Travel Photos of the Week: Manor home Maison Louis Richard
A close girlfriend of mine was fortunate enough to enjoy 4 weeks travelling France. She and her partner stayed in some amazing historical Chateaus, tasting the local wines and totally indulging! I get to write about it and share her photos! These photos of Maison Louis Richard near Saumur in the Loire Valley particularly caught my eye as these are the sites that are less well-known. Maison Louis Richard is a large, very elegant 15th Century manor home and also boasts a swimming pool. A perfect base to explore the wineries of the Loire Valley.
A List of Places We Enjoyed in the Gippsland Region
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.
Travel Photo of the Week: New Year’s Eve at Lakes Entrance
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.
So What Are The Top 7 Attractions Just Out of Melbourne?
This post is a continuation of the earlier Post ‘7 Things To Do In Marvellous Melbourne‘ and if you happen to be in Melbourne for the current Moomba Festival you may be contemplating a visit to some of the outlying travel destinations of Melbourne. Here are my top 7 travel tips for sites to visit just out of my home city, Melbourne. They are in no particular order and of course there are numerous other sites and maybe you can add a comment below with a mention of your favourite spot!
Fairy Penguins on Phillip Island
1. Phillip Island
Only a 1.5 hour drive from Melbourne is the small island at the entrance of Western Port Bay, known as Phillip Island. A very popular destination for both local, national and international visitors. Its main attractions include the variety of coastal beaches from sheltered bays facing the Bay, to Cape Woolamai that lures the surfers for the waves off Bass Strait. Other attractions include the Penguin Parade, the Nobbies, Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit, A Maze’n Things, Phillip Island Nature Park – Koala Conservation Centre and a must stop is the divine Phillip Island Chocolate Factory. The chocolate here is sensational and the business is booming!
2. The Dandenongs
The Dandenong Ranges are located east of Melbourne and are literally on the backdoor step of my home. It takes me no more than 15mins to arrive by car to the top at SkyHigh Mount Dandenong Observatory. Here you are presented with a fabulous view of Melbourne and on a clear evening the drive up for sunset is a must. There are many terrific attractions within the hills. Some of my favourites include Puffing Billy, Cloudehill Nursery, William Rickett’s Sanctuary, Alfred Nicholas Gardens, Olinda Township and breakfast at ‘Ranges Cafe’ is a nice treat. Further reading can be seen here for a recent guest post I did for ‘Velvet Escape‘.
3. Sorrento to Queenscliff Ferry Trip
From Melbourne you can travel either east or west around Port Phillip Bay and arrive to either Sorrento or Queenscliff. Both towns offer a terrific range of classy cafes, restaurants and boutique shops. Enjoy a lunch, take in the sites of the towns and finally, jump aboard the ferry to cross to the other town. Depending on whether you decide to travel as a foot passenger or take the car, you can explore that town, enjoy a coffee before continuing your drive back to Melbourne or take a return ferry back to the originating town. There is also a good chance you can enjoy watching dolphins swimming and racing the ferry.
Werribee Zoo
4. Werribee Open Range Zoo
Just a 30mins drive from Melbourne you can experience a taste of Africa at the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Take a walking tour and the 45mins tour in a safari bus out across the zoo’s plains and see rhinos, zebras, giraffes, antelopes, lions, monkeys, cheetahs and many other species of African animals.
5. Torquay Surf Beach
Torquay is the surfing hub of Australia. It also hosts the famous and world’s longest-running surfing competition during the Easter period, the Rip Curl Pro Surf & Music Festival. An easy drive from Melbourne with the Princes Freeway now bypassing Geelong and the region has plenty of other attractions on offer.
6. The Yarra Valley
Sunset over the covered vinyard at 'Wild Cattle Creek'
A little further from Melbourne but only a 20mins drive from my home is the famous Yarra Valley wine region. Unfortunately, a number of wineries were affected by the horrendous bushfires of 7 February 2009. As I am a keen wine drinker and love doing the winery-thing, I couldn’t go past celebrating our marriage during March 2008 at the lovely ‘Wild Cattle Creek Winery‘. In fact it’s our second wedding anniversary today! Together with numerous first class wineries, the area also has much to offer in the small townships of Yarra Glen, Healesville and Warburton.
7. Sovereign Hill
A little further afield and located in Ballarat, the heart of the historic gold mining region, is ‘Soverign Hill’. A terrific reproduction of a 1950′s gold-field town of the area and presented as an open air museum on a large 25 hectare site. Sovereign Hill has more than 60 historic buildings, people are in costume of the era and plenty of activities to entertain everyone. Pan for gold, have your portrait taken in costume, take a horse and carriage ride, a guided tour of the mines and more. The evening sound and light show ‘Blood on the Southern Cross’ is extremely popular and depicts the Eureka Stockade.
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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.
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