Today we went to Grants Picnic Grounds in Sherbrooke Forest. It is about an hour outside of Melbourne, in the Dandenong ranges. The forest is absolutely breathtaking, with huge mountain ash trees towering above you as you drive to the picnic grounds. Looking up, you can see the tops of the trees swaying in the wind.
After a quick picnic at one of the picnic tables, we bought some $1 packets of seeds at the little store and the kids ran outside to feed the birds. It is quite an experience to stand amongst so many wild birds. I didn’t have any seeds (hands were full of camera), but they would still often alight on my head. The kids had an immense amount of fun, though my youngest preferred to chase them, since she wouldn’t stand still for long enough to let them land on her.
The white cockatoos had the least fear, landing on you very quickly. The bright red ones took a little longer to overcome their fear, but once they decided you were safe, they would climb all over you. One warning if you go, remember to keep the packet of seeds close. The white cockatoos love flying off with the packet of seeds. We weren’t the only ones to lose a packet to the crafty birds!
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Just before we left, we took a short walk in the forest. It was fun, though we didn’t see any more wildlife. I would guess it was the wrong time of day. There were lots of information boards, informing us of the history of the area. Made for very interesting reading. We found a little waterspout and each child of course had to take a turn to have a drink. For some reason my husband was decided not to lift the little one, so she improvised.
It has been a little overcast all day, so we decided not to tempt rain and fate further and rather go home. Time for little one to sleep and it was getting a bit cold. We can’t wait to go exploring there again.
Click for Map to the location
A lovely way to share your day. I lived in that area for a decade and miss the mountain ash.
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