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 603 Steels
Creek Road, Steels Creek, Victoria 3775 Australia
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 HEALESVILLE SANCTUARY The Healesville Sanctuary occupies 32-hectares of bushland and allows visitors to get up close and personal with native animals. The quality of food at the Healesville Sanctuary cafe is almost worth a visit itself, although the opportunity to play with a platypus or pat a wombat is what appeals to children. zoo.org.au/healesville  WILLIAM RICKETTS SANCTUARY Artist Clare James loves the changing season, when leaves turn and trees shed their foliage. "It's time to stoke the fire after taking long walks through beautiful gardens," she says. She recommends exploring the William Rickitts Sanctuary at Mount Dandenong. Rickitts sculpted the forms of indigenous people in clay, then melded his works into the landscape. Look for sculptures protruding from rocks and those placed under giant tree ferns at key points along sanctuary paths. Parks Victoria Link  ALFRED NICHOLAS MEMORIAL GARDENS At Sherbrooke, a short drive into the Dandenongs, the Alfred Nicholas Memorial Gardens are a blend of ornamental exotic and native trees and tall mountain ash gums. At the garden's heart is an ornamental lake, traversed by wooden bridges. Nearby is the RJ Hamer Arboretum, planted in the style of a European forest. Parks Victoria Link  MAROONDAH RESERVOIR PARK Maroondah Reservoir Park features gardens with stands of native and exotic trees, native animals and birds and walking tracks. Its playground, lawns and cool shade make it a popular picnic destination in the spring, summer and autumn months. Parks Victoria Link  KINGLAKE NATIONAL PARK Only 10km from Araluen, Kinglake National Park lies on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. It offers dramatic views of the Melbourne skyline, Port Phillip Bay, the Yarra Valley and the You Yangs. Parks Victoria Link |
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