Travelling with Kids – Adventure isn't just about the plane trips!
When heading to a new town to explore its many sites I highly encourage researching the cafes and restaurants that the locals recommend. On our trip to Ballarat, I threw caution to the wind and didn’t actually prepare any lists at all. As a result, my little family and I found ourselves driving around Ballarat without …
Melbourne is such an amazing place with a plethora of attractions and sites to visit with kids. On our recent trip last month I had the grand plan of sending T and the kids off on an adventure to one or two of these while I made a sneaky visit to the National Gallery of Victoria …
As the new year clocked over, T and I left the kids with their grandparents and headed off for a magnificent tasting menu experience at the Award Winning Lake House Daylesford, our Christmas present from my parents (oh the delight!). The Lake House Daylesford has a very impressive pedigree with two hats via the Age Good Food Guide and …
Standing prominently upon a hill overlooking the country town of Castlemaine stands an old sandstone gaol that is regarded as one of the most haunted buildings in all of Victoria. Within its walls ten prisoners were hanged for their crimes. Each were buried somewhere on the grounds – standing up so their souls would never be …
During my days at Melbourne University I spent countless hours researching at the State Library Victoria. Sometimes I just went for a little down time. It’s that type of place. When Master R became unwell on our recent Melbourne trip, Miss N and I took a stroll up to the library while he slept and …
One of the first things I taught my children when we started visiting my parent’s farm, which backs on to the Wombat State Forest, was to admire the native animals from a distance. I warned them not to walk up to the kangaroos that feed in the top paddock every afternoon. I said no to sticking their heads in the …
Scaling the Seven Summits is on the Bucket List of adventurers worldwide. Our family has declined the challenge and skipped adding it the kid bucket list, preferring to focus on climbing (via elevator) the tallest buildings in the cities we visit. It involves less preparation and our fitness levels are rarely tested. On our recent trip to Melbourne, …
With 71% of the Earth’s surface covered in water, it is no surprise that it contains a multitude of ecosystems where plant and animal life is flourishing. My children are water babies who would totally go Kevin Costner if they could and live in a Waterworld. Whenever we are travelling we try to visit a …
I’m notorious for leaving things to the last minute although I am trying to reframe it as the more positive and endearing “spontaneous” quality. So of course, when it came to booking a few days in Melbourne in the New Year, I left the booking until a handful of days before we were due to arrive. Using …
At the foothills of the Great Dividing Range there lies the town of Daylesford which is famed for its naturally occurring mineral springs. It is a town with a rich Swiss-Italian heritage with many of the early gold miners who arrived in town coming from Ticino region in Switzerland. We visit annually with my parents farm a short …
While a visit to the amazing African continent is just out of my family’s reach right now, introducing my children to the animals that roam the savannah is indeed possible thanks to the Werribee Open Range Zoo. Situated 35 kilometres west of Melbourne’s city centre, the zoo is a not-for-profit conservation organisation that focuses predominately on African species. It was …
Melbourne is a vibrant city with the bonus of having a multitude of hidden delights awaiting your discovery. It was only last year that I heard about the Collingwood Children’s Farm. Suddenly it was appearing in my social media news feed with many of my Melbourne based friend’s regularly visiting and singingits praises. T and I didn’t …
The school holidays of my childhood are not full of the travel adventures that my own children are experiencing. It was fairly typical for my parents to be working and for me, being the eldest, to supervise my two younger brothers. We were fortunate to live on a small rural property where we created our …