By Richard Cornish
MOUNTAIN TO MOUTH
Next weekend sees the biennial Mountain to Mouth, a two-day 80-kilometre trek from Big Rock in the You Yangs to the mouth of the Barwon River. Everyone is welcome to take part by following a sculpture called Canoe, made by US artist Leslie Pearson in collaboration with Ocean Grove artist Kerrie Bedson, which is carried on the shoulders of walkers. Next Friday (May 4) the trek sees the canoe carried down the mountain into the heart of Geelong to meet up with Geelong After Dark, a night of edgy and unexpected arts (geelongafterdark.com.au). Along the way, Canoe and its followers stop at 12 different Songline Stations along the route that includes site-specific installations and performance pieces. At dawn the following day the walk continues to Barwon Heads, where it finishes at sunset with a spectacular closing ceremony at which Canoe will be burned at sea. May 4-5, mountaintomouth.com.au or (03) 5222 7445.
A trio of owls at the Serendip Sanctuary in Lara.Credit: Ruth Woodrow
WURDI YOUANG
The Wadawurrung people call the You Yangs Wurdi Youang. For them it is a very special place, home to an astrological calendar and water wells hollowed into the hard granite. You can see the wells when you visit Big Rock, a 10-minute walk from Big Rock car park inside You Yangs Regional Park. You can also walk to the summit of the You Yangs, some 319 metres above sea level. Originally called Station Peak by Matthew Flinders when he climbed it in 1802, the name was changed to Flinders Peak in 1912. The park is also home to a 50-kilometre long network of mountain bike trails through the sugar gum plantations and down the steep granite slopes. The You Yangs is also a dog-on-lead friendly park, has nine picnic areas and also barbecue areas where real log fires are permitted. Branch Road, Little River; parkweb.vic.gov.au
The closing ceremony of the biennial Mountain to Mouth, a two-day trek from Big Rock in the You Yangs to the mouth of the Barwon River.Credit: Dean Walters
LITTLE RIVER HOTEL
There has been a pub in Little River since the 1840s when the town was a place to change horses on the road between Melbourne and Geelong. The present pub dates to the 1970s and the bistro offers pleasant views over a native garden and glimpses of the Little River. This is a good place for a counter meal after a day exercising in the You Yangs. The chicken and bacon club sandwich with chips and salad is particularly popular and now winter is coming there's also soup on the menu. 10-14 Flinders Street, Little River; open daily from 10am; (03) 5283 1113
SERENDIP SANCTUARY
Come to this 250-hectare wildlife sanctuary to see dancing brolgas and yellow spoonbills, magpie geese and kangaroos up close and personal. Paths snake around the animal enclosure and lead to wetlands giving views of flocks of wild birds resting on the water.8am-4.30pm daily, 100 Windermere Road, Lara, free, parkweb.vic.gov.au
Les Kelly at the Lara Museum.Credit: Richard Cornish
STORIES FROM THE PAST
King Billy Leigh was a Wadawurrung elder from the You Yang tribe who ended up working a coach driver for the Armytage family at Wooloomanata Station near Geelong. You can see his image and read stories about other locals at the Lara Museum. There are documents retelling the 1884 Little River train disaster, when the station master's 17-year-old daughter at Werribee telegraphed the Little River station to say the line was clear, as the station master had nipped out to choir practice. In the dark and wet, the passenger train ran head first into a goods train. Three people were killed and many more injured. The outbuildings have been restored and now house a tool collection, working engines and even a resident swagman called Threepenny Bit. Cnr Canterbury Road West and Forest Road south, Lara; open Sun and Wed 11am-4pm; $3; laramuseum.org.au
The popular club sandwich at the Little River Hotel.Credit: Richard Cornish
RARE PLANT NURSERY
On the edge of Lara is a sprawling nursery that encompasses of 1.5 hectares of landscaped garden. Roraima Nursery has the feel of a botanic garden with many unusual decorative trees, succulents, shrubs and ground covers for sale, laid out around hidden nooks and water features, and dotted with sculptures made from repurposed materials. Great sea worm-riddled pier pylons topped with iron tractor wheels tower over the entrance, and out the back are great mounds of earth covered in dry climate trees under-planted with cacti and succulents leading to little "valleys", in which groves of Morton Bay figs are planted. 20 Swan Street, Lara; daily 9am-5pm; (03) 5282 8704; roraimanursery.com.au
Romaira Nursery on the edge of Lara specialises in rare plants.Credit: Richard Cornish
Next Week: Caroline Springs
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Kangaroos at the foot of the You Yangs.Credit: Richard Cornish