Organ Pipes National Park

Last weekend we took a little day trip to Organ Pipes National Park, which is located about 20km northwest of the city:

The weather that day was pretty yucky: rain with a high of 14 degrees. Winter has certainly arrived here in Melbourne! We started the day with our usual Saturday morning routine of yoga (for me) and swimming (for Ella). For the first time I did the lesson with Ella while Andy watched on:

I feel like in this photo Ella is thinking "dad, help me here, mum has no idea what she's doing!" It was a lot more awkward to hold her in the water for half an hour than I thought it would be. I think I will be leaving the swimming lessons to Andy from now on!

After swimming we met up with Adam and Charlotte for lunch near the park, in Keilor East. The cafe we went to was called East Pantry, and it was very, very average. We felt like it was trying very hard to be a funky Melbourne cafe but coming up a bit short. For example, Charlotte's tea came out on a wood-looking board that was actually plastic. Tacky! That's what happens when you eat in the suburbs I suppose ;)

It was still pretty rainy when we finished lunch and part of me wanted to sack off the walk and do something indoors instead. But I'm glad we didn't! The park was beautiful with really interesting rock formations as a result of volcanic activity 2.5 million years ago. The park is named after the rock formation below of basalt lava cooled into vertical columns:

We were lucky to spot two kangaroos eating some lunch only about 20 metres away. It was the closest I've ever been to a kangaroo and Ella's first sighting. It still gives me a bit of a thrill to see these animals in the wild!

We recently purchased a footmuff for Ella's pram which, along with the rain cover, kept her nice and cosy during our walk. 

It felt good to get out and brave the crappy weather and it reminded me of a quote that I have no idea where I heard, although it definitely sounds like something a dad would say. It goes something like this: "there is no such thing as bad weather, only bad clothing". 

It's lovely to find parks like this so close to Melbourne, and had inspired us to make the most of the winter season finding more walks like this.