I am the person who painted the unfinished mural in the vaults and also placed many objects in…read morewalls...we,my partner,a friend&I lived there at the vaults for almost 8 months.we made it lovely like a home,not destroying it or leaving a mess...we loved living there and am so grateful for the unique opportunity....it was 2017-18 over summer and into early winter.the council evicted us ,we used a double trailer to remove our stuff,many antiques collected from local streets...as street people-homeless,most people find a squat and deface and soil it leaving it worse than they found it,we always left any place we squatted in ,in a better condition than we found it...it had power,no toilet or water, but careful use and hygiene proved easy enough with the sea baths opposite,we used a sink attached shower hose to shower and toilet,on the roof of the baths..great veiw...a bucket was used for emergency wee situations only,and was emptied down a sewer drain..I was a working girl on the streets of st kilda during our stay at the vaults ,the men whom I had as clie ts were apprehensive upon approach,but once shown inside they were amazed...the police when they came to check out what we were up to,hadn't ever been inside the vaults and called their copper mates to come and see the amazing space we had created...anyway , the vaults history has an amazing history,all the richer for our input.. thank u universe..

THERE'S AN ISLAND IN THE MIDDLE OF THE YARRA! And yes, it is awesome…read more There's a BBQ area and it has been developed as a sculpture park - with a mock helm at the front of the island ensuring you delight in the opportunity to play Titanic with your loved one. A punt boat runs on Saturdays and Sundays from early December until the beginning of April, but as the pictures attached can attest - we paddled in our own rowboat from Richmond.

We booked a tour for 3 people (2 kids, 1 adult) via our travel agency. The tour was very good…read more The van arrived on time at our hotel. We wanted a smaller tour, and there were only 6 other people in the van. The guide was very knowledgeable and friendly. The ride out to the parks where the wildlife roamed was about an hour outside of Melbourne. We did see koalas, emus, wallabys and kangaroos (unfortunately, no echidnas). Lunch was passable. I wish there were better choices for my kids. It was also kind of light - just sandwiches and dessert. They did provide drinks, including water during the tour. The billy tea is nothing to rave about. The van dropped us back off at our hotel on time. Overall, very pleased. Seeing animals roaming rather than in a zoo or other enclosure is more exciting to us. We just wanted to also see an echidna!

If you want to understand the animals, land and people of Australia then go on these tours. I've…read morebeen out for a day, an evening and two weeks. They did a great corporate event and also customized personal tours. You won't regret it.

It seems as if some people had some rather pointed things to say about this little park hidden away…read morebehind all of the Footscray shops. So, being the rather daring person that I am I decided to go and check it out. Well, it actually wasn't all that bad, and in fact the street art around the area gives it a lot more panache than maybe the older days when it was pretty much avoided.

Maddern Square is our favorite haunt on the way from Cheaper by Miles to the Footscray Market. The…read moresquare is perfectly designed to catch all of the free flowing litter and collect a fine assortment of broken glass and wine cask bladders from a Thursday night to Sunday arvo. Since the closure of the Rotunda in the Railway Gardens, Maddern Square has become the defacto home of late night parties out of the spotlight of the world class Mall that it funnels into and a hot spot to take the kids to see what drugs can do. Maddern Square is full of potential, don't get me wrong. It's a (well known) secret car park if you're going to the market and a great place to rinse a syringe or two before urinating behind the old Godfreys Cleaning store. Sure, it has real grass instead of asto turf, trees that have been pollarded by aspiring gardeners and concrete seating to whittle the time away reading the walled wisdoms, but what it needs is a bottle shop, public toilet and an army of large garbage bins with basketball hoops for incentive. So if you want to see a mall without the shops, but with all of the charm of the Nicholson St showcase (whilst having cars drive at you), Maddern Square is your heaven.

AN ESTATE PERSERVED IN TIME!…read more Rippon Lea House and Garden is a perserved estate captured in time. Ever wanted to see how the wealthy from Downtown Abby might have lived? Or curious on the placement of antique levers in the home (call buttons, air vents in rooms) The grounds are excellent for bringing the family on a warm day for A picnic and photographic field trips. I highly recommend Rippon Lea for wedding receptions as the setting as a natrual wonderment. The outdoor garden is an excellent place for children to highten the senses! Discovery of beautiful florals and some wildlife that it caters to. There are a few caged rabbits and a few tropical birds and one bird named Elmo, a green tropical. Some of the food offered in the Gate house are delectable goodies! Wagon wheel biscuits, chocolate cookies, and other sweet bits. Also a good variety of packaged sandwiches and coffee. The products in the gift shop are also hard to pass up. A huge amount of the variety consist of hard to find items and or only made in Melbourne. Dont forget to take a tour of the Mansion, Its a must! Take a view of a mans only toilet from the late 1800s and a dinning room redecorated in the 1950s remenesient of the film: The Great Gatsby. A very memorable stroll through for the day at Rippon Lea will make you feel that you jumped back to late 1800s/early 1900s. Extrodinary!!!!

Wow! This really is a slice of Hollywood heaven in Melbourne. The heritage house and gardens are…read moreregularly open to the public (National Trust members are free). The ground are extensive and include a veggie patch, fernery, lake, boating house & waterfall (to name a few). I would highly recommend bringing your camera if you are a photographer, both for the amazing house and views on offer. Bring your family and friends to check out the historic house & gardens, remember to stop at the coffee shop for afternoon tea before you leave!

I love visiting the mansion. I try every couple years. I bring as many as I can that's never been…read more The restaurant/cafe is expensive. Probably better to take food and have a picnic. (YES ALLOWED). The grounds are impeccable. There's more than the mansion also. The back houses. The farm. There's a trail of art works. Amazing day out. 3 hours in house. 1hr out buildings. Art trail 45 mins. A small bus ride through grounds looking for birds and gliders 10mins. Was the background for The Pirate Movie. Rose Garden available during season rivals any on earth.

If you are looking for that "perfect" place to relax and enjoy your surroundings, Werribbe Park and…read moreMansion is that perfect destination - run by Parks Victoria. It is only 30 minutes from Melbourne by car, with plenty of free parking available and the best part is... entry to this magnificent Werribee Park Gardens and Victoria State Rose Garden is FREE. We strolled through the park and absorbed the well laid out landscape of roses in many colours and took time in smelling their fragrances. Plenty of places where you could sit down on their sculpted seats or pick a spot on their luscious green lawn - the area is huge to walk around that enables you to find a suitable piece of lawn to rest upon, under a shade of tree or sunlight - your choice. I even saw a family kicking the ball - a family-friendly place to visit. Many photo opportunities and then there is "The Mansion". You cannot miss the mansion because it truly is a mansion, it was built during the 19th Century (Victorian era) with Italianate architecture style. They do run tours there where you have the opportunity to see inside the Mansion and the history that goes with it, but we chose not to do it, we were quite happy enjoying the free views of 'The Mansion'. There is also a café located near the mansion where you could buy something to eat, have a cuppa or an ice-cream or why not bring along a picnic basket instead? And yes... they do have toilet facilities there as well. If you had a stressful day, smell the rose that would surely make you forget the past and an opportunity to recoup!

This station is actually pretty awesome, and in fact, I had found myself catching the train from…read morehere a number of times, probably because there happens to be a pretty awesome cinema nearby (not that I have actually been there all that much these days). I guess the old-style building here is what gives this place the charm that it happens to have, and also that it happens to be located right in the middle of all the action.

Come here on a sunny day with a little overcast and it's easy to see why the scenery could be the…read morehighlight of your trip to Melbourne. It is a very calm area where locals walk their dogs and go fishing. There's a calm beach and restaurants nearby, and very easy to access via tram.