UNIQUE EXPERIENCES BOTANIC RIDGE

Cranbourne Park Shopping Centre is located in Cranbourne, Victoria

The Shri Shiva Vishnu Temple at Carrum Downs is a culmination of years of planning by the Hindu Society of Victoria, a skilled team of Indian artisans and an army of volunteers. The temple combines classical Hindu traditions with construction practices in Australia. Recently the Society has completed another ambitious project in completing the construction of a multi-million dollar Cultural Centre and has made it open to Victorian Community on May 5, 2012. There are 32 deities worshipped in the temple from various Hindu traditions. Worship is based on elaborate rituals with deep meaning. All the rituals have but one aim: symbolically awakening the spirituality in the devotee. Colourful festivals from different traditions of Hinduism are celebrated here. They include Holi, Deepavali and the New Year. As well as maintaining the tradition, the society contributes to the spiritual development of young children through a good library and regular classes on Hinduism. A Cafeteria serving vegetarian snacks, food and drinks is open in the Cultural Centre on all days and provides food and snack services to all visitors got the temple as well as the Cultural Centre. The Cultural Centre in addition to hosting this Cafeteria with Industrial Kitchen with hundreds of volunteers also has a large community hall, two rooms for community functions such as Weddings, annual music concerts and other events. It also supports a large religious library with two class rooms for Hindu religious school run as part of the Hindu community service. Hinduism is the oldest living religion in the world. It dates back more than 6000 years when Hindu philosophies and a way of worship for Divine realisation were propounded in India. Hindu temples are usually majestic structures with ornamental spires soaring into sky at the main entrances, and elaborately decorated halls.

After 20 years of planning, construction and planting, the Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne vibrant Australian Garden is now complete. An additional six hectares of landscaped garden sees the entire Australian Garden almost double in size, bringing the total size of the Garden to an impressive 15 hectares. The new area comprises 11 new precincts and new facilities including a visitor kiosk at the northern end of the Garden, boardwalks and viewing platforms on Howson and Gibson Hills, and an amphitheatre for education programs and performances. The aim of the Royal Botanic Gardens in creating the Australian Garden is to share with visitors the beauty and diversity of Australian plants. It is a place where you can explore the evolving connections between people, plants and landscapes. The Australian Garden is also a place where you can discover inspiration and information about how to use Australian plants in your garden. Tours, activities and programs in the Australian Garden provide a range of informative and exciting experiences for visitors of all ages. From the Australian Garden, head into the bushland and picnic areas or visit the Gardens Shop, Boon Wurrung Cafe or Kiosk. The Woodland Picnic Area is a fantastic space for family, friends and community groups. It has free gas barbecues, picnic tables, a huge children's playground and large open spaces for ball games. Entry to the Woodland Picnic Area is free. The Woodland Picnic Area can be accessed from the Australian Garden car park by foot, only 400 metres walk. The ten kilometres of walking tracks, abundance of native animals and Trig Point, a lookout tower, the gardens are an ideal place for natures-lovers to enjoy the Australian bush. The Royal Botanic Gardens Cranbourne is located just 45 minutes' from Melbourne by car.