For many years the lake at Banksia Park was empty. But now, the park is restored to its former…read moreglory after strong rains and volunteer work. The park backs on to the Heide property and features walk trails, a cherry blossom garden, a playground and a lake filled with black pacific ducks and waterfowl. The walking track that takes you in a loop and along the Yarra River is a great place to spot local wildlife including parrots and honeyeaters .The soundtrack is the bellbirds that sing in the branches of the trees. Gums, wattles, and other native trees provide beautiful scents and attractive foliage along your walk. This is a leash park, and you are encouraged to clean up after your dog. There are little barbeque areas and a few bins. The open grassy spaces are great for getting a group of friends together on a sunny day, and the nearby playground provides an excellent place to let the kids run around. Banskia Park is perfect on a sunny day with a lot of space to host a barbeque or go for a walk. In the warmer months you may have to watch out for snakes.

I love the dog park at Banksia Park!…read more There are so many other great owners who are super friendly and will talk to you about your dog and other dog-related chats. I love that there is a fence so that all dogs are safe within the vicinity! Additionally, it's not an open space, there are bushes and trees that break up the land so that shyer dogs can get away and have some space to themselves! However, I wish that the grass was cut a bit more frequently and that there was a doggy poo bin with doggy bags. Another difficult issue is that the entrance gate closes at 6pm on the dot when it is not daylight savings - pretty hard for owners to get to the park after work during peak hour traffic. Other than these, it's a great dog park and I love the people and their dogs there!

Coburg Lake Reserve is a city oasis not ten minutes drive of the CBD. I didn't even know such a…read morehaven existed until the start of this year. With two kids and a need to free my mind with fresh air whilst they play, there simply is no better place than here. Three playgrounds with every thing a kid could want to play with, and good walking distance between all three so mummy gets the refreshment she needs! Wildlife is a plenty off the shore of the lake and it's delightful to see the hoards of families with their bright, colourful blankets out picnicking on sunny weekends, kids squealing with a mix of joy and fear as they throw bread to the energetic and sometimes intimidating ducks and swans. I love it for all the walking tracks, each one ultimately leading to some monument or imposing statue, playground or viewing platform. The tranquility of watching the streams of the lake, listening to the water amidst the parklands brings such serenity. History abounds with bluestone hedging along some of the trails. Complete with amphitheatre and lake side gazebo, huge free BBQ facilities, plenty of seating including wooden, patio like seats with direct frontage overlooking the lake, and shaded areas; to me it's magical, heaven within a tram ride away to the city.

Finally there is a break in the weather and I can go for a bicycle ride around the Coburg Lake…read moreReserve. This former quarry for the bluestone granite that built the old Pentridge Prison was made into a lake with extensive parkland around it about a hundred years ago. There is so much in this large park with lots of lawns and trees. On my ride I pass a few sculptures in the park, a couple of playgrounds (one with the largest twister game board in the world), BBQs, picnic tables, a band stand, bicycle trails, seats, picnic tables and of course, a couple of toilet blocks. I stop and rest at a new beautifully designed lookout point with a view over the valley. I rode around the lake. There are ducks and a swan and cygnets on the lake and on the lawns a couple of galahs are foraging for food. And there are many people, like myself, picnicking the park and the good weather but the park is so large that it doesn't feel crowded, except right down by the lake. I leave the park and follow the bicycle trail south along the Merri Creek but that's another story.

This is actually quite a large park, and it is certainly pretty popular on the weekends, if the…read morenumber of cars piling into it is anything to go by. Then again, I did wander through it on one of those nice February days, so that probably shouldn't be all that much of a surprise. Anyway, it is a part of the Yarra Parklands, a stretch of park that runs along the banks of the Yarra River (and is not doubt also used for flood control). There are plenty of facilities, and the walk long the river is rather nice as well. Oh, and there are some lovely gardens at the entrance.

I walked past this place one day a few years ago and as soon as I saw the old steam train parked…read moreout the front all the memories of my childhood came flooding back. I still remember coming down here around Christmas time for picnics with the extended family and spending our time climbing all over the train. Much has changed since then as all of the train has been fenced off with the exception of the drivers cabin. They have also built a modern playground, but they still have the lake (which unfortunately they discourage you from swimming in, drinking from, fishing in, and duck shooting in: in fact I don't think you can do anything with the lake except look at it, and I'm pretty sure they will not appreciate you attempting to waterski in it, not that I would recommend it considering that it is pretty shallow). However, despite the lack of water activities, this place is still a great place for a picnic, and who knows, one day you may wander down here and discover an African choir singing in the ampitheatre (I did).

Not to be confused with the CBD's Birrarung Marr, Birrarung Park is a little further along…read moreTemplestowe Road from Banksia Park, and while smaller, it's still a great park to take the family for a barbeque. Like Banksia, the park is made up of a few open spaces, a lake, a tack along the river and a playground. The track is pretty short but it takes you through some beautiful bush land, and while the place is usually swarming with kids on the weekends, you'll still manage to find a patch that is quiet and peaceful, with nothing to listen to but the birdcall. Home to some beautiful species of birds and rumored platypuses (you'll be very luck to spot one), but unfortunately the park is also home to some nonnative animals including fluffy bunny rabbits. Remember if you take the dog with you to keep it on the leash, and clean up after it. Also be wary of snakes in the summer, I once saw a Tiger snake on the track so keep an eye on your kids.

Had some extra time in the afternoon of one of my last days visiting Melbourne so I decided to…read morecheck out the zoo as I wanted to see some local animals like koalas, kangaroos, and dingos! It was a pretty average zoo and I was able to get through all the animals in the last couple hours they were open. They had some insane (and terrifying) birds. My favorite was seeing the adorable dingos, sleeping red panda, and seeing a baby kangaroo pop in and out of its mom's pouch!

First zoo visit in Australia, was definitely worth a visit! You can take public transit which drops…read moreyou off at the "northern" entrance. Plenty of animals native to the country and beyond are here. Maps and signs everywhere make it easy to navigate.