Lara & the you yangs

Lara op shops & You Yangs adventure guide-2.jpg

Lara is a lovely little town nestled at the base of the You Yangs and right next door to Little River. There are 2 sweet Op Shops, the Anglican Opportunity Shop, which is jam packed with treasure, and a short drive away, the Salvos, which I definitely vouch for because I found a lovely clock and rug there.

There’s an amazing kid friendly cafe right across the road from the Anglican Opportunity Shop called The Little Teapot Cafe. In fact, it’s one of the most kid friendly cafes I’ve ever come across! I had myself a peaceful brunch chatting away to the staff whilst Frankie played away. I even had a second look through the Op Shop just cause I could.

A trip to Lara isn’t complete without a visit to Roraima Nursery, surely one of the most interesting nurseries in Melbourne. They specialise in unusual, exotic and drought-tolerant plants and have a huge garden out the back that you can wander through. It’s like something straight out of a Dr Seuss book and you’ll definitely want to buy something for the garden after taking a walk through it.

From here, we set off for the You Yangs. You’ll regularly find us here in winter because you can collect firewood and have fires. Frankie is a bit of sucker for toasted marshmallows so we’ll have some sausages on the BBQ and then all huddle around the fire. There are some amazing spots just after the Flinders Peak carpark with views out over Melbourne which are top notch if you can nab one.

There are two popular walks that we also do, the Flinders Peak walk which is about an hour return and not suitable for toddlers and small children because some of the stairs are about as big as they are. But we pop Frankie in the pack and set off. There are great views from the top and plenty of massive granite boulders that make for great exploring.

The East-West Walk takes you around the mountains and is around a 4km loop, taking about an hour an a half, but the flora is lot more interesting because you’re not of stop of the mountain. It’s especially great in springtime when everything is in full bloom.

Eats

Little Teapot Cafe & Play

76 Flinders Ave, Lara
Open - Tues - Fri 9am - 2.30pm
Sat 9am - 1pm

DIRECTIONS

Op Shops

The Anglican Parish of Holy Trinity Opportunity Shop
Cnr Curletts Road and Flinders Avenue, Lara
Closed on Mondays & Sundays, closes at 1pm on Sat
DIRECTIONS

Salvos
28 Hicks St, Lara
Closed on Sundays
DIRECTIONS