program Guide. Below you will see examples of the workmanship that goes into creating these sand sculptures with so much detail and the height of a couple of them was truly amazing.

Jamieson is a small country town in rural Victoria with a population not more than 250 making it a perfect destination for our summer vacation and digital-detox! Located in the High Country, it’s beautifully situated on the Jamieson River where it meets the Goulburn River which flows into Lake Eildon.

There are plenty of remnants of it’s past dotted around the town and I took great pleasure in leaving my camp site to take early morning walks by the river and around the town.

Juddy's Hut, an early miner's cottage by the Jamieson River

The view from behind Juddy's Hut

Jamieson Post Office Circa 1872

St Peter's Anglican Church Circa 1865

St John's Catholic Church Circa 1863

...and the not so historical but still delightful 'Perkins & Grey' Cafe

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Jamieson

One Great Reason to Visit Jamieson

One great reason to visit this travel destination is to enjoy the peace and quiet by the Jamieson River and if you score some warm weather, grab a tube and float downstream from Brewery Bridge to Finns Bridge.

For More Information

• Wikipedia
• Jamieson Historical Society

We enjoyed a pleasant day to Melbourne city last Sunday to attend RMIT’s Open Day for Miss 16 who is considering studying journalism, media or public relations. Other than visiting the relevant buildings and speaking with lecturers and volunteers students who make themselves available on the day, we meandered the grounds to take in the historic blue-stone buildings which are located right beside the historic ‘Old Melbourne Gaol’. Some of the RMIT buildings and images captured can be seen below.

Lake Mountain is 90 km east of Melbourne but closer for us! So we decided last weekend to take a day trip and show Master 10 snow for the very first time.

The drive itself is pleasant as you head up the Yarra Valley past numerous wineries. We in fact have our GPS set to ‘dong’ if there happens to be a nearby winery and consequently it was ‘donging’ every few meters which was a bit funny. A pity we couldn’t stop!

As you head through Healesville, which has become quite a bustling little town and many were out enjoying breakfast at the cafes or the famous Beechworth Bakery, you start the incline into the mountain area known as the Black Spur. The Australian wattle was just starting to burst into colour and everything was extremely lush and green from all the winter rain. Much of this area was devastated by bush fire back on 8 February 2009, known as ‘Black Saturday’ but the regeneration is coming along and there is now much undergrowth.

We arrived in Marysville. My first visit there in many years and certainly since it was wiped from the map from the bush fires which resulted in loss of life, homes and businesses. Marysville’s landscape is very different to how I remember it. The tree lined street is very open and you can see for some distance in either direction, obviously where there were once homes, buildings, trees and gardens which obstructed the view. There is still much rebuilding to be done.

From Marysville we headed on up to Lake Mountain where there was still a sprinkling of snow to be found. Well, enough for the children to toboggan and build a snowman!

Cross-Country Skiing: Building Skills for Fun and Fitness

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Lake Mountain

One Great Reason to Visit Lake Mountain

One great reason to visit this travel destination is for the proximity to Melbourne for an easy day trip to the snow for some snowman building and tobogganing for the children and cross-country skiing for the bigger kids!

Lake Mountain Snow Report July 2011

For More Information

In the short fifteen minute drive from our home, the road weaves up the side of the mountain, past tree ferns, towering mountain ash gum trees, through the small mountain villages of Sassafras and Olinda to the summit. From here, there is a spectacular view eastwards over the eastern suburbs of Melbourne to the city centre which is clearly marked by the towering skyscrapers but is totally peaceful and far removed from the chaos of city life.

Throughout the Dandenongs there are some well-known landmarks that are frequented by both national and international visitors. The most well-known being the historic steam train ‘Puffing Billy‘. The journey carries its passengers along a 24km stretch of track from Belgrave to Gembrook through forests and over the famous wooden trestle bridge built in 1899.

Another well-know location is the ‘William Ricketts Sanctuary‘. A four-acre property purchased by sculptor William Ricketts during the 1930s ended up expanding by the 1960s when the Victorian Government purchased the adjoining properties. William Ricketts remained on the property and continued to produce his Australian sculptures that can be enjoyed throughout the outdoor gallery, until his death in 1993 when he was 94 years of age.

There are also many less-known and well hidden treasures dotted through the hills. One of my favourites for that true velvet escape experience is the ‘Alfred Nicholas Gardens‘. Set on a steep slope opposite Sherbrooke Forest is a magnificent garden of rhododendrons, camelias, azaleas and other exotics dwarfed by the surrounding mountain ash eucalypts.

Taking the path that meanders down the hill through the garden, you arrive to a small, secluded lake with small walkway bridges and families of ducks. At the end of the lake is a little, wooden boat shed framed by the garden and mirrored by its reflection in the lake. It’s an image that could be straight from a fairytale book. It’s not unusual to have this secluded spot all to yourself!

This post was originally written for Velvet Escape.

Boxing Day is the day the Christmas tree comes down, the house is tidied and bags are packed for us to head off the following day on our annual summer vacation. This year we drove 3.5 hours east of Melbourne and based ourselves at a tiny town called Nicholson. Nicholson has the push-pin marked on the map below. This was our base for the following week to explore the region. So I have now compiled a list of the 7 places we visited and most enjoyed.

1. Buchan Caves

Buchan Caves

From Nicholson we drove north through rolling hills dotted with farms, followed by National forests before arriving at Buchan Caves. There are two main chambers being the Royal and Fairy Caves. We took a 45 mins walking tour through the magical wonderland of the Fairy Cave. Frank Moon discovered the Fairy Cave during 1907 which was opened to the public later that year. The Royal Cave was discovered in 1910 by Frederick Wilson and after an entrance tunnel was excavated, it was opened to visitors in 1913. The Caves Reserve was set out and planted mostly in the late 1930s. The stalactites, stalagmites, helictite, shawls and twinkling of water droplets make for a wonderful display from a different world.

2. Marlo

From Buchan Caves we drove south through the logging town of Orbost to the coastal town of Marlo. At Marlo the great Snowy River meets the sea and is a popular place for boating and fishing in both the river and estuaries. The historic Marlo pub is a great spot to grab a drink and admire the river and sea views.

3. Nicholson River Winery

This lovely family owned winery was just down the road from where we were holidaying and I surprised myself by only stopping in there the once! After enjoying the tastings, we pulled up some chairs in the garden with a glass of the NR Chardonnay and enjoyed the views over the Nicholson River.

Leaving Metung!

4. Metung

Metung is a delightful town attracting many city dwellers to own holiday homes in the area. The town has two focal points being the water ways of the lakes, and the village green. A number of cafes and restaurants cater well for the visitors making it a trendy destination! From Metung we enjoyed an afternoon cruise on the water to Lakes Entrance. The return trip took nearly 3 hours and we were spoilt with a complimentary glass of wine and nibbles. I did notice it also attracted a number of international visitors also. It was a very pleasant afternoon!

5. Paynesville

Another coastal town we visited was Paynesville and is a little larger than Metung so it had more in way of services and shops. There were a number of jetties for all the boating and water activities. A car and pedestrian ferry took people across to Raymond Island which only has a small population of no more than 500 people. I’m not sure if this population are permanent residents or holiday makers in their holiday homes!

6. Nyerimilang Heritage Park

Nyerimilang Heritage Park

Nyerimilang Heritage Park is on the shores of the Gippsland Lakes and has divine views of waterways, islands and the ocean beyond. The land was first owned by Mr A Murray in 1884 and he later transferred it to Frank Stuart of Melbourne who built a home as a base for fishing and shooting holidays at the Gippsland Lakes. During the early 1930s, his son Frank Jnr extended the house, developed the surrounding gardens and lived in style at Nyerimilang complete with housemaids and a gardener. A display featuring the history of Nyerimilang and the natural resources and history of the Gippsland Lakes is on display in the homestead and is extremely interesting.

7. Narkoojee Winery

Yes, we are wine lovers and on the way home from our week away (and my digital-detox) we stopped at one of our favourite wineries. Not that we’d been there before but we do enjoy their wine and all the more reason to detour off the Highway for a visit. Narkoojee produces two of my favourite Chardonnay’s, the Lily Grace and Reserve. Narkoojee is located just north of Traralgon at Glengarry.

Map

TravelTipsPlus Google Map of Gippsland

Gippsland, Victoria

For More Information

A hot New Year’s Eve was enjoyed at Lakes Entrance during our summer holiday to the Gippsland region. After an early dinner, we made our way to the beach where the children enjoyed the sand, shallow water and sandbanks. We all waded for sometime cooling our feet as the sun began to drop for the last time for 2010. The images the sun-rays created behind the boat silhouettes, was so peaceful. Let’s hope that’s a sign for what 2011 will bring to our world.

These photos portray the sense of calm and quiet as you float by without disturbing anyone, not even the clouds below. The flight took off from Balgownie Estate winery in the Dandenongs east of Melbourne in the southern State of Victoria. We had to arrive for a 5am meetup, then travelled for an hour away from the winery. It’s very hands on and everybody mucks in. We took off at 6.30am and landed in the middle of a pony gymkhana just 10 minutes from the hotel. Where, once we had packed everything up, we returned for a Champagne breakfast. Our pilot had 2,500 flying hours, and says they are very short of pilots, so if you know anyone, feel free to leave a comment below!

Photos courtesy of Robyn from Personnel Relocations.

This photo was taken during our January 2010 family holiday along the Great Ocean Road. We were fortunate to have glorious, summer days during our time exploring the coast. This photo depicts clear blue skies and calm seas, which most definitely is not the case most of the time along this wild Southern Ocean coastline.