Alexandra - McKenzie Flora Reserve
McKenzie Flora Reserve is one of three bushland reserves at the south end of Alexandra. It is home to a wider range of flora, fauna and fungi, including 28 members of the orchid family and the tiny birds nest fungus.
Be on the lookout for birds such as cockatoos, parrots, rosellas, lorikeets, magpies, kookaburras, rainbow bee eaters, currawongs, king fishers, bush-tailed phascogale, willy wagtail, spotted and striated pardalotes, silvereye, honey eaters, fantails, sugar gliders and robins. The occasional hawk may even be visible from time to time as it hunts its prey, or a wedge-tail eagle floating high above, as it rides hot air currents higher and higher.
The trees, grasses and wild flowers are diverse, though so are the insects and spiders, which are in abundance in the reserve. The big rewards of the Australian bush are often easy to miss, yet there are great rewards to be had for those willing to get up close and personal with nature in a reserve such as this.
Prior to European settlement, this area was the hunting grounds and home for members of the Taungurung people.
After white settlers arrived, the land was converted into farmland. However the land was eventually donated to the shire and returned to nature when the reserves were declared in the 1970s. Around this time a car derby was held within the reserve, though this eventually ended. Today it is a well known place to enjoy nature and stroll through authentic Australian bushland.
Directions
1. Travel to Alexandra Information Centre.
2. Travel south along Grant Street to the corner of Downey and Grant Streets.
3. Continue along Grant Street (through the main shopping area) for 1.5 km to the McKenzie Flora Reserve carpark on the right (just past the Scout Hall).
Access for Dogs:
Pets, cycling, horse riding, and the lighting of fires are not allowed in the bushland reserves.
Location
Mt Pleasant Road, Alexandra 3714 Map
