australian garden, royal botanic gardens, cranbourne
Mamma had been here before with her school tribe but had never ventured to all corners of these STUNNING garden. We are talking 15 hectares and hundreds of metres of trails in the protected space in Cranbourne East. You know you are heading into a real nature zone as you read signs warning you about snakes, wallabies, bandicoots and other local residents.
As you enter the gardens you will be blown away by the iconic red soil of the desert sand but you can't stop there. Mamma recommends you explore the gardens in a somewhat clockwise direction and head to your left, following the eucalyptus walk, give the rain makers a spin, stop at the sandpit at the top of the hill, explore the weird and wonderful garden, then wind through the Gondwana gardens before reaching to wetlands at the bottom. Mamma is a little nervous with the amount of open water in this end of the park - lucky there is a kiosk for a coffee break- but with Bub's hand firmly in mine we continued on our circle formation to the children's garden - where you will be spending much of your time.
A wooden playground with plenty of natural elements including a tree canopy tunnel.
Mamma's special mentions:
Head around the bend a bit and discover the awesome Woodland Picnic Area.
Cranbourne Gardens, Enter via cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne
the nitty gritty
OPEN
9am-5pm
7 days
FREE
pram friendly (and recommended if wanting to explore most of the garden) - playground - public toilets - baby change - beware of snakes and wildlife - cafe on site - walking trails through bushland - bigger playground nearby - no dogs permitted - byo picnics
wanna know more? click here
for more great outdoors inspiration in Melbourne's south click here