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With green space aplenty, get out and about to enjoy the fresh air and autumn colour with family and friends.
From picnics to playgrounds, rail trails and bush walking, quaint heritage shopping villages, gourmet food and coffee galore, discover some of Cardinia Shire’s hidden gems.
Popular attractions such as Mount Cannibal and Emerald Lake Parkare always favourites for kids and adults alike.
Mt Cannibal Flora and Fauna Reserve, located in Garfield North, is a 2.3 kilometre bushwalking loop with beautiful scenic views and landscapes. Listen out for the yellow-breasted robin, the grey fantail and the little brown and striated thornbill singing.
At the southern lookout, you can view a range of landmarks using the directional dial as a guide, looking over open grass and farmland and out to the bay. With barbecues, a playground, public toilets, seating, picnic areas and plenty of parking, visit Mt Cannibal these school holidays for a fun afternoon.
Covering approximately 52 hectares of land, Emerald Lake Park has features such as Lake Nobelius and Lake Treganowan, as well as a variety of wonderful flora and fauna. The natural bushland is complemented by exotic and native plants with fern gullies, ornamental trees and open eucalypt forests. Some wildlife you can spot at the park includes lyrebirds, echidnas, black wallabies and other interesting animals.
Emerald Lake Park features roughly 10 kilometres of walking trails, paddleboats for hire, a cafe, barbecues and picnic tables, a playground, a model railway, exercise equipment and a variety of other facilities. Dogs are permitted but must remain on a leash at all times.
Puffing Billy also stops at Emerald Lake Park as the halfway point between Gembrook and Belgrave Stations.
Emerald Lake Park is also hosting some Easter fun on Sunday April 17, where members of the public can visit the Lakeside Cafe, Model Railway, Lakeside Paddleboats and Emerald Museum to collect some free Easter eggs!
There are a range of indoor and outdoor spaces that members of the public can hire for meetings and events.
Emerald Lake Park is accessible for people with limited mobility, with many wheelchair and pram-friendly ramps and paths, including the loop walk to Lake Nobelius.
The park has two car parks which are accessible via Emerald Park Lake Road, where parking is $6 for the entire day.
For a bit of history, with beautiful gardens and walking trails, try the state significant Nobelius Heritage Park which connects to Emerald Lake Park and the Eastern Dandenong Ranges rail trail. Emerald Museum, located within the park, is staffed by a dedicated team of volunteers. For opening hours, visit the Emerald and District Museum Facebook page.
If you have visited these sites a few times in the past, why not take the road less travelled and discover something new?
The gentle and meandering 20-minute Toomuc Creek Trail starts at the Princes Highway before heading north along Toomuc Creek. Look up and spot birds of all shapes and sizes in this beautiful and tranquil semi-rural setting.
For something well loved by those locals in the know, Eastone Reserve is a popular spot for dog walking, with friendly wetland birds to boot. Take a picnic or work up a sweat running the stairs and using the outdoor exercise stations located around the perimeter of the lake.
Or, grab a coffee and lunch from a local cafe or take a picnic before letting the kids run wild at the playground. With a swimming pool, barbecue and picnic facilities, bowling green, tennis courts and skatepark, there’s plenty on offer at Cochrane Park Reserve in Kooweerup.
If something with all things park and skate is what you’re looking for, head to the newly upgraded Gembrook Leisure Park which is a sure-fire winner this autumn. With a flying fox, giant climbing pyramid, trampoline and wheelchair friendly merry-go-round – this playground is hard to beat. The active zone and skate park have also had a makeover making it a great stop off for older kids and teens.
Looking for a bite to eat and a coffee to get you through the rest of your adventure? Or perhaps some retail therapy is more in order? Jump online to find what’s near you using the Buy Local Map. www.cardinia.vic.gov.au/buylocal
