Thursday, October 12, 2017

Yarra Valley


I always had a thing for scenery and the green green grass. It gives you the feeling of peacefulness and help take away all your trouble for that moment. And in Melbourne, if there is one place you want green green grass, that place would be Yarra Valley. My final year in Melbourne (which was last year), me and my friends decided to go on a road trip there. I actually went there twice because I was there again in December with my family.

Yarra Valley is a famous destination for road trips whether it is with family or friends. Also, if you ever go there, make sure the weather is good. Otherwise, all you will see would be the gloomy and dark skies. And yes, it based on true experience because the first time I was there, it was raining! Anyway, I would be putting photos from both my visit there. 

The first time we went there was on the 7th of April 2014. It was my dear friend, Chee Ping 21st birthday! So, we all decided to bring him to see the world, outside the city and Clayton.  Also, it was kinda a blessing in disguise because the price on the website was not inclusive of the insurance, taxes and a lot of duo duo ye cost (hidden cost). Even this car cost us a bump already.

Our Companion for the Day
 Our Gloomy Sky
 On the Gloomy Road

Before beginning on the spots I visited, there is always two options when you go on a trip or a short vacation. You can either :-

PLAN IT YOURSELF 
Well, this method is if you are used to travelling places and know the place well at the back of your head. And you are up for an adventure that you might potentially get lost and stumble upon some beautiful place with your friends. This often work out for smaller group but bigger groups travelling together might get a bit messy.

SIGN UP ON A GUIDED TOUR
Well, this way you don't have to spend time planning and all you need to do is just make a call or sign up on tours online to Yarra Valley. This is perfect especially when you are planning to go in big groups.

If you are looking to have a guided tour around Yarra Valley and tailored to your needs, head on to Wine Compass to have an exclusive experience of the best wineries and Yarra Valley experience. For you wine lovers out there, you will be able to get more in depth information, meet top winemakers and premium wine testing. For those who are planning a weekend vacation but do not want hassle with the planning and transportation, they are here to help you with that. They provide different kind of tours which include private & social tours, foodie and wine, corporate tours, and Christmas parties. You can check out their webpage at this link.

Either ways, I had to plan the trip myself and made it there with my friends and family. I still had a great time although we did get lost a couple on time. But here are the top few spots that I visited there.

Yering Station
First stop was at Yering Station, Victoria first vineyard in 1838, also the oldest vineyard there. To know the history of this place, just head on to their webpage Yering Station ! As you can see, I had a gloomy sky as my background and a wet floor. I was so dissapointed with the weather that but that didn't stop me from exploring. We still had our umbrella so we took a walk around that area. 
They had a beautiful garden, with lots of pretty flowers and also a historical and modern building right beside the vine cellar. 
 Us trying to take a photo but the umbrellas are making it hard for us. The guy in the photo was the birthday boy. Even the gloomy weather can't stop him from smiling. He is one of the most cheerful and amazing friend you can have! With him around, there is so much more laughter because of the things he say!


The pathway to Eleonores Restaurant and Sweetwater Cafe which is the photo below. We thought of grabbing lunch here but the cafe was close on that day. However, it would be a shame to not get a photo of this pretty building. It look kind of run down especially the roof but the interior was really a classic interior design. Manage to peep through the window. hehehehehe. 


After exploring the place, we decided to head back to the cellar to do some wine tasting. 

 Wine Cellar 
 Snack, Jam, Sweets are all sold here as well. 
 Wine Tasting Area
Definitely did not left empty handed, got myself a bottle of wine. 

The five of us actually decided to be thick skinned people. Our initial plan was to taste as many wine as possible and not buy any. Trust me, it went the opposite way. We not only did not taste all of the wine but all of us bought one bottle there. We were really hungry as well but we couldnt find any dining place. The only one they had was like a fine dining restaurant which was super pricy. We then decided to head to the nearest town, which is Yarra Glen and ended up eating fried rice. Lesson learnt on a road trip : Bring along snacks and also at least pack sandwiches in case we can't find a place to eat.

Address :
38 Melba Hwy, Yarra Glen VIC 3775, Australia

Domaine Chandon
Domaine Chandon is one of the most popular spot for wine tasting and apparently, their wine are pretty good. I brought my family to visit and my dad to do some wine tasting. Here in Chandon, you need to pay for the wine testing but at a pretty decent price. I can't remember how much it was but I think it was 15AUD for 6 different type of wine.  This time round it was a sunny day and the view was amazing. You really get the blue sky and green grass, gives you the New Zealand feel. 
















One of the thing that differentiate Chandon from the other wineries is the FREE tour to their winery factory where they will explain how wine are made and the equipments used in the process. I was kind of busy touring around so I did not really took many photos but here goes... the few that I've got





Definitely one of my favourite place in Yarra Valley for the view and also be able to learn more about making wine. 

Address : 
727 Maroondah Hwy, Coldstream VIC 3770, Australia

Yarra Valley Dairy

Apart for the wine, there are places that do not involve alcohol. One of these places is the Yarra Valley Dairy, a handmade farmhouse cheese of all sorts. The cheese shop is located right beside the cheese factory, ya know these cheese are freshly made for sure. The famous thing to order is the cheese platter with four different cheese and strawberry jam. They would also provide you different kind of bread for you to eat it with the cheese. 
You'll find this cow greeting you the moment you walked into the cheese shop...






The whole cheese platter would be able to feed at least four people costing you 32AUD. For cheese lover out there, its definitely a place to visit when you are there. I wasn't really a cheese person but I did enjoy it except for the blue cheese, was never my favourite. 

Address : 
70-80 Mcmeikans Rd, Yering VIC 3770, Australia

Yarra Valley Chocolaterie and Ice Creamery
Chocolate lovers, this is totally your go-to place to get the most out of it here. This is by far the most popular place to visit for families as you can bring your kids along but be prepared for the damage that it will do to your wallet. They have a little cafe there where you can get all the cakes and desserts at the same time, if you want lunch, this will do too. One thing about Yarra Valley is that it's really to get nice proper meals and this place is where people would go for lunch. 









And yes, the cafe is really expensive. There's actually a chocolate shop inside where I totally forgot to take photo off and its really pretty. Thats like the best part of the entire place but I wasn't sure where I have no photos of it. Probably because I always head directly for the dessert in the cafe. The ice cream there is pretty good tho. 

By now, if you notice the places look pretty much the place. Everywhere its just really grass but this is really my favourite part of Yarra Valley. The blue blue sky and greens are so soothing to my eyes. Do check the weather before going out for a road trip. Otherwise, you pretty much end up with the first few gloomy photos when I was there during Autumn. 

My safest bet is to go during Spring and Summer when there is a lot of sun. Best time would be Spring as it would not be too hot as well. Overall, Yarra Valley is a road trip destination for nice suburb scenery and winery in Victoria. These are the top four places I would say to go if you are going for a one day trip and I think it pretty much cover a lot of the place. People usually only go there till evening and will make it back to the city for dinner as it gets really hard to drive on the road without any light. 

I visited here in 2015 but never really got to note it down until now. I am a lazy bump but I DID IT! I think the best place to keep my travel experience is here although I am not much of a writer. Really hate writing but I don't want to forget the place I've been too. 

"Enjoy life's beautiful scenery"

18 comments:

  1. This place looks like exactly my kind of placw - gorgeous nature, delicious food, wine tasting! You really impressed me! Adding it to my bucket list! I can't wait already! 💗

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  2. Wow! I had no idea Yarra Valley existed, but it looks amazing! It reminded me of my hometown's Napa Valley - we also have a Moet Chandon winery (champagnery?), but this one looks so much prettier :) Adding it to my bucket list

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  3. What a fun trip! Great pictures. Wine tours are becoming so popular now. I’ve never been but may I’ll give one a try.

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  4. Seems like you had a great trip, the images are amazing and it is a perfect post for someone who is planning to visit Yarra Valley. :)

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  5. So this is how Australia looks like? I always imagined it totally different :D

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  6. This place sounds so interesting. I can feel its spirit from your captures! I hope to see it very soon!

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  7. Well done for persevering despite the weather! I think it was worth it for all the great wine and treats ;)

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  8. hi
    a well detailed article , there is a ton of information out there which i am sure will be very helpful to those planning a trip to this place

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  9. I’d would love to go to Australia! Great post :)

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  10. Enjoyed reading about your experience in Yarra Valley. Had not heard of this place. Thanks for sharing the planning options - whether to plan yourself or take a guided tour. It is helpful. While booking services online, it gets so important to read the fine print. Its sad you found the car service with the hidden costs when you visited there first time for your friend's birthday! That's a good tip to keep in mind too!

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  11. In India, Valleys generally mean a place in middle of no where. It is unlike that but the scenery is just like the Himalayan valleys. I hope the weather is nice all the time.

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  12. Australia is already added to top in my travel list and is my favorite place to explore.Yarra Valley looks amazing and is also added sto list when I visit to Australia. Great post and amazing pictures captured.

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  13. This place soundsand looks amazing. Your photos are making me want to pack my bags and go there right now. Thanks for sharing

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  14. I mean who doesn't like a good wine tasting? Right?! This place looks lovely and I heard great things about Australian wines.

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  15. Well well. I have never even heard about Yarra valley, but nice to know what is it like. ONe more time, you travel bloggers bring me insights onto a new place.

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  16. What a lovely trip you guys had! I've not yet been to the Yarra Valley, but I love Australian wine and would like to visit!

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  17. We used to have friends from Melbourne who would come to visit us in Indonesia. It's a beautiful place and definitely worth a visit!

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  18. This place looks interesting. You guys had a great time there. All the photos send me good vibes of the place. It is beautiful.

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