warrandyte, a suburb of melbourne

most mornings, in melbourne, i would walk the 550m-track around the oval field at waverley park. today, i went with my friend chris and his dog toby to a riverside settlement called warrandyte for a nature walk . he likes to take his dog for a walk by the yarra river at this small town about 24km north-east of melbourne city. a lot of dog-lovers take their canines for exercise by the bank of the river.



warrandyte used to be a gold mining town in the 19th century. you can gather evidence of this from the conserved colonial wooden buildings and cottages, some of which have been coverted into hotels, craft shops, antique shops and cafes.



unlike the parks and nature reserves in singapore, over here, the tracks are not paved; they are well-trodden paths formed through continual usage. people from the other suburbs drive or take a bus to this rustic town to enjoy the atmosphere and to get close to nature. i saw quite a number of cuckatoos and parakeets up in the tall trees. not far from where we started our walk, we came upon this paddling of ducks.


the 8000 or so residents of this small town - with the feel of a village - takes good care of the natural environment. there are toilets and car parks along the route. but, what i find most welcoming was the bakery located by the side of the river. you could sit outside the cafe, with a view of the river, to enjoy your hot coffee and pie.