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Yarra Valley and Dandenong RangesBetween these two areas there are wineries, orchards, and market gardens rising up to the Dandenongs where there are tall mountain ash trees, ferns, plants and beautiful waterfalls. Yarra ValleyThe Yarra Valley is famous worldwide for its wines.Visiting such wineries as Ainsworth Estate Vineyards & Winery, Domaine Chandon Vineyards & Winery and McWilliams Lilydale Vineyards & Winery you will find some world class wines. And, the good thing is, you will not have to spend your life savings to sample some and take some home ! Whilst in the Yarra Valley a visit to Healesville Sanctuary is a great experience. This sanctuary specialises in native animals and other than Sydney’s Taronga Park Zoo, it is the only place to have bred that wonderful creature, the platypus. With over 78 acres of natural bushland there are many paths taking the visitor past the habitats of dingoes, kangaroos, wallabies and wombats. There are well over 200 species of native birds. A place well worth the visit, especially with (little) children. There are many other places of interest to visit in the Yarra Valley such as the historic homesteads, orchards and trout and yabby farms. Dandenong RangesVisiting the Dandenong Ranges will take you into lush green mountains where there is spectacular scenery. The drive up there is beautiful in itself. But while there, you can visit quaint craft shops and wonderful little eateries in the towns of Olinda and Sassafras.Accommodation is plentiful from camping facilities, country style, bed and breakfasts and motels. If all the sightseeing is not enough you might like to try trout fishing, ballooning, golf, take a joy flight from Lilydale or try archery at Launching Place. For the more adventurous there are Tagalong Adventure Tours that include abseiling, canoeing and caving. And of course no trip to this area would be complete without a ride on "Puffing Billy", an old steam train that take you on a trip from Belgrave to Emerald and back through some amazing forest areas. Whilst visiting the Dandenong Ranges National Park and Sherbrooke Falls you may be lucky enough to see lyre birds and other beautiful birds. You can also visit the William Ricketts Sanctuary where you can see an amazing collection of Aboriginal sculptures. Gardens of the DandenongsThe Dandenongs have many beautiful gardens and National Rhododendron Gardens are a sight to behold. Set on 40 hectares the gardens blend in with the mountain ash trees.For water gardens you can’t go past Alfred Nicolas Gardens with use of water features and Tesselaars Tulip Farm is an amazing sight in spring. Katandra Gardens hosts a diverse range of Australian native plants. In such close proximity to Melbourne, it is no wonder that this area attracts so many visitors all year round not only from Melbourne but from all over Australia and the rest of the world. Wish to know more about the wonders of Melbourne and Victoria ? Subscribe to the Melbourne XPress or to my site blog Go from Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Page to I Love Melbourne Homepage Yarra Valley and Dandenong Ranges Accommodation: Dandenong Ranges | Yarra Valley |
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