dotheyarravalley.com.au

An escape to the Yarra Valley that’s simply De’Vine.

Nestled amongst the 35 year old vines in Victoria’s magnificent Yarra Valley is the aptly named De’Vine Escape. The vineyard studios offer 23 rooms, 3 of which are spa rooms with queen beds and ensuites. The large rooms are modern and tasteful offering peaceful views across the vineyard. Watch the video tour below as Tania talks to Jodie Philipsen from De’Vine Escape about what they have to offer visitors to the Yarra Valley.

What we liked:

1. Location, location, location! Who wouldn’t love being surrounded by the peace and quite of a vineyard!
2. Comfortable tasteful spacious rooms.
3. One night stay is no problem. A lot of venues only offer a minimum 2 night stay.
4. Global Ballooning package is a must!
5. Friendly helpful staff.

Feature Summary:

• Private car park
• Breakfast / Dinner / Balloon packages available
• Close to Yarra Glen township
• 15 minutes from Healesville
• Picturesque walks and views
• Perfect for wedding groups
• Close to famous local wineries

To make a booking enquiry with De’Vine Escape
click the whopping big  button below.

Phone Bookings – +61 3 5965 2084

De’Vine Escape
68 Wills Rd, Yarra Glen, VIC 3775.

Gulf Station is located about an hour from Melbourne’s CBD in the Yarra Valley and is one of the oldest and most intact timber farm complexes in Australia. Built in the 1850s, the historic homestead is surrounded by many original outbuildings such as the barn, dairy, schoolhouse and butcher shop.  Join Tania, from Do The Yarra Valley for a quick video tour.

It’s pretty hard to beat a sunny Autumn afternoon spent strolling through a historic homestead, watching blacksmiths at work, men chopping wood, children blowing bubbles and enjoying a hot cuppa accompanied by a fluffy scone topped with local strawberry jam and fresh cream. If that sounds good to you then brace yourselves for some bad news. Gulf Station is currently closed for renovations. The good news is, it’s re-opening later this year and will be much improved with the homestead being reinterpreted and Yarra Glen’s original school house being restored.

As well as this, according to the Gulf Station website, “the National Trust is working with Heritage Victoria to save an 1870’s prefabricated timber house from North Croydon which is of State significance and that was threatened by development. This important property will be relocated to Gulf Station to further develop facilities for visitors and educational groups.”

For more information on Gulf Station visit their website.

Think you want to be a Zoo Keeper? Then this is for you.

Keeper for a Day at Healesville Sanctuary is designed as a careers program for secondary school students in years 9 and above. We joined the program and followed a group of students as they went behind the scenes at Australia’s most popular wildlife attraction. We were impressed by the quite enthusiasm of the group we spent the day with. Watch our video below to see what it’s all about.

Of all the choices we have to make in life, choosing a career path has to top the list as the most important and difficult. The aim of this program is to give students a feel for what’s involved in the everyday life of a zoo keeper. At Healesville Sanctuary this means working with native Australian animals. It’s a full day of activity that includes, enclosure maintenance, animal health checks, egg making (plaster eggs used in the birds of prey show), animal enrichment, keeper talks, food preparation and animal handling.

Numbers are limited to 20 students, so if you want to participate in this program we suggest you book well in advance.

Upcoming Program Dates:

Term 2 holidays: June 29, 30 July 6, 7
Term 3 holidays: Sept 21, 22, 28, 29

Time:
9.30 am – 3.30 pm.

Year level:
Year 9 and above

Cost:
$99.00 (includes morning tea)
BYO Lunch

Healesville Sanctuary has recently opened its new Dingo Country exhibit – read the full story.

If you are looking for budget accommodation in the Yarra Valley,  you don’t get much cheaper than $30 a night for a family.

That’s just one of the many reasons to consider camping. Here are some others:

• It’s peaceful
• You can get away from technology
• It forces you to slow down
• You can sit around a camp fire and talk
• You get plenty of fresh air
• You can gaze up at the night sky
• Your stress and troubles tend to vanish away
• Surely that’s enough reasons to make you want to do it!

If you need more watch our camping video below.

Here’s a list of camping spots in the Yarra Valley region:

BIG4 Badger Creek Holiday Park	The BIG4 Badger Creek Holiday Park is situated on the Badger Creek at Healesville in the Yarra Valley, just 60 km north east of Melbourne. Badger Creek provides a wide range of accommodation and facilities in a unique 24-hectare natural bush setting.
Healesville Tourist Park	The Yarra Valley’s premier caravan park is only 90 minutes from Melbourne, situated in Healesville, right in the heart of the Yarra Valley.
Kinglake National Park	Only 65 km from Melbourne, this 21,600 hectare park lies on the slopes of the Great Dividing Range. Scenic lookouts offer dramatic views of the Melbourne skyline, Port Phillip Bay, the Yarra Valley and across to the You Yangs.
Black Spur Motel & Caravan Park	This Caravan Park has no fire damage from the Black Saturday fires, you do not even know the area has been fire damaged when you are at the park. All you can see is green lush mountain ash forest the same as it always was….we were truly fortunate to suffer no physical harm at all..so come see us and enjoy our beautiful park and see the amazing regrowth of this wonderful region.
Warburton Caravan & Camping Park	There are many scenic campsites along the kilometre of river frontage, and campfires are permitted in fireplaces or in drums provided.

Healesville Sanctuary has just opened its brand new dramatic rocky high country exhibit, Dingo Country.

Over the years the Dingo has received some pretty bad press, so it’s refreshing to be able to learn the truth about these beautiful creatures. This brand new exhibit has been developed for the Sanctuary’s five Dingoes – and to prepare for puppies later this year! The open enclosure offers excellent viewing for all visitors including young children.

Tania from Do The Yarra Valley spoke to Sue Jaensch a Dingo keeper at the Sanctuary and was surprised to learn that due to loss of habitat and interbreeding, the Dingo has now become a threatened species in Victoria. Watch the video below for the full story on the new exhibit.

Apart from the wildlife experience there is something else about Healesville Sanctuary that makes it a very special place to visit and that’s the people who work there. For so many of them, securing a position at the Sanctuary has been their life’s dream. Speak to any of the employees or volunteers and you find they all share a passion and love for the Sanctuary that is so strong you can feel it in the air.

With so many dedicated, skilled and experienced people working at the Sanctuary it’s no wonder it continues to be Australia’s most popular wildlife experience.

If you haven’t been for a while, you should put it on the top of your “To Do” list and if you’ve never been – you’re life is not complete!

Healesville Sanctuary is open every day of the year including public holidays from 9am to 5pm. For more information visit their website.

Interested in becoming a Zoo Keeper – learn about the Keeper for a Day program – watch our video

The Yarra Glen Art Show is now on at Alowyn Gardens, located 3.5km north of Yarra Glen on the Melba Highway. This is the first time Alowyn Gardens has hosted the show. The exhibition is in a large marquee in the ‘Maple Courtyard’, which is adjacent to the Main Gardens.

Watch our video below as Tania takes a tour of the show and talks to Heather Smith from the organising committee.

April 2 – 5; Good Friday to Easter Monday

Open 10am – 5pm daily

For full details visit the Yarra Glen Art Show Website:

Not Just Another Dam Park!

Maroondah Reservoir Park, or Maroondah Dam as it’s more commonly known, is located just over an hour east of Melbourne along the Maroondah Highway. If you are planning a trip to the Yarra Valley it’s a great place to stop and stretch your legs. Explore the gardens or walk the path to the top of the dam wall. The car park is situated at the base of the dam wall and from there it’s a surprisingly short walk to the top. From the wall you can enjoy the magnificent panoramic views across the dam and look back over the walls edge to the gardens below.

Watch our video below to get a feel for the park and learn about some of the features including the time capsules.

There is plenty of wildlife to see and depending on where you walk you may catch a glimpse of any of the following: wombats, wallabies, echidnas, lyrebirds, Bronzewings, Cockatoos, Galahs, Sacred Ibis, King Parrots, Crimson Rosellas, and, in the evenings, Brushtail and Ringtail Possums, Sugar and Yellow-bellied Gliders and Tawny Frogmouths.

OPENING HOURS:
During daylight savings time: 8:30 AM until 8:00 PM
Non daylight savings time: 8.30 AM until 4:30 PM

FACILITIES:
There are free wood and electric barbecues, picnic tables, boiling hot water on tap for making hot drinks, play ground, toilets and walking trails.

GETTING THERE:
To plan your route  - type in your address and click get directions.

Mathew’s career has been as rich and exciting as the culinary delights he has become famous for.

Mathew’s career began at The Snooty Fox, a quaint little restaurant on the popular Dandenong Tourist Road. From there it was all up, securing a position at the iconic Café Cuccina in Melbourne’s trendy South Yarra to Hotel Sofitel.  Mathew describes his experience there, under the direction of Raymond Capaldi and Marcus Moore as,”The best training a young chef could get.” From there it was off to Daylesford’s award winning Lake House where he progressed to Head Chef. During his nine years at the Lake House he made “guest chef” appearances in New Zealand, Fiji and Dubais. Mathew was awarded the title of Australia’s “Best Sous Chef” and chose as his prize a six week appointment at the famed New York Restaurant Daniel.

We caught up with Mathew at a recent demonstration at Ferndale Farmgate’s first Gourmet Greenhouse Farmers Market and asked him about his inspiration and his love of the Yarra Valley. Watch the interview below:

If you’d like to enjoy Mathew’s exquisite approach to food visit Chateau Yering’s Eleonore’s Restaurant or Sweetwater Cafe

To book call 1800 237 333