Be Bushfire Smart

• Serendip Sanctuary (Fri, 1 May 2009)

• A ranger will greet and orientate you upon arrival at the information centre.
• Start your Serendip experience with a peek down the giant microscope or step into the underwater world.
• Visit the theatrette and activities room and then begin your journey along the nature trails, viewing wildlife in natural habitats.
• The bird hides at Serendip are specifically designed to enable you to view native wildlife at close range. Birds can be seen within metres of the viewing areas preening, feeding, incubating eggs and rearing young.
• Visit the Brolga and the Bustard and Pademelon displays or take a walk through the wetland and dryland aviaries.

• A delightful picnic area with free undercover electric barbecues is provided. A group barbecue area (booking in advance is essential) with a wood fire is also available.
• The impressive information centre, designed to complement the theme of the Western Plains wetlands and wildlife, incorporates an office, theatrette, meeting rooms and student activity room.
• Serendip has toilets and disabled access is provided.
• Sanctuary no longer has fees attached to admission (some fees apply to guided tours and a bbq area).

Throughout the 1960's and 1970's gradual changes were made to the property by the Fisheries and Wildlife Division to accommodate the needs of wildlife and its research. In 1987, the government decided to re-develop the property into a wetlands education centre, with the aim of bringing the wetlands and wildlife of the Western Plains to the people.

The re-developments included the construction of an information centre, re-furbishment of existing buildings and the display pond, creation of walking trails, building of bird hides and covered walkways, marshland construction and installation of displays and educational material.

Serendip Sanctuary, opened to the public in 1991, is now managed by Parks Victoria and receives support from The Alcoa Landcare Project and Friends groups.

Aboriginal Traditional Owners

Parks Victoria acknowledges the Aboriginal Traditional Owners of Victoria - including its parks and reserves. Through their cultural traditions, Aboriginal people maintain their connection to their ancestral lands and waters.
Further information is available from Aboriginal Affairs Victoria AAV and Native Title Services Victoria

Look for Brolgas, free ranging ibis and Magpie Geese in the shallow, freshwater wetland, and Mountain ducks, Black Swans, Wood Ducks, Coots, Hardhead Ducks and grebes in and around the marshland.

Honeyeaters and wattlebirds feed on nectar and insects in the trees around Lake Serendip and Black-shouldered Kites and Whistling Kites soar up above looking for small prey on the ground.

The Tall Spike-rush pond provides habitat for Blue-billed Ducks, Black Ducks, swamphens and moorhens and attracts other food for the birds such as frogs, water rats and snakes. The North Arm permanent wetland is more reliable for fish populations providing food for fishing birds like pelicans and cormorants. Also, keep watch for Chestnut teals, Spoonbills and flocks of ibis flying about preparing to roost in the trees around the permanent wetland each night.

Australian Bustards and Bush Thick-knees are two rare Victorian birds which were once common on the Western Plains and now find a protected home at Serendip. Brolgas (Grus rubicundus) and Australian Bustards (Ardeotis australis) were chosen for the captive breeding program at Serendip, designed to rehabilitate species that have become rare or extinct on the Western Plains. The success of the captive breeding program has received international recognition.

Serendip also provides habitat for a variety of mammal species including Eastern Grey Kangaroos, Red-necked Wallabies, Swamp Wallabies, Echidnas, a limited number of Koala and the Pademelon, now extinct in the wild in Victoria.

The birds you see at Serendip are there because the wetlands provide habitat for them. These wetlands are part of a larger number of wetlands in the region. As many wetlands have been modified or drained and no longer provide habitat, these remaining wetlands have significant conservation value.

Serendip has many different wetland types, each with their own characteristics. The shallow freshwater wetland is ephemeral and dries out every two to three years unless it receives a flow of water from the You Yangs water catchment. The Marshland at Serendip has channels of varying depths designed to cater for a range of waterbird species. Trees such as Red Gums and wattles around Lake Serendip attract different species of birds. There is also the Tall Spike-rush pond, named after the Tall Spike-rush (Eleccharis spachelata), which grows around the edges and in the water. Finally, the North Arm of Lake Serendip is an example of a permanent open water wetland.

Native grass and herb species used for revegetating Serendip include Tussock grass (Poa labillardieri), Common Wallaby Grass (Danthonia caespitosa), Windmill Grass (Chloris truncata), Chocolate Lily (Anthropodium strictum), Blue Devil (Eryngium rodneyanum) and Common Everlasting (Chrysocephalum apiculatum).

• Walk quietly so as not to frighten the free range animals away.
• Walk on the designated paths.
• Leave every thing where you find it.
• Do not step on the bull-ants.

Picnic Area
The public picnic area at Serendip Sanctuary has a fully accessible toilet. The site is level, allowing independent access despite the lack of paths to the tables. There are electric barbecues and accessible picnic tables. There is no designated parking at present, but park staff can reserve space by prior arrangement. A good site overall.

Nature Walks
The walks at Serendip Sanctuary are highly accessible. Paths are clearly defined and there are tactile indicators where required. Clear diagrammatic maps readily available upon arrival at the sanctuary, show walk routes. All walkways, corridors, doorways, bird hides, seating and ramps within the sanctuary comply with current access standards. There are no stairs.

• Brisbane Ranges National Park
• Steiglitz Historic Park
• Werribee Park
• You Yangs Regional Park