Whether you’re into fast paced adrenalin sports, sniffing out the best culinary fare or experiencing a gentler pace, Kinglake Victoria has every intrepid explorer covered. From fresh local produce, fine wines, forest walks, secluded camping spots, picnic spots, horse riding and mountain biking trails, and wildlife at every turn - and all only 50 minutes from Melbourne!
Situated on the majestic slopes of the Great Dividing Range, Kinglake National Park is the largest, and closest national park to Melbourne, making it an ideal spot for a day trip or a weekend getaway.
Highlights include Bollygum Park Adventure Playground, Wirrawilla Rainforest Walk, Masons Falls and Frank Thomson Reserve.
Kinglake, Victoria: a slice of nature with a sprinkle of serenity.
HIGHLIGHTS
BOLLYGUM ADVENTURE PLAYGROUND
Step into a storybook setting full of wonder, awe and enchantment at Bollygum Park, Kinglake. This two-and-a-half-acre wonderland, based around the award-winning children’s book ‘Bollygum’ by Garry Fleming, features a climbing wall, monkey bars, rope bridges, flying fox, wave slide, bird nest swings, dual metal slide and an architecturally designed skate park, all set within natural bushland.
WIRRAWILLA RAINFOREST WALK
Unleash your inner Tinkerbell and feel right at home here within the fern gullies and sassafras trees in the Toolangi State Forest. This enchanting walking trail takes in the sounds and scents of the cool, temperate rain forests, providing a magical experience for the young at heart. The boardwalk circuit is a gentle easy walk (approximately 2km in length), so a great one for families with little ones in tow, including the four-legged variety. Just beware of those rowdy goblins!
FRANK THOMSON RESERVE
Lady Stonehavens Lookout is located within the Frank Thomson Reserve, and boasts an elevation of 630 metres, offering spectacular views of Melbourne’s skyline rising from the southern plains and the rolling hills of the Yarra Valley to the east.
EAT & DRINK
Kinglake Distillery
Kinglake Distillery set out to make a single malt that was discernibly different from other Australian whiskies, something where regardless of barrel ageing, the characteristic Kinglake spirit could be picked out in a blind line up.
The most important Kinglake variable that allows us to make a very distinctive spirit is our use of local Spring Water. Chyser Creek rises from a natural spring located on the distillery property. This water has the perfect iron and calcium characteristics for making whisky. It is used directly from the source, completely un-treated.
They are one of only a handful of distilleries using open ferments for their whisky wash. They are surrounded by towering Mountain Ash, Messmate and Peppermint gumtrees and the air in hot weather is pungent with eucalyptus pollens. The open ferments and open-door distilling allows all these natural pollens and yeasts to become part of the fermentation process.
The final piece of the jigsaw in translating these local features into a new-make spirit is their approach to distillation and the final cut runs deep into the tails or feints. This not only means that they harvest the maximum impact from the chocolate and peat in their four-grain mash-bill but that all the richness and depth from foibles of using unfiltered water and open fermentations are given a chance to shine.
FESTIVALS & EVENTS
Kinglake Market
The Kinglake Market has a variety of stalls, a great scenic country location and something for all ages.
You will find fresh fruit and vegetables, chutneys, jams, relishes, soaps, candles, hot and cold food, both sweet and savoury, wines, crafts, a variety of handmade giftware, plants, quilts, cheese, meat, breads, great coffee and much more. Children’s activities vary every month.
They do all the research to ensure that only quality products are available for you.
Held at the Kinglake Community Centre, there are stalls indoor, under verandahs and outside. Ample parking is available at the Kinglake Football grounds, just across the road and the venue is close to Kinglake National Park, with its walks and waterfalls, Bollygum Children’s Park and only five minutes from the Kinglake Township with supermarket, bakery, cafes, pub and more. March and December dates may vary due to public holidays.
Visit the website for details.
STAY
Kinglake Forest Adventures Camp
Kinglake Forest Adventures Camp’s key difference is their ability to seamlessly blend wellbeing and personal development outcomes into age appropriate traditional camp experiences. Kinglake Forest Adventure deliver inspirational school camps that develop leadership, well being and resilience.
In a mountain forest setting only 60 minutes from Melbourne, Kinglake Forest Adventures Camp can accommodate up to 120 guests in 23 cabin rooms, all with toilet and showers. There is a main leadership centre containing 37 beds plus three large tipis for up to 39 guests.
A full catering service can be provided, as well as self catering kitchen facilities for guest use if required.
The dining room has full audio visual equipment, sky chairs and bean bags. Other indoor spaces include a leader’s retreat, training room and meeting room. All rooms are heated and cooled.
Other facilities include a treetops course, zip line course, challenge ropes, leap of faith, in-ground pool, volleyball, mountain bike tracks, a licensed wallaby enclosure and the new soft adventure park.
For a relaxed and rustic forest wedding venue quite close to Melbourne, there are few that compare.