We visited Yarra Valley for Ben’s birthday celebration. It was a much-needed break after working and house-hunting for many months. As we will be moving home soon, we wanted to enjoy as much as possible as we know we will be tied up in the next few weeks.

It is always a risk to travel during COVID time. If we booked the trip 2 weeks earlier, then we would not be able to visit because Melbourne had a snap lockdown for a week. We were glad that the restrictions were eased while we were travelling here.

 

Alowyn Garden

It is probably not the best time to visit the Alowyn garden as the flowers have not fully bloomed yet, but it is still a relaxing walk. I do not mind spending a couple of hours sitting on the bench under a leafy shaded area while admiring the apple trees and a field of sunflowers. 🙂

 

Visiting Healesville Sanctuary to see the platypus

When we told people that we were going to visit Yarra Valley, the first thing that came to their mind was that we would get drunk because Yarra Valley is famous for wine tasting. However, we did not visit any vineyards and we went to the zoo instead. Not a typical trip to Yarra Valley 😂

We especially loved to see platypus. A platypus is an Australian animal – it looks like a duck but it is much cuter and adorable. Unfortunately, the wild platypus did not come out while we were here, but luckily we saw a platypus swimming in the dark. We bought a platypus stuffed toy for our nephew as we think it is harder to find such a toy elsewhere and thus making it special.

 

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie

To our surprise, Yarra Valley Chocolaterie (a chocolate factory) is a very commercialised place. We came here twice during our stay. The first time we came was on Sunday and it was also the last day of the ice cream festival, hence it was super crowded. Therefore, we decided to come again the next day. My advice is: do not visit here on a weekend!

The second time was a much pleasant experience. We went for chocolate tasting for only $3 which was a good way to learn about the different types of chocolates here. It was also enjoyable to have lunch and coffee at the restaurant with beautiful scenery.

 

Our stay at Yarra Valley Lodge

This is a great accommodation. The one-bedroom suite is spacious and the restaurant inside the lodge (Bella Restaurant) is good as well. Unfortunately, the swimming pool, spa and gyms were closed due to COVID19. But we managed to play tennis here which was fun (we borrowed the equipment from our hotel).

 

Yarra Valley Walking Trails

It was not just a lazy and relaxing trip because not only did we played tennis, but we also did some short walking trails nearby Yarra Valley Lodge. We did not walk too far away as we were afraid to get lost. There were many wallabies around here. It is a great happiness to enjoy such beautiful scenery with wallabies.

 

It was a fun and unforgettable trip. We hope the pandemic is over soon so we can bring our parents over to visit Yarra Valley. 🙂