While the rest of the world are enjoying blooming trees and flower fields, autumn season paints the ground warm and golden with falling leaves here in the southern hemisphere.
Starting early, we visited the Macedon Ranges one Sunday morning. The town is not far from Melbourne CBD (about 45 minutes’ drive), and it’s one of the best places to “see autumn”.
Our first stop:
Honour Avenue
The tree-lined boulevard turns into a dreamlike potpourri of reds, oranges and yellows in autumn! So, it’s no wonder that this place really gets busy during the peak season. It’s never as empty as it looks on the pictures because this is probably the most visited area in Macedon where countless tour buses and day-trippers flock.
Trading Post Café
We had our fill at this local café just about 3-km from Honour Avenue. It wasn’t anything fancy – they serve excellent coffee and tasty food with a good amount of options, all reasonably priced. Service was great too; I recommend stopping by!
Memorial Cross Reserve + Major Mitchell Lookout
Both these are located in the same area and offers a serene view of the surroundings. I was thinking that there’d be a bit of hike involved to get here, but it’s actually just an easy and nice stroll of about 300 meters from the car park.
Hanging Rock
Right, this isn’t just one rock we’re talking about. It’s a reserve park where families can gather for a picnic or BBQ, play games on the lawn, and of course, climb the summit to explore the many nooks and crannies that form the Hanging Rock. There were three different walking trails including the Summit Walk which is a bit steep but not that bad. Lots of kids or families with babies were doing the walk. I’m not super fit but I made it! You just have to take your time and bring some water. :)
There is a charge of $10 per car to get in.
Forest Glade Gardens
Looking to see more autumn colours before we head home, we visited this private garden. Macedon has plenty of these, and note that most of them have a fee of $10 per person to enter. Forest Glade is one of the popular ones – it’s a perfect place to relax, have a picnic or stroll around the well-manicured gardens.
That’s it! One big day trip to Macedon. Autumn is hands down my favourite season, and I really wish it lingers a bit longer.
