jells park in melbourne

whenever i visit melbourne - which is getting more frequent these days - i continue to pursue one of my main interests and pastimes, that is, walking in the nature park. the one huge park - about 127 hectares - nearest to where ian and ivy live is jells park. the park is about 3km from their house at waverley park drive. although it is named jells park, the main entrances are at waverely road and fern tree gully road. i normally enter the park via the side entrance at jells road.




opened in 1976, this 127-hectare (for comparison, east coast park is 185 hectares) park attracts 700 000 visitors a year. within the park are 9-km of shared paths; cyclists and walkers share the same path. there is not the kind of problem we face back home where cyclists or walkers get annoyed where there is intrusion into their respective territory. generally, there are fewer cyclists than walkers at any given time. both types of users look out for each other.




there is a restaurant-cum-cafe in the park. it is called madeline's @ jells. it is an all-weather eatery with floor-to-ceiling windows, a gas log fireplace and a licensed bar. although it was a chilly autumn day, when i was there, many people were enjoying their light meals alfresco at the balcony. the restaurant-cum-cafe shares the building with the visitors' centre.



like some of the parks in singapore, there are adventure playgrounds for children. there are at least three adventure playgrounds catering to children of different age groups.



there are also areas specifically set aside for picnics and barbeques. there is one difference though. here, you do not have to pay for the use of the bbq pits. they are available on a first-come-first-served basis.



there is a wetland within jells park. it is home and stopover to native and migratory birds. native birds seen at the wetland include swamphens, darters, cormorants and pelicans.


the area occupied by jells park used to be a piggery, grazing pasture and, during the second world war, an army storage base for the americans.