Lake House - Daylesford - Spa Country - Australia

Location, mineral water & shopping.

The pretty village of Daylesford is located 80minutes from Melbourne and an hour from Melbourne airport. The surrounding spa country region boasts the largest concentration of natural springs in Australia.

The village itself is surrounded by several thousand hectares of state forest. Walking tracks through the forest alongside rivers, lakes and waterfalls yield frequent encounters with an abundance of Australian animals including wallabies, wombats and koalas.

The main street environs of the village offer a plethora of quirky shops, great bookshops, cafes, pubs and art galleries.

Healing & Rejuvenation

Food & Wine

The internationally recognised Lake House cellar provides for sampling and tutored wine tastings with our sommeliers. Just out of town you can sample local drops and meet the winemaker at several delightful cellar doors. A little further afield are the winemakers of Macedon- renowned for their sparkling wine and plenty more.

The Shiraz of Heathcote regularly make the pages of international wine publications and have particularly made their mark in the USA. Touring the wineries by car (or chauffered limousine or helicopter) affords a truly indulgent way to spend the day or can provide an interesting and different route back to Melbourne or the airport.

The Daylesford Macedon Produce Group has a foodies touring map which can be purchased at Lake House. The map guides visitors through a rich region of farm gates, organic growers, lavender fields, dairies, provodore stores and boutique restaurants.

The Arts

The local community is blessed with more than its fair share of resident writers, musicians and artists who have chosen the region as their home. Many have international followings and contribute their skills to a rich calendar of local festivals and events. Some offer open studios others are represented at local galleries.

History

One of the largest nuggets was discovered during the goldrush near the river which was dammed to form lake Daylesford in 1926. At that time the site that Lake House now stands on was a Chinese market garden on the river shore. The nearby Chinese settlement and joss house were flooded with the damming of the creek and now lie beneath the waters of the lake.

Apart from the Chinese, one of the largest other groups to migrate to the region during those days were the Italian speaking residents of the Swiss canton of Ticino. These Ticinese stayed on after the gold fever passed, enjoying a region that reminded them so much of home. They set about developing olive groves and vineyards and building beautiful stone buildings. Many of these still remain.

Golf & Other Strenuous Pursuits

Three local 18 hole golf courses provide challenges and the opportunity to interact with hundreds of curious kangaroo.

Jogging or walking around the lake and through the forest is a popular pastime. Tracks commencing from the Lake House property link up with the Dry Diggings Track, affording glimpses of gold history in old stone retaining walls and diverted watercourses. Linking up with the Great Dividing Trail, walks can be enjoyed from an hour and up  to several days duration.

Lake Daylesford offers the opportunity for boating of the genteel variety. Row boats and pedalos are available for hire at the boatshed  and provide the perfect way to enjoy a picnic with a delicious Lake House hamper and the boat pulled in to a secluded spot on the lake’s edge.Horseriding is also available in the region.

Places of interest nearby........

Hepburn Golf Club
www.daylesford.net.au/golf

Just a little further down the road.......

Sovereign Hill
A magnificently recreated gold city and diggings. “blood on the cross” – spectacular Sound and Light spectacular recreating the 1854 Eureka Uprising
http://www.sovereignhill.com.au/

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