Victoria got so many wonderful places to visit, and each place has its unique beauty and charm.
One of these places is a small town in Gippsland.
Callignee South is a small Victorian Rural Location within the local government area of Wellington, it is located approximately 186kms from the capital Melbourne covering an area of 10.309 square kilometers. Callignee South has a recorded population of 12 residents. And that includes our Grandpa Allen (Dada’s father) who lives on the farm together with his loving companion Rex and Bella.
Callignee town is known for its vast farmland areas. It is also known as one of the towns affected by the major bushfire disaster back in 2009 called the Black Saturday Bushfire.
The Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that either ignited or were already burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009, and were among Australia's all-time worst bushfire disasters. The fires occurred during extreme bushfire weather conditions and resulted in Australia's highest-ever loss of human life from a bushfire, with 173 fatalities. Many people were left homeless as a result.
After 11-years the whole surroundings are getting back to its normal state, although you will still notice some black dead trees still standing and never been cut due to its tall heights.
Dada bought the property in 2010 as part of his real estate investment and Grandpa Allen is the one managing the estate. Properties in Callignee after the bushfire drops and no one wants to live there, but my clever Dada found an opportunity. He built the farmhouse and water system including the electricity line by himself.
After 10years this property is starting to show good growth and lots of opportunities.
Maybe one day we can turn this farm as a fruit and vegetable farm? Or maybe raise some pigs! Grandpa Allen would love the idea.
The satellite footage of Dada’s farm property.
Blackberry picking
But last summer January 2020 and for the first time, I experienced blackberry picking!
Blackberries are a type of berry that is delicious eaten raw or added to tarts and other desserts. The fruit contains vitamins A, C, and K and minerals such as potassium, magnesium, and copper. Blackberries also contain dietary fiber. In Victoria, blackberries are at their peak between December and February.
Blackberries grow so wild and fast! Many landowners also planted prickly blackberry bushes to keep out intruders and wildlife. Their thorns are small but vicious.
Wild European blackberries can also be found growing throughout Australia in bushland, parks, pastures, and orchards and beside roads. These blackberries are considered a Weed of National Significance and now cover an estimated 8.8 million hectares of southern Australia.
Why blackberries are good to eat
Blackberries are a good source of vitamins A, C (needed for the growth and repair of tissues in the body), and K (important for helping your blood to clot).
They also contain minerals such as potassium (which helps to regulate blood pressure), manganese (involved in the regulation of brain and nerve function), magnesium, and copper.
Blackberries contain dietary fiber, which is important for a healthy bowel.
Energy – 100 g of blackberries supplies 180 kJ.
How are they grown and harvested?
Cultivated blackberry plants grow best in areas with high rainfall. The plant is a shrub with prickly stems that can arch or trail along the ground. Blackberry plants from prickly thickets that can cover several meters of ground.
White or pink flowers grow on the shrub. Blackberries change color as they ripen, from green to red to black. The blackberry plant is semi-deciduous and loses leaves in winter.
Choosing blackberries
Choose blackberries that are plump, firm, and uniform in color. Avoid blackberries that look soft or shriveled. Also, avoid selecting punnets stained with blackberry juice or those that have moldy berries.
How to store and keep blackberries
Store blackberries in their container in your fridge. Do not wash them until you are ready to use them. Use blackberries within two or three days of buying.
Today the European blackberry is regarded as one of the worst weeds in Australia.
How to use
Make blackberry triangles – place a mixture of cream cheese, cinnamon, sugar, and blackberries on squares of puff pastry, then fold over to make a triangle and bake until golden.
Serve a colorful entr̩e Рcombine segments of orange, slices of fennel and shallots and salad leaves with blackberries, place on a plate then add cooked prawns on top and drizzle with a citrus vinaigrette before serving.
Add an Asian twist to your salad – arrange salad greens, blackberries, sliced pears and red onion on a platter, then sprinkle with toasted sliced almonds and drizzle with sesame oil and ginger dressing.
A Farm of Wild Dandelions
Aside from blackberries surrounding the property, another pretty weed is dominating the uphill and those are wild dandelions.
Initially, I thought dandelions are just naughty weeds that keep on coming back on my front lawn. Though I couldn’t deny the fact that dandelions are gorgeous weeds, especially when I realized that our farm is full of it!
Medicinal Uses
Like so many other plants dandelion has been used as herbal medicine by humans for much of recorded history. The Indigenous people of America boil dandelion in water to treat skin problems, heartburn, kidney disease, swelling, and upset stomach. In traditional Chinese medicine, it has been used to treat abscesses, reduce eye inflammation, and provoke diuresis. Across Europe, it has been commonly used to remedy boils, eye problems, fever, and diabetes.
Of course, this information is for educational purposes only and is in no way intended to substitute for the advice of a health care professional.
Eating Dandelion Leaves
Although a detested weed, dandelion can be used as a food source. Eaten raw, most people consider dandelionpic4 leaves to be quite bitter. They taste bitter because they contain a water-soluble chemical called sesquiterpene lactones which react with our bitter taste receptors. Although it is said that the young leaves are not bitter they also contain the above-mentioned lactones and will be bitter to some degree. If you don’t like the bitterness your options are to either mask the taste with another flavor (like a strong salad dressing) or to leech out the lactones by boiling the leaves. If you choose to boil the leaves make sure you only do so for around 3 to 5 minutes. If you boil them too long they will taste quite bland.
Dandelion as a beverage
Dried dandelion leaves can be infused into hot water to make what is known as ‘dandelion tea’. If you wash the roots and slowly roast them in the oven at an extremely low temperature, they can then be ground up and brewed into a coffee-like drink. Dandelion tea can be purchased in some Australian shops and I have even seen it in some supermarkets. It is quite expensive, funny that what most consider a weed costs so much to buy as a product in the supermarket (labor-cost is waaayy expensive here so they rather ship the Australian dandelions to outsourced production countries like Bangladesh or India, and ship it back based on Australian food standards). Another drink which can be made is dandelion wine which is made using the flowers. Last of all, if eating or drinking dandelion isn’t your cup of tea (or wine) then your chickens will love eating them!
This farm full of dandelions is not meant to make more dandelion teas. They are just weeds and as of now, we haven’t planted anything here on the farm. So, for now, we occasionally do some mowing jobs.
Grandpa Allen also got lots of agapanthus plants on the driveway that gives an amazing bloom! I cannot wait to see more agapanthus flowers this coming spring.
He also got other farm animals like these cute little goats and chickens. Hope the wild kangaroos never bother them while he is away.
This country's lifestyle is something that I enjoy here in Australia.
Follow me on YouTube for more country life adventures here Down Under.
Acknowledgment of Country:
We acknowledge the Traditional Owners of the Country throughout Victoria and recognize their continuing connection to land, waters, and culture. We pay our respects to Elders past, present, and emerging and ask that during your travels you respect these cultures, peoples, and land.
This is breathtaking. I love dandelions. I would have been in heaven. I always wanted to pick my fruit. Sounds like an amazing time.
ReplyDeleteyes it is! I am excited for the next summer season :)
DeleteI want to go there and experience that, hehe! Totally Instagram worthy, I would take tons of photos there,
ReplyDeletehahaha I took tons as well, ang sarap humiga!
DeleteWow! I love dandelions, they are so beautiful and refreshing. I never knew they made tea out of them, that's interesting. An overall beautiful article.
ReplyDeleteThank you Mary!
DeleteOh wow the blackberries are huge!
ReplyDeleteI am sure they were supertasty :D
Yes they are! Even Grandpa's dogs loves eating blackberries.
DeleteWow .. what a beautiful farm. Need to visit one-day. Love blackberries.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful!
DeleteThis looks like such a wonderful outing! Blackberries are my favorite berries - but they are so expensive. Good for you that you were able to pick them yourself.
ReplyDeleteThey are everywhere here in Victoria!
DeleteBlackberry picking is so much fun! I'm glad you enjoyed yourself!
ReplyDeleteyes it is. Plus they are free!
DeleteSouth Victoria is so beautiful! I've been planning a trip there for a couple of years. We were finally going to go this year, but then everything went crazy.
ReplyDeleteAWw I know it is disappointing. Perhaps you could visit next year!
DeleteI would love to explore Australia for a solid month. There are so many different biomes there. I would definitely start here.
ReplyDeleteThe whole month isn't enough :)
DeleteI'm here for 8 months already and still haven't explore most of Victoria State alone :)
This sounds like it would be an amazing place. I have wanted to visit Australia since I was a kid. I saw Crocodile Dundee, and I was hooked. Of course, I got older and realized there was a lot more to the country.
ReplyDeleteSo many things to experience and visit. Victoria State alone is such a treasure place :)
DeleteWow, seems lile a wonderful experience, I would also love to do some blueberry picking 😊😊
ReplyDeleteBlackberry picking - check! Next in my agenda are apples, grapes, and other fruits available!
DeleteWow this place looks amazing! I would love to visit that place someday.
ReplyDeleteYou will enjoy Victoria :)
DeleteBlackberry picking is so fun! And honestly didn't know you could eat dandelions, I should try it haha
ReplyDeleteI was surprised too! But it was a good dandelion tea :)
DeleteThe pictures are absolutely beautiful and I would love to have such experience.
ReplyDeleteCome and visit Australia! So many farms that you can visit and enjoy fruit picking :)
DeleteI love blackberry picking. And may I just say - WOW. your photos are gorgeous. Like the one with the bee. WOW.
ReplyDeleteThank you dear! Yeah that bee is so cute :)
DeleteI've always wanted to visit Australia! I'ave heard so many great things about it.
ReplyDeleteHopefully Australia will be open for tourism by next year, and that will be an exciting :)
DeleteA population of 12 residents??? And I thought I grew up in a small town! I also love blackberries and just about any other kind of berry. This looks like a great place to visit to get away from the city for a while.
ReplyDeleteGrandpa said he have to yell to his neighbor just to say hello!
DeleteWhat a beautiful place! Totally gorgeous. And now I'm craving blackberries ��
ReplyDeleteHahaha I can't wait to pick lot of it next season.
DeleteWild blackberries are absolutely delicious! We have several that just showed up in our backyard and I love it. I love to make blackberry cobbler with them. That is such a beautiful farm. I bet it’s amazing to see in person during the summer with all of those dandelions blooming!
ReplyDeleteYes it is. Although Australia sees dandelions are weed, but with this vast beauty, how can I hate it?
DeleteLove to see your lovely photos and learning at the same time about them. Keep sharing your travels !
ReplyDeleteI will Anne! Thanks for visiting!
DeleteI love the pictures! Looks like an amazing place. I've always dreamt about visiting Australia, and seeing this makes me wanna go even more :D
ReplyDeleteThis is not a typical Australia travel destination, and I am glad that you enjoyed it.
DeleteI just added Callignee to my list of places to visit in Victoria. I would love to be in a field filled with dandelions. And I had done the blue berry picking and not the bblackberries :D. I have done it only once and I had such a great time. I would love to visit a farm again to do some fruit picking.
ReplyDeleteThat is wonderful! I'm looking for blueberries next :)
DeleteThis is so interesting. I love blackberries. Got a lot of knowledge about the fruit today
ReplyDeleteWonderful and thank you for visiting my page.
DeleteThis looks SO idyllic. I've never been berry picking, but would love to go for sure. If there's anything this pandemic has taught me, it's the healing powers of being in nature. You bring up a really good point regarding dandelion tea! It's literally a weed that most people are all too happy to rid their gardens of, yet can cost so much in supermarkets! Even though it's an effort, sometimes we're better off going the DIY route!
ReplyDeleteThat is true! Cost of labour in Australia is very high, which made me think that only few ones bother to do the manual labor.
DeleteThat dandelion field is so beautiful and I love Blackberry picking! What an amazing place to visit!
ReplyDeleteThank you Kileen!
DeleteWOW! The blackberries and dandelions look like a dream! I'm in the United States and my dad has some blackberries growing in his backyard but nothing quite like the ones you pictured. And those dandelions - wow! Can't wait to visit Callignee South Victoria someday!
ReplyDeleteYou will be surprised how vast this area is!
DeleteThe farm sounds like a really cool place despite only 11 residents living close by.
ReplyDeleteThat is true. Callignee South is a perfect place for agritourism, and for those retirees who loves their solitude.
DeleteOh wow....I had no idea blackberries have fibre in them. Fibre is so key in my daily feeding.
ReplyDeleteTime to add blackberries to your daily diet :)
DeleteYou're giving me a serious craving of wanderlust. Aus has been on my checklist of destinations to explore but the trip got cancelled. Hope to tick it off soon!
ReplyDeleteHave patience! Australia will be open by next year.
DeleteWow there are so many cool things you did on this farm visit. I would love to go black berry picking. I also had no idea about dandelion leaves and how you can make drinks out of them!
ReplyDeletecalling it sustainability lifestyle.
DeleteAmazing, the fields are fun to go to and take pictures for IG. The yellow flowers look beautiful. Hopefully, one day I will visit this place.
ReplyDeleteDandelions grows well in Victoria. You can find them everywhere :)
DeleteWe are sorry we missed our trip to Australia this year. But you have added a few things to our future planning list. Would love to visit when the blackberries are in season. Nothing better than getting them fresh from the field. I usually think of dandelions only as nuisance weeds. But I learned a little more about some medicinal uses for them. Maybe that field of yellow is more beautiful than I thought!
ReplyDeleteAustralia will always wait for your visit! I'll share more flower fields that I could find as much as I can.
DeleteThose blackberry recipes are absolutely delicious and I shall be trying them soon. I'm no baker but if I can fake a blackberry puff pastry, so be it.
ReplyDeleteThank you for visiting Kemi!
Deletei love blueberry picking. looks like you guys had some great weather and options.
ReplyDeleteYes it was last summer. I am excited to feel the summer again.
DeleteAustralia has long been on my bucket list, ever since I was a child actually after watching Blue Water high, but it lies so remotely so I have yet had a chance to visit. You seem to have had such a soothing visit. I love berries and fruits overall, I would certainly would have joined you on that blackberry picking activity. Those triangles look so delicious! I hope to see more blog posts from this beautiful island country.
ReplyDeleteThank you for appreciating my blog. Yes I'll share more country style travel around Australia.
DeletePretty sad to know about those Bushfires and to see that even today, the devestation remains. Blackberry picking sounds like a lot of fun. I have done strawberry harvesting, bet this is as good. And who is to say no when you pop a few in your mouth. The Dandelion fields look very refreshing and are total mood lifters.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ami!
DeleteHi Blair,
ReplyDeleteDid you move to Australia? By the way I loved the countryside vibe and those dandelion fields look so Insta-worthy. I've only been to Blackberries picking in Napa Valley, CA and it was fun! I wish you a great time in Australia!
Yes I did! My life changes so drastically and I like it. I fall in-love, moved here in Australia, and now trying to get used to the Aussie country lifestyle.
DeleteBlackberries and dandelions are awesome and all but the puppy on your video is the start of this blog post. I love how chubby and fluffy he is!
ReplyDeletehahaha their names are Bella and Rex. Apparently, Grandpa loves them so much and get generous foods a lot. They are so adorable, and loves blackberries too!
DeleteI like how he was able to turn the land into a farmhouse-- such a great idea. Dandelions! Not many people know it has medicinal uses. Nice post.
ReplyDeleteI love Australia and can't wait to return one day soon. I've only been to Sydney and would love to get out and explore the smaller towns.
ReplyDeleteYeah you will be surprised. Australia is not only visiting the big cities like Melbourne, Perth, or Sydney, or swimming in the crowded Bondi beach. Australia is about small community joined together. When you are in Australia, explore the regional towns and you will have the best experience of Aussie lifestyle.
DeleteI really need to visit! Also love you blog post! It was really informative! Thanks for educating me! I will need to visit like I said and taste, see, and smell all this!!!!!
ReplyDeleteWonderful dear!
DeleteA farm visit & blackberry picking are two activities that look so inviting. The dandelion fields have always looked beautiful to me when we travel outside India to Europe as we do not see it here so much except in the hills. It was lovely experiencing this journey with you.
ReplyDeleteThank you so much! We can always find beauty everywhere!
DeleteSuch a beautiful rustic experience. I did not know about the 2009 bushfires that took so many human lives, so sorry to hear that! I remember we used to pick blackberries too as kids, back in India. We would go for little walks in the wild and pick the blackberries and eat them! The Dandelions look amazing, I had no idea one could also eat the leaves of the Dandelions!
ReplyDeleteAmazing right?! I learned a lot from this experience :)
DeleteI havent been in Australia but i heard places here are so wonderful especially the farms.
ReplyDeleteHope you can visit in the future! Yes, Australia excels in farming and agriculture.
DeleteI have been to state of Victoria a couple of times but I haven't seen this yet. I hope I can do blackberry picking too soon!
ReplyDeleteSo many things to do and places to visit just around Victoria. I only visit Melbourne for business appointments, and quick museum side trips.
DeleteI could stare at those views every day for the rest of my lift. I really want to go there so badly.
ReplyDeleteAwww, thank you Melanie!
DeleteI would love to visit South Victoria or anywhere in Australia. A farm and blackberry picking sound like fun ideas for ways to spend your time in Australia.
ReplyDeleteFarm experience is always an awesome idea!
DeleteI would love to go blackberry picking. I just purchased an iced tea that has blackberries in it and I can't wait to try it.
ReplyDeleteOhh that is wonderful!
DeleteIt is so great to see such beautiful placesss! You're giving me too many holiday desires
ReplyDeleteawww thank you, and I'm glad you like it.
DeleteI have never gone for a blackberry picking but this place looks so lovely..... <3
ReplyDeleteThank you dear! I can't wait for the next season and experience another fruit picking.
DeleteIndeed instagrammable! looks like you had a great day!
ReplyDeleteYes I did! Hope I could experience more country travel.
DeleteBlackberry picking is so much fun! Also love the dandelion fields, they are so beautiful.
ReplyDeleteThank you Ketki!
Deletewow, I want to go there and pick blackberries. Sarao nyan kainin lalo na pag freshly picked
ReplyDeleteYes it is! And mixed with ice cream or yogurt.
DeleteWHOAAAA! I think you're right, Blair. I would totally love to travel and see mountain landscapes in Australia. I have slowly immersed myself with nature lately and it helps to keep me sane this quarantine.I badly wanna try blackberry picking! Naaalala ko mga healthy breakfast bowls sa blackberry :D
ReplyDeleteSlow travel will be the next big trend when the pandemic is over.
DeleteYou’re so lucky you got to experience blackberry picking! Blackberries are such such a rare fruit here in the metro, and usually they cost a lot! Too bad cos most of the healthy recipes i want to try require these babies! ��
ReplyDeleteNext season, I am excited to experience tomato picking naman!
DeleteYou’re so lucky you got to experience blackberry picking! Blackberries are such such a rare fruit here in the metro, and usually they cost a lot! Too bad cos most of the healthy recipes i want to try require these babies! ��
ReplyDelete