The Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria

G’day and welcome to my Australia. I’m pleased you are joining me for a wander at the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria which shows off many of the things that I love about Australia.

Here are ten reasons I love the Royal Botanical Gardens Victoria in Cranbourne.

1. The Red Sand Garden:

We’ll start at the Red Sand Garden because all that red soil just screams Australia – remember I was brought up on the clays of Oxfordshire.  Australia has an interesting and ever-changing landscape, and they have been clever with the garden design here in Cranbourne. Don’t you love that red sand?

2. The blue sky:

Not that we can always promise you this, but look at the bright blue sky, is there anywhere quite so vibrant?

The Aussie blue skies filled me with wonder on our arrival in Australia in January 2000. We’d come from a grey, damp Belgium winter. We bought everyone sunglasses to cope with the dazzle. With three children under five, their fair European skins needed protecting they were soon sporting long-sleeved swimsuits and broad-brimmed hats. Slip, Slap, Slop with the sunscreen became a daily routine.

3. The Fresh Air:

Then there is something else very dear to my heart in my Aussie life, apart from the beaches, get a lungful of that fresh air. Our conscious decision to leave Hong Kong involved an increasing concern over air quality and is sadly a threat in our polluted Bangkok lives.

Yay for a deep breath of fresh air everyone!

4. Wildlife conservation area:

With small kids, we were all delighted by the Australian native animals, especially the marsupials on arrival in Melbourne, and perhaps a little scared on some of the scary ones. Not that we come across too many of the poisonous spiders, snakes, sharks or crocs in our city life.

Even these days. I get a massive thrill seeing a kangaroo bounding through the bush, or an echidna snuffling along.

Echidna, koala, kangaroo, and possum from Wren’s library photos

The Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne is an animal conservation zone, their wild animal listings are as good as you’ll find anywhere. The trouble is finding them, wild animals don’t come on demand, so you have to take your chances.

5. Bird spotting:

If you are into birding you will be impressed at the plentiful birds to be spotted on the woodlands Bush wander – keep your eyes open for any Splendid Fairy Wrens.

6. The walks, talks and guided activities:

The garden is about 36 hectares here, it is huge, there are many walks to enjoy. So plan to spend the day,

They also offer guided walks and bike rides including one on Birds of the Australian Garden to help you explore this special treasure trove of biodiversity.

There are several picnic areas within the gardens to enjoy.

If all that sounds a bit too much effort,  if you want, you can choose the Garden Explorer, a motorised people mover that circulates around the Australian Garden every 25 minutes.

7. The Water feature:

Central to the gardens is a beautiful water feature, if hot you can cool your feet in the running stream of the Rockpool waterway. this brings me to the next thing I love about Australia, and that is the ability to be at one with nature and to find peace.

8. The diversity of plants:

The plants are very diverse, there is a herb garden, you can enjoy different plants than you might find elsewhere, check out the Kangaroo paws

9. Their guides and educational work:

We were given a tour around the gardens by one of the many tireless volunteers who work at the Cranbourne Gardens. It was such a pleasure to follow a well-planned route and to learn more about the history of the gardens and learn more about the plants we were viewing.

The gardens would be interesting to visit in all seasons and would appeal to all generations

There are a children’s garden and playground, and the RBG is a popular place school visits. The Royal Botanical gardens pride themselves in both their research and educational aspects of their work.

10. The visitor centre, gift shop and Boon Wurrung Cafe:

On the site, there is a Visitors Centre and a lovely cafe with great views out over the garden. So lunch or a coffee break is all covered. One other thing Melbournians are always talking about is coffee, in case you hadn’t noticed. Food is also important to us and I can wholeheartedly recommend both here at the RBG!

Fast Facts: The Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria, Cranbourne

Established almost 175 years ago the gardens are the lesser-known of two Melbourne Botanical Gardens sites. Cranbourne is about 45 km outside the city centre (approximately a 50-minute drive from Melbourne)

Many tourists will make a point of exploring Melbourne’s city botanical gardens, or for those fitness fanatics a jog around the Tan perimeter, but it is really worth the effort to get out to Cranbourne.

Thank you for joining me today, how does this compare with gardens out your way?

Further information can be found at: rbg.vic.gov.au

Location: Cnr Ballarto Road and Botanic Drive, Cranbourne 3977

Open:  9am – 5pm, daily. Closed on Christmas Day.

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