Serendip Sanctuary Dad and Daughter Educational Day Out

Oh my! I can't believe I forgot to share this with you all last week. I've been so consumed with trying to get my project up and running that I've backed off from sharing posts with you. I'm sorry, I'll have to make more time.

Last week Lil Miss and I went on a dad and daughter day out to one of our favourite places (more mine because it is free) the Serendip Sanctuary which is a wild life Sanctuary just on the outskirts of Melbourne. Tucked away behind the You Yangs national Park. I'm not sure if many people know it is here because it's never all that packed.

It's sort of an eco tourist destination, nothing too flash just alot of open land that has been put aside to regrow native vegetation and animals. It's surrounded by some pretty impressive lakes and has over 100 different species of birds which regularly visit the location as they migrate and nest.

One of my favourite things is that the animals are just there with you walking around, doing their own thing and it gives little ones a chance to see what mother nature has on offer like these beautiful emus that decided to follow us around the grounds because they thought we had food 🤣

You also can't go past the Eastern Gray Kangaroos there is an entire mob of them that live on the grounds and they seem to have gotten alot bigger in numbers since we last came. I've also noticed that there are now fenced off locations that visitors can't access which is a wonderful idea as last time we were here we saw people chasing the roos trying to pat them. Not a wise idea as kangaroos have razor sharp claws and a boot from a roo will more than likely crack bone. They're a pure muscle animal and not all that cuddly if threatened.

There are also educational activities for the kids to do and if you enroll in one of the school holiday programs they take you on a tour of the grounds and teach you about all the different animals, plants and history of the area.

But many of the educational facilities and activities are still accessible even outside of the school holiday programs which gives us a great opportunity to try our hand at jumping as far and as high as a roo.

There are plenty of bird houses available with open viewing to gaze across the open land and lakes to watch the birds nest and raise young ones. Spring is often the preferred period of time and over the next few months there will be alot more birds and hatchings as the weather warms up so we will definitely be back to see the young birds and the new additions.

There is also a beautiful Avery with native birds that are susceptible to pray and with their own eco system filled with native fish to hunt and eat. The pond was quite beautiful and calming to watch I might add.

We also got extremely lucky as we approached the Australian Bustard enclosure which needs to be kept secure due to the fact only 40 of these big ground birds remain in Victoria due to urban sprawl and pet dogs and birds a parks Victoria employee was close by for feeding time.

Lil Miss wanted to feed the bird but then quickly learned the birds don't eat bird seeds but live crickets and as the ranger pulled the bucket out Lil miss got a little squeamish at the sight of an entire bucket filled of crickets! But she still persisted and managed to throw a few to the bird, but it was more than likely the crickets got away this day and ran for the long grass.

We walked around abit more learning more about the native land and animals and tried our hands at spotting a turtle or two but the weather was too cold and not any were in sight. Ah well next time!

All in all the day was a wonderful hands on experience learning about the beautiful animals that call our country home and an experience we won't forget.