Kyneton, Victoria

30th December 2022 – 2nd January 2023

Bringing in the New Year with a New Adventure!

On the days I work in the office (as opposed to working from home), I trust the fantastic team at St. Roch, a dog lifestyle business, to look after Taylor for me. They take her out on fun pack walks with other dogs where she has the absolute best time, and I love seeing the pictures of her adventures at the end of the day! So, when they told me they were starting a dog-friendly holiday property in Kyneton, well, of course we had to check it out!! And when I saw it was available over NYE, I snapped it up for a New Year’s getaway.

Kyneton is a country town located in the Macedon Ranges region of Central Victoria, about 90km north-west of the city of Melbourne and is roughly a 90-minute drive from our home (in good traffic!). It is about 30 minutes up the road from Daylesford, where Taylor and I explored over Easter 2022. You can read about our Daylesford adventures here: https://agirlandhergrey.com/2024/08/24/daylesford-victoria/

Saint Roch, I have learnt, is the Patron Saint of Dogs and Dog Lovers, so being dog-friendly accommodation run by two genuine dog lovers, it may be no surprise to learn the property is called Rochville (pawsonally – I love it! :))

Exploring her home away from home for the next 3 nights

When it comes to holiday rentals, I find it is the small touches that make the big difference. The small touches at Rochville were pawfect and the treats for both human and doggo were a lovely warm welcome!

Rochville was a really comfortable stay – the beds are super comfortable, the kitchen had everything we needed, and it was spotlessly clean. The only thing to note with the house is it is two storeys, with both bedrooms on the second floor. Taylor has always been quite independent when it comes to sleeping arrangements and she doesn’t sleep in my room when we’re at home, so it was no problem for her to sleep downstairs in the lounge, while I slept upstairs. However, if your dog does normally sleep with you, just be aware they will need to be able to manage the wooden stairs, or you will need to be comfortable carrying them up and down if they can’t manage on their own.

The eagle-eyed among you might have noticed the drink cupboard behind Taylor in the photo on the left above. Unlike other holiday rentals – this booze cupboard isn’t locked! This is Rochville’s ‘honesty bar’, from which all proceeds go to a greyhound charity, Gumtree Greys, which helps to rescue, rehome and rehabilitate greyhounds from the racing industry. If that’s not a good enough reason for a cheeky tipple, I’m not sure what is!

The Campaspe River Walk is a beautiful roughly 3km walk that could be accessed right from the end of the street where we were staying. It was an easy, relatively flat walk until we reached the stairs up to the Botanic Gardens. It was fairly warm when we did the walk, but there were a couple of places where Taylor could go a for a little dip to cool off, while the path itself alternated between shade and being open to the sun. It was a really peaceful walk with all sorts of stimulation for the doggos – from the river with its fish, ducks, and birds to farm animals in local fields.

After the walk along the river, Taylor chilled in the air conditioning at Rochville with my dad while my mum and I took another walk to check out the Botanic Gardens. It was an easy 20-minute walk from our accommodation to the gardens, through the streets of Kyneton and past some of the lovely old churches and houses in the town. We also found the Kyneton Croquet Club, if that is more your thing!

There are a number of trees within the gardens that are included on the Registrar of Significant Trees of Victoria, which were interesting to take a look at. Also within the bounds of the garden is Kyneton Community Park, which has a number of nature-based play areas for the young and young-at-heart, where we had a little rest in the shade to escape the heat for a few minutes, before making our way back to the house and the air con.

On New Year’s Eve we headed to The Oaks Grill on Piper for a delicious meal. Rochville is located right around the corner from Piper Street, one of the main streets in Kyneton that has a number of restaurants and bars, so it was only a short walk to The Oaks Grill where Taylor promptly made herself at home on the dog friendly terrace out the back. Unfortunately, in checking details for this blog I discovered that the Oaks Grill permanently closed earlier this year. Hopefully another dog-friendly restaurant will open in its place as it was a lovely evening out on the terrace.

On New Year’s Day I took Taylor for a walk in the Botanic Gardens, where we got caught in a sudden summer downpour and had to shelter in a nearby rotunda while we waited for it to pass. It’s fair to say – Taylor was not impressed!

Thankfully we didn’t have to wait too long until we were off exploring the gardens again.

All good trips must come to end, but there were a couple of places I wanted to check out on our way home the following day, so we made a couple of slight detours as we headed back to Melbourne. About 15 minutes from Kyneton in Macedon Regional Park is Hanging Rock. Hanging Rock has had an air of mystery about it ever since a group of schoolgirls disappeared there back 1901. Books have been written about it, movies have been made about it, and still the mystery lives on. However, long before then, it was an important area for the traditional owners of the land, the Dja Dja Wurrung, Woi Wurrung and Taungurung peoples who would gather in the area for special ceremonies such as Initiation Ceremonies and Corroborrees, before they were forcibly removed from the area during colonisation.

Dogs are welcome at the reserve on lead, however they aren’t allowed up the rock itself on the main summit track as it is home to native animals. While I completely understand that, I must admit it was a bit disappointing as I’d been looking forward to seeing the rock. However, we were able to take a circuit walk through the bushland around the base, which provided glimpses of the rock. I will have to venture back one day and leave Taylor snuggled up at home.

About 10 minutes further down the road from Hanging Rock, also in Macedon Regional Park, is Camel’s Hump Lookout. At just over 1,000m, Camel’s Hump is the highest peak in the region, and the view was certainly worth the effort! Dogs are allowed on lead here all the way to the summit, and although I could tell she was tired after our walk at Hanging Rock and from the heat of the late morning, my adventurous fur-baby jumped out of the car and led the way right to the top! The track is only a short 500m, however as you might expect, it was uphill all the way to the summit so was still moderately challenging.

Whenever I have Taylor in the car, or we’re out exploring, I always pack two water bottles – one for me, and one for her. I also carry a collapsible water bowl that I attach to the outside of my backpack with a carabiner. Once we got down from the summit it was time for a big drink for both of us, and to bump the air con up in the car as we finally headed home…via Macca’s for some road trip nuggies, of course!