khassandraYarra Valley and beyond
December 10th 2006 21:39
The Yarra Valley and beyond.
For those of you contemplating a visit to Australia and can’t decide which state/s to visit- may I suggest you add Victoria to your itinerary. The reason or one of the reasons is to visit the beautiful and surprising Yarra Valley.
This eastern region of Victoria holds interests enough for everyone. If you are a wine aficionado, a lover of gourmet food, a nature enthusiast or a happy browser-type traveller, you will feel most at home here.
Where is it? Just a short hour and a half drive from Melbourne – you make your way to the Maroondah Highway, then pick up Bayswater road, which becomes Swansea road. From then on, follow the signs to Monbulk, Healesville and Warburton.
What do you find? Barely out of town, near the corner of Bayswater and Canterbury roads you must visit a yummy pie shop. Not an ordinary pie shop, but one that has been around for some time and has so many varieties, you will have to take some away with you to try them all! Try rabbit, kangaroo, crocodile, beef and Guinness or curried beef pies. Taste their award winning vanilla slices, and family selections of giant pasties and pies. There is always a weekly special- so no excuse not to indulge! Do take your cooler bag to store them in case of hot weather.
I love to stop for breakfast if I plan a day out in the Yarra Valley. I must confess to often substituting the eggs and bacon for a pie of choice!
As you travel along the Swansea road, look out for the York road turn off.
The nice thing about this journey is that along the way you will pass little towns that have regular farmer’s market type fairs, so you can stop and purchase some treats to take home. I have often browsed along the stalls with one of my dogs who also enjoy the chance to socialise with stall holders and other visitors!
If you like fruit, you will be entering one of Victoria’s fruit gardens in Monbulk where you will find various stone and berry fruit. In the right season you will find the juiciest and largest cherries in Wandin along farms in Beenak road, Sometimes there are home made preserves which if you can’t find at the farm shops, you will certainly find in the many gourmet shops in the Yarra Valley.
Other tourist stops are the Warratina Lavender Farm on Quayle road. Stock up on some lavender products and armfuls of fragrant dried Lavender, and relax for a break in their tearoom. You will also pass the Silvan Dam on the way to Montrose.
Just past the quaintly named Woori Yallock, you can turn off towards Healesville to visit the native animal sanctuary (or Healesville Sanctuary) that is on Badger Creek road. There you can view an assortment of Australian animals – kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats, platypus etc. There are often baby animals in an enclosure where you can walk around and view the animals at close range. My favourite of all is the wombat- very shy for its size, and often suffers accidents on roads out in the wild.
If you are keen on wine, there are wineries at Coldstream, Yeringberg. Travelling along St Huberts road that runs between the Maroondah Highway and McMeikans road- you will see Yering Farm Wines, Yarra Hill Winery, St Huberts Vinyard and Winery. Take the north fork after St Huberts along the Maroondah highway to visit Domaine Chandon Vinyard and Winery, Tunnel Hill Winery, Oakridge Estate Winery, Badgers Brook Winery, Eyton on Yarra Vineyard. Meander up the Melba Highway and you will find Yering Station Winery, and somewhere in the region is the beautiful Bertolli Wine estate.
If you are ‘in to’ craft and produce markets, one of the larger ones is held on the first Sunday of each month between October and June (please check) at the Yarra Glen market. A ‘must’ is an EARLY visit- by that I mean before 7am! ..as those ‘in the know’ arrive early to pounce on the best products.
My favourite place of all is Warburton. Originally a honeymooners paradise in the 30’s, it then also offered over 30 guesthouses where visitors would also go to ‘take the waters’. The river runs through this attractive town and is a lovely walk on any day. For refreshments I always try the local bakeries- especially the one near the water wheel for tempting home made breads cooked I believe in a special wood fired oven. Items to try include tasty pizzas, crusty breads made with olives, sun dried tomatoes, pumpkin, herb, rye etc. The pasties and pies are also good.
When I was last there, the little ‘museum’ above the waterwheel had an exhibition of the early guesthouses and photos of those times.
Australia has a world famous reputation for its wines and general produce. You can stock up with olive oils, ice cream, incredibly great cheese, fruit and wine in this beautiful part of the world.
……what else do you need?
For those of you contemplating a visit to Australia and can’t decide which state/s to visit- may I suggest you add Victoria to your itinerary. The reason or one of the reasons is to visit the beautiful and surprising Yarra Valley.
This eastern region of Victoria holds interests enough for everyone. If you are a wine aficionado, a lover of gourmet food, a nature enthusiast or a happy browser-type traveller, you will feel most at home here.
Where is it? Just a short hour and a half drive from Melbourne – you make your way to the Maroondah Highway, then pick up Bayswater road, which becomes Swansea road. From then on, follow the signs to Monbulk, Healesville and Warburton.
What do you find? Barely out of town, near the corner of Bayswater and Canterbury roads you must visit a yummy pie shop. Not an ordinary pie shop, but one that has been around for some time and has so many varieties, you will have to take some away with you to try them all! Try rabbit, kangaroo, crocodile, beef and Guinness or curried beef pies. Taste their award winning vanilla slices, and family selections of giant pasties and pies. There is always a weekly special- so no excuse not to indulge! Do take your cooler bag to store them in case of hot weather.
I love to stop for breakfast if I plan a day out in the Yarra Valley. I must confess to often substituting the eggs and bacon for a pie of choice!
As you travel along the Swansea road, look out for the York road turn off.
The nice thing about this journey is that along the way you will pass little towns that have regular farmer’s market type fairs, so you can stop and purchase some treats to take home. I have often browsed along the stalls with one of my dogs who also enjoy the chance to socialise with stall holders and other visitors!
If you like fruit, you will be entering one of Victoria’s fruit gardens in Monbulk where you will find various stone and berry fruit. In the right season you will find the juiciest and largest cherries in Wandin along farms in Beenak road, Sometimes there are home made preserves which if you can’t find at the farm shops, you will certainly find in the many gourmet shops in the Yarra Valley.
Other tourist stops are the Warratina Lavender Farm on Quayle road. Stock up on some lavender products and armfuls of fragrant dried Lavender, and relax for a break in their tearoom. You will also pass the Silvan Dam on the way to Montrose.
Just past the quaintly named Woori Yallock, you can turn off towards Healesville to visit the native animal sanctuary (or Healesville Sanctuary) that is on Badger Creek road. There you can view an assortment of Australian animals – kangaroos, wallabies, koalas, wombats, platypus etc. There are often baby animals in an enclosure where you can walk around and view the animals at close range. My favourite of all is the wombat- very shy for its size, and often suffers accidents on roads out in the wild.
If you are keen on wine, there are wineries at Coldstream, Yeringberg. Travelling along St Huberts road that runs between the Maroondah Highway and McMeikans road- you will see Yering Farm Wines, Yarra Hill Winery, St Huberts Vinyard and Winery. Take the north fork after St Huberts along the Maroondah highway to visit Domaine Chandon Vinyard and Winery, Tunnel Hill Winery, Oakridge Estate Winery, Badgers Brook Winery, Eyton on Yarra Vineyard. Meander up the Melba Highway and you will find Yering Station Winery, and somewhere in the region is the beautiful Bertolli Wine estate.
If you are ‘in to’ craft and produce markets, one of the larger ones is held on the first Sunday of each month between October and June (please check) at the Yarra Glen market. A ‘must’ is an EARLY visit- by that I mean before 7am! ..as those ‘in the know’ arrive early to pounce on the best products.
My favourite place of all is Warburton. Originally a honeymooners paradise in the 30’s, it then also offered over 30 guesthouses where visitors would also go to ‘take the waters’. The river runs through this attractive town and is a lovely walk on any day. For refreshments I always try the local bakeries- especially the one near the water wheel for tempting home made breads cooked I believe in a special wood fired oven. Items to try include tasty pizzas, crusty breads made with olives, sun dried tomatoes, pumpkin, herb, rye etc. The pasties and pies are also good.
When I was last there, the little ‘museum’ above the waterwheel had an exhibition of the early guesthouses and photos of those times.
Australia has a world famous reputation for its wines and general produce. You can stock up with olive oils, ice cream, incredibly great cheese, fruit and wine in this beautiful part of the world.
……what else do you need?
| 81 |
| Vote |
Subscribe to this blog
