The Yarra River Reserve extends along the Yarra River from the township of Warrandyte to Warrandyte…read moreState Park. It is conveniently adjacent to the wonderfully eclectic assortment of cafes, antique and gift shops in Warrandyte township and is a great place for bushwalking, cycling, horse riding, paddling and swimming. The Reserve is very child and dog friendly. Dogs are allowed off the lead there and can often be seen chasing sticks into the river. (N.B. Dogs are prohibited in Federation Playground.)

Westerfolds park is a maze of made paths and dirt trails. you can walk or ride your way around. The…read morepark is bordered on one side by the Yarra river. There is many BBQ and seating areas, loads of car parks and play areas for the kids. Dogs are allowed on leash A great place to go and check out the native animals and amazing park surrounds

It's a great place for an afternoon out especially if you are visiting around and a lovely place to…read moreexperience with kids. Viewing platforms along the Yarra River afford good views of the river and rapids. In most weather conditions, the city can be seen from the Manor House hill when looking south-west. It is a popular spot for picnics, and family gatherings on the weekend and public holidays it does get rather busy. Other recreational activities include walking, cycling, rollerblading, walking the family dog, canoeing, horse riding and bird watching.

Templestowe you have done it again with yet another totally awesome park. This one is located on…read moreThe Grange and is surrounded by large houses. The park itself is always pretty quiet as not many cars tend to peruse this street. There is a fun playground with lots of unique play equipment. It is very colourful as well. There is a swing set, a climbing frame and some springy toys for young children as well. For older patrons there is a netball and basketball hoop complete with little concrete squares to allow a small game. For cricket fans there is even a set of three wickets in the middle of the reserve. There is plenty of grass to run around on and a nice scattering of trees that provide just the right amount of shade. To help you enjoy the surrounds are three wooden seats. It is a really nice place to relax on a warm afternoon and is big enough for a few people to share without feeling cramped.

In the interests of transparency - I'm not a train buff. Or train spotter. Never have been. Don't…read moreget it. Never will. Don't get me wrong, I love trains - for getting me from A to B generally quicker and less stressful than driving. That's as far as any appreciation of trains go... But... I HAD SUCH AN AWESOME TIME HERE! OK... That's the big kid inside me screaming out, but I honestly did! I'd never heard of this place until a few days ago, and came along with no expectations. Actually, that's not true - I had images of some tin-pot hobbyist's "dream turned into reality" and "barely OH&S legal" toys chugging around in a circle with train-nerds everywhere going "Woo!"... Well, I'm not ashamed to admit it was me going "Woo!" - but I'll start from the beginning... The place isn't too well sign-posted from the road - so as a guide, the entrance is opposite the fairly obvious Eltham Tea House, in the grounds of Eltham Lower Park. Once inside the park area, there's loads of parking but on the day we visited (Sunday of ANZAC weekend) it was very popular so finding parking took a bit of looking but wasn't a drama. As we were walking to the ticket office, there was what appeared to be a huge queue - it turned out this was for the trains (Uh Oh!) but getting the tickets took minutes. And here's the first gotcha - it was a staggering $3 per passenger, with kids under 2 going free. Yes, you read that right - just 3 bucks per passenger! "Oh dear" my cynical anti-train-spotting inner voice said - "How dodgy is this gonna be for 3 bucks...?". So we joined the back of the apparently long queue (which was undercover, so nice shade in hotter weather) and here's the second gotcha - the queue moved pretty quickly, helped by the fact that you can watch the miniature trains arriving and departing from the platforms (yes, there's more than 1 - three that I saw, in fact) and a chirpy, but not annoying, voice of a platform announcer. I had already started enjoying myself but didn't know it at the time... Our little train soon pulled up and we slotted ourselves into the cozy little seats and trundled off. It very soon became obvious that this was a very well run professional set-up - speed limits, signals (I don't know what they are - honest!), safety barriers at crossings etc. The little train made its way through lovely parkland scenery and intermediary mini-stations and mini-junctions, going up hill and down dale on its merry way... There were several other trains passing in the opposite direction and I found myself smiling and waving at other passengers - oh the horror! Having done a lap, we then become one of those trains going in the opposite direction which recenty departed passengers were waving at. So much smiling and waving - it was wonderful! After a thoroughly enjoyable 15 minutes - a full 15 minutes, not a piddly 5 minute spin - we pulled back up to our platform to alight (that's a London Underground term - ;o)...) and made our way out having had a jolly good time! And all for $3 per person... All staff (I think volunteers) were great and obviously enjoyed what they do. Nearby is a kid's playground that's well equipped and is safety-oriented with wood-chip under the play areas (swings, flying fox etc.) and that bouncy footpath stuff, not concrete. There's also clean toilets near the playground. Just down the road from the playground are pony rides - we didn't do this, but it was $5 for a quick spin around a small grass area. A really small area - I know where I'd rather spend my $5... Choo choooooo...!!! ;o)

Borrow a small child and bring them here for a couple of hours of fun. Pack a picnic or a BBQ and…read morelet your child run wild in the playgrounds with the thousand other rug rats. Then, when you need a little rest from all the squealing head over to the "train station" and buy your $3 ticket and join the long line to take a ride on the mini trains. I'm not even a train nerd, but I really appreciated the effort and workmanship that has gone in to creating this fully functioning mini railway, complete with dozens of trains, bridges, tunnels, tracks and signals. The staff who run this place must be in heaven as they all look so happy to be riding around on the trains and getting kids (young and old) on and off the trains. $3 doesn't buy much these days, but it will buy you a full 15 minutes of train rides. The tunnels are the best bit and all the kids (*cough* adults *cough*) hoot and cheer when they enter the dark abyss. It's fun, scenic and fun for everyone. We came here for a kids party and the hosts had booked a private train ride, so the whole party could get on the train and enjoy the experience together. We had two rides, which meant a full 30 minutes of riding around on the different routes around the train lines. A really memorable and different kids party experience.