We Love Melbourne - Botanical Gardens

Hi Guys,

Most of you know that I live in Australia, but more specifically I live in Melbourne which for the last three years according to The Economist Intelligence Unit Survey is the most liveable city in the world. Their criteria is based on these 5 elements

Stability

Healthcare

Culture and environment

Education

Infrastructure

After my trip to the Open range Zoo last week I thought I would share some of the fun things to do around my home town from time to time to and why we think that it's a well deserved title. (don't worry I'm not going to bore you with healthcare, stability and education)

A couple of weeks ago we took the little two for a picnic to the Botanical Gardens. It's one of our favourite places to visit. For starters is free, always a bonus, great walking paths, beautiful scenery, lovely picnic spots but the kids favourite place of all is the The Ian Potter Foundation Children's Garden.

But first we had a spot of lunch on the benches provided.

Then off the the playground, the kids adore this living tree house.

Of all the things they love most is the little river that flows through the garden, it's a great place to splash about.

We really should have brought along some spare clothes, Max had an absolute ball. The garden is a great place for sensory play.

Then we wandered about looking at the beautiful plants that, blooming in the last days of Spring.

Julian managed to focus right in on the bird crap....

After a few hours of walking and seeing the gardens we declared it was time to go home, which did not go down too well with Max who decided he would take a quick run to have one last look.

So if you're in Melbourne and you're looking for something fun, not to mention free, to do with the kids, the gardens are always beautiful. This is a place we visit often, regardless of the season it's always a happy place to visit.

Thanks for reading,

Mel xo

We Love Melbourne - Werribee Zoo

Hi all,

Here in Melbourne we have some amazing Zoo's this weekend we took the kids to The Werribee Park Open Range Zoo. It was fabulous!

The Zoo is about 30 minutes away from the CBD and lucky for me about 20 minutes from home, straight just off the Princes Freeway.

I was a little concerned as to what the older kids would think of it but rest assured there is plenty for every one. I loved that the enclosures were made in a way that even the little ones could get a close look. Madeleine was so enthralled by the tortoises.

Werribee Open Range Zoo is not like any other Zoo I've been to before, while it has the Australian Tour for local wildlife, it's mainly dedicates to African Animals and as the name suggests it open range. The animals have plenty of space to walk about.



 The kids loved that the big enclosures had little things for them to play with, at the lions there was this ute where they could pretend to drive through. Here's Madeleine "driving" and pointing out the lions.

Then at the Hippo enclosure, Max enjoyed steering the boat.

After that on this beautiful sunny day the kids played in the water park. Let me tell you trying to drag all 5 away from there was no easy feat. Max was a little shocked when the water came one, so funny but then he thought it was the best thing ever!

Even the older kids got in on the water action!

One of the really awesome things about The Open range Zoo is the Safari ride, general admission includes travel on a bus that takes you into the enclosures where, from the safety of the bus you get to see the animals right in their habitat, which has been designed to replicate, almost exactly, what they have in nature. The buses leave every 20 minutes and the hostess was full of amazing information regarding the animals. The Giraffes were only a couple of meters away.

Max was just mesmerised by what he was seeing. The older kids were a few seats away. Jack who wants to go into zoology found the information on the breeding programs amazing and there was a recorded commentary from people in Africa discussing how the Zoo's efforts are helping fight extinction.

Other attractions included in the general admission include meeting the keepers, unfortunately for us we missed the first two then Max got tired and began crying at the top of his lungs and we didn't want to ruin the experience for the other visitors, however we plan to return soon and make sure we get in early.

The grounds are just beautiful with plenty of beautiful places to picnic, or you can purchase lunch onsite. The kids were enjoying a bit of play on the grassy picnic spot.

Werribee Open Range Zoo is a fabulous place to visit if you're in Melbourne, beautiful grounds, friendly staff and very interactive. They continually have all sorts of extras on offer including overnight stays, I would highly recommend it for all age groups, I know we will be back soon.

For more information on pricing and planning your trip visit the Werribee Open range Zoo site here.

Thanks for Reading,

Mel xo

Disclosure: I did not receive payment for this endorsement, I did however receive tickets for general admission all opinions are true and my own.