Today was Melbourne’s first proper spring day for the season – 24 and sunny. To take advantage, we thought we would get out of town on a day trip to Ballarat. We live near the Melbourne CBD and so for us Ballarat is an easy 1 hour 15 minute drive. We decided to walk along the picturesque Lake Wendouree and admire the spring wildflowers and the beautiful Edwardian and Victorian houses by the lake.
Lake Wendouree is about 6 km in circumference is is a very pleasant walk, with cafes dotted along its shoreline for you to stop and grab a break and a coffee.
The above shot is of Piper’s by the Lake, one of the cafes which you can stop at on your walk. The setting is great, surrounded by a blanket of wildflowers all around and the lake in the front.
Here’s a shot of the Salt and Pepper Squid at the restaurant. It was nice, but not worth the 30-40 minute wait.
In summary, the food is ok and reasonably priced but service was terribly slow and uncoordinated when we were there, with wait staff seemingly having no clue which table had ordered what. Would I go back there? Probably not, google for more reviews and make up your own mind.
More wildflowers by the Lake Wendouree foreshore. You never know who you will meet there, because apparently Ballarat is Steve Moneghetti’s hometown – I didn’t even realise until I saw that the track that wraps around the lake is named after him.
Next to Lake Wendouree is Ballarat Botanical Gardens, a great place to break up your walk around the lake. They have a Sensory Garden, Sage Garden (never realised there were that many kinds of Sage!) and all kinds of seasonal exhibits. A high recommended detour.
Inside the glasshouse at the Ballarat Botanical Gardens.
Stay tuned for my next post about Ballarat, which will probably revolve around Canola as it is spring.
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