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Kinglake - Yarrambat

21 June 2012 It was the shortest daylight day of the year and what seemed like the wettest and coldest, when our intrepid members headed to Kinglake via Yarra Glen. With umbrellas and gumboots we visited the Fern Acres Nursery at Kinglake West and spent some time exploring their vast array of tree ferns...

Morning Star Estate - Mornington Rose Garden

15 March 2012 On Thursday 15th March we set off for Mornington in a fine misty drizzle. The rain became heavier just as we started our tour of the lovely 'Morning Star Estate' gardens!! Luckily it did not last too long, just long enough for our feet to get wet!! The garden boasts over 600 varieties of roses as...

Alfred Nicholas gardens, Sassafras

08 December 2011 It was a perfect summer morning when we set of on our Christmas trip to Mt Dandenong. The first stop was Observatory Road where we enjoyed a delicious morning tea of scones, jam and cream at the Sky High Restaurant. We had plenty of time to take in the fabulous views over the eastern suburbs to the...

The enchanted maze garden, Arthurs Seat

08 September 2011 Spring was in the air as we left ‘Chambly’ for a day on the Mornington Peninsula. When we arrived at the Enchanted Maze Garden at Arthurs Seat we noticed blossom, daffodils, bluebells, although the trees were yet to sprout the first of their new leaves. There was so much to see and do it was...

Geelong botanic gardens

16 June 2011 Geelong was the destination for our winter trip this year on Thursday 16th June, almost the shortest day of the year. It was a cool day as expected, but luckily this year not wet!!! We arrived in Geelong and had our morning tea at ‘Rippleside Park’ before heading over to the Botanic Gardens where...

Blue Lotus Watergarden – Mont De Lancey, Yarra Valley

17 March 2011 On the morning of St Patrick’s Day, Thursday 17th March, the bus left ‘Chambly’ at 9am, arriving at ‘Blue Lotus Watergarden’, in Warburton in time for morning tea. We then had a couple of hours to wander around the 14 acres of gardens admiring the thousands of water lilies of all sizes and...

Alowyn Gardens, Yarra Glen

09 December 2010 It was a beautiful sunny summer morning on Thursday 9th December when we left Chambly for our Christmas Trip to Alowyn Gardens at Yarra Glen. We arrived at 10am just in time for a scrumptious morning tea of scones, jam and cream sitting in the shady gravel courtyard. We then had 2 hours to...

Tieve Tara, Mount Macedon

21 October 2010 On Thursday 21st October, a most beautiful spring morning, we set off for Mount Macedon, to visit ‘Tieve Tara’. The garden was once part of a much larger property in 1854 called Christian’s Orchard. Twice since the house has been destroyed by fire and re-built. The major top section of the...

Heidi Museum of Modern Art, Bulleen

24 June 2010 On Thursday 24th June we set off to Heidi Museum in lovely winter sunshine. We started off with morning tea at Banksia Park, adjacent to Heidi in Bulleen, and watched the sun disappear behind the clouds. We then entered Heidi and were met by our guides for the morning. We divided into two groups;...

Churchill Island

22 April 2010 On Thursday 22nd April 43 members met at Chambly for our trip to Churchill Island. It was a beautiful autumn morning and unseasonably warm, with a predicted top of 28C, so everyone was chatting happily on the 1½-hour trip there. We arrived at San Remo at low tide and the mud flats were clearly...

Monsalvat, Eltham

10 December 2009 On Thursday 10th December we set off on our Christmas trip to Monsalvat in Eltham, Australia’s oldest artists’ colony. It is still home to many practicing artists and is set in 12 acres of established gardens. Upon our arrival we were greeted at the café with a delicious morning tea of scones...

Buda, Castlemaine

15 October 2009 On Thursday 15thOctober 51 members set off for Castlemaine, stopping in between rain showers for morning tea at the Kyneton Botanical Gardens by the Campaspie River.The Kyneton Gardens feature daffodils and the Alistair Clarke Rose Garden. Arriving in Castlemaine we visited Buda historic home....

Royal Botanic Gardens, Cranbourne

21 May 2009 On Thursday 21 May we set off from Chambly in a thick autumn fog and headed to the Royal Botanic Gardens in Cranbourne. The light misty fog made the gardens seem quite eerie, but later in the morning it lifted to give the gardens a totally different feel. The bird life appreciates these...

Werribee Park

19 March 2009 The morning of Thursday, 19thMarch 2009 was a beautiful Melbourne Autumn day and perfect for a short trip down the freeway to Werribee Park. When we arrived we divided into two groups to explore both the rose garden and mansion. Our group started with a tour of the Chirnside Mansion, a 60 room...

Lavandula, Shepherds Flat

11 December 2008 On Thursday 11thDecember we set off on our Christmas trip to Daylesford and Hepburn Springs. The pre Christmas traffic was terrible and it took us longer than expected to reach Woodend where we stopped for morning tea. We then headed straight for Daylesford and our lunch venue. Old Hepburn Hotel...

Maranoa Gardens, Balwyn and Villa Alba, Kew

16 October 2008 On the Thursday 16thOctober we set off to the Maranoa Gardens very close by in Balwyn. Here we had our morning tea, organized by our favorite bus driver, Hayden. Suitably refreshed we met up with Paul and Andrea, our guides for the morning. We divided into 2 groups and spent nearly 2 hours admiring...

National Rhododendron Gardens, Olinda

18 September 2008 We left Chambly at 9.05 and travelled along Canterbury Road, reaching our first destination, the National Rhododendron Gardens in Olinda, in time for morning tea supplied by Crown Coaches. The National Rhododendron Gardens were initially established in 1960, after a petition to the State Government...

Parliament House Gardens and Rippon Lea

22 May 2008 It was a very foggy morning on Thursday 22ndMay when we met at Chambly for our 9am departure into the city to Parliament House, but the sun soon peeped its head out and we were treated to a beautiful Melbourne autumn morning. Our first stop was for morning tea at the Fitzroy Gardens. For those of...

The Briars, Mt Martha and Herronswood, Dromana

20 March 2008 On Thursday, 20 March 2008 we travelled to the Mornington Peninsula region. At the Briars Park, Nepean Highway, Mount Martha, after morning tea, we split into two groups. There was an excellent video outlining the history of the park and we toured the heritage listed homestead and gardens. ...

Healesville

13 December 2007 On Thursday 13thDecember we met at Chambly at 10am and headed off to the Yarra Valley for our Christmas lunch at the RACV Club in Healesville. As we would be having a large lunch it was decided to leave a bit later than usual and forego stopping for morning tea. We therefore had time to detour en...

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