Every weekend, we have to find some activity to make the most of the hard-earned days off. This weekend, we chose to go see the lotus flowers, after all, they’re a seasonal thing, and since they’re in full bloom now, it’s the perfect time to go. This place has also been on my list for a long time.
It’s about an hour’s drive from southeastern Melbourne. As we got close, we saw the opposite lane backed up in a long traffic jam. When we arrived at the parking lot, there was a very friendly traffic control auntie. We asked her if there was some event nearby, and she said today’s Donkey Festival. We were trying to figure out what you could even do at a Donkey Festival and why so many people were going!
The first thing we saw were rows of greenhouses with lotus and water lily seedlings for sale, along with some other flowers like bougainvillea and impatiens. Some were in bloom, some still in bud. The lotuses were so pretty! We really wanted to buy one, but then we thought, the cheapest one is $65 a pot, and if we don’t know how to take care of it, it’ll just die. So better forget it. We’ve never kept aquatic flowers before, and we don’t have a pond at home anyway!
After looking around, my mom said, “That’s it? We drove an hour just for this?” We told her we were still just at the entrance! You have to buy tickets to go inside. Kids are free; adults pay around $20+. Inside, there were huge ponds everywhere, packed with flowers, I mean a lot of flowers! It felt really crowded, with all kinds of lotus and water lily varieties in different colours.
We’ve rarely seen lotuses in Australia before, so today was like a feast for the eyes. But, well, the flowers were all crammed together, the ponds completely filled.
Overall, it was a great place to visit. The flowers were truly stunning, and there were lots of little pavilions to sit in or have a picnic.
There’s a café here, but unfortunately, after waiting in a long line, the lotus root chips sold out just as it was almost my turn. There were some red and green bridges over the ponds, which made for really nice photos too!
Blue Lotus Water Garden
Address – 2628 Warburton HWY , Yarra Junction ,Victoria 3797 ,Australia