As the year winds away and the sun peeks out a little more each day, exploring across the Yarra Ranges can be a lot of fun for all.
With a stunning variety of places to visit, no trail, big or small, is short of a little moment of peace, fringed with wonder at the diverse environment on offer.
From the Maroondah Reservoir Park in Healesville, to Wright Forest in Cockatoo, the Yarra Ranges has something for everyone.
Yarra Ranges Environment Support Officer Jen Ellison is a big fan of the Birdsland Reserve and visits often with her young child.
“I love getting out into nature with him whenever I can,” she said.
Situated at Mt Morton Road in Belgrave South, the 75-hectare bushland reserve has a number of things to see and do, and comes with a long history.
Originally home to the Wurundjeri people of the region, the area was cleared for grazing and crop production around 150 years ago, then went on to become a sheep farm.
Then known as the Shire of Sherbrooke, local council purchased Birdsland in 1981 and opened it to the public in 1984 as a community bushland reserve.
There are several walking, riding and mountain biking trails, and the Dargon Trail connects people in the mood for a longer adventure to Lysterfield Lake Park.
With over 130 different native birds identified in the reserve, including the Wedgetail Eagle and Powerful Owl, a stroll through at any time of day is always fun, with bridges, lakes and more to explore.
“Birdsland has so much to offer – accessible flat paths, rocks to climb, lakes to see water birds and creeks to look for platypus,” said Ms Ellison.
“And of course, bridges to play a game or two of ‘Pooh Sticks’,” she said.
“It’s a wonderful spot for nature play activities. We can happily spend hours there, especially in the sunshine!”
Many of the parks and trails across the region host relics of the past along with seasonal wildflowers you can only see at certain times of the year.
There is the ever favoured Dandenong Ranges Botanic Garden in Olinda, which dresses to impress, serving up a dramatic landscape of towering eucalypts amongst the rolling hills of rhododendrons and azaleas, other well known gardens nearby include George Tindale Memorial Garden, Pirianda Garden or the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Garden.
President of First Friends of Dandenong Creek, Anthony Bigelow said that one of their group’s favourite spots in the Yarra Ranges is Doongalla Forest, situated near Olinda in the northern part of the Dandenong Ranges National Park.
“It’s a bit of a hidden gem, cool, shaded gullies under tall eucalypts, with wildflowers that light up the trails in spring and summer,” he said.
Inside the forest area, there are picnic grounds and a historic homestead site to explore and walks that are both easy or challenging depending on your mood.
“It’s a beautiful place to walk quietly, listen for bird calls, and feel tucked away in nature without being too far from home,” said Mr Bigelow.
Visitors should always check the weather and fire warnings online on the Country Fire Authority website before heading into parks and trails, as some are closed on catastrophic bushfire threat days.
