There are many homeschooling networking groups across Victoria. Today, we joined up with Peninsula Wildthings — a group of natural-learning families who live on the Mornington Peninsula southeast of Melbourne.

The Peninsula Wildthings maintain current and comprehensive website that lists all their activities. They aren’t a co-op, as the activities are usually free and ad-hoc, but several times a year they camp together as a group.

The beach adjacent to Mount Martha features a row of rounded stones at the waters edge and pure sand further out in the water.

As soon as I parked our bus, I was greeted by another mother who was unloading her sons from the car. As I was approaching this group without anyone knowing me, it was lovely to have such a positive introduction.

We set ourselves up at the edge of the beach in the shade of some overhanging trees.

We're playing in the water of Port Phillip Bay — beautiful, clean and warm.

We enjoy the opportunity to swim in the ocean again. The water here feels much warmer than in Tasmania!

The kids start to share beach toys, and soon our girls are playing with what's available — making sandcastles and fashioning creatures out of the stones.

Delaney always loves the opportunity to play at the beach, although she never gets very wet.

It's easy to see why locals call this Step Beach. I counted 203 steps after going up and down about six times.

We really enjoyed our day with the Peninsula Wildthings. The parents were very friendly and the children played nicely together or apart. I don’t know if we’ll get back to the peninsula for another meet-up for a long time, but I hope to build on the friendships we started today during the coming weeks.

Preserved as a non-profit community venture, Collingwood Children’s Farm attracts hundreds of families from across Melbourne who seek to expose their children to a country-living experience. The farm offers free tractor and horse rides on the first Sunday of each month, so we parked nearby and joined in the fun.

There's parking close by, and from the crowd already at the farm, it's a popular place to visit.

A string of metal sculptures lead us over a wooden bridge from which we can see the market gardens down below.

On the second Saturday of each month, Collingwood Children's Farm hosts Farmers' Markets where they sell the produce they grow as well as providing space for other local producers.

We pay a small entrance fee ($16 for a family) and look over the map to work out which parts of the farm are the most interesting to us.

Collingwood Children’s Farm was started in 1838 as a way of encouraging city children to learn the ways of working on the land and with animals. Run as a non-profit organisation and supported with the help of many volunteers, the farm still provides a valuable service — not only to children, but to Melbourne as a whole. Collingwood Children’s Farm follows the principles of permaculture and biodynamic production in its daily operations.

We discover the chooks free-ranging around the picnic area, picking up scraps.

We wait for ten minutes for our turn on the hay-ride.

Sitting in the trailer on bales of hay, we are towed around the farm by the tractor. It's a great way to see the full length of the farm and gives an idea of where we want to go next.

A café is serving a popular barbecue lunch, but I'm intrigued by the tiered fence-garden that separates the tables from the walkway below.

We stop to smell the lemon-scented geraniums growing beside a shed.

We don't see a lot of geese during our travels, so this small flock keeps our attention for a while.

Myrtle and Jacob the pigs greet us with alacrity.

While I join the long queue for pony rides, the girls play around the stables. I find it really interesting to be able to watch the interactions of other families, especially within such an urban setting. I saw parents admonish their children for playing in the dirt, another forbid her daughter to climb a small hill lest she fall and scrape her knee, and many that let their children roam and play freely.

The girls peer into the stables at the horses and donkey that reside here full-time.

Brioni finds some loose bricks and starts to build a little house for her toy.

Delaney is taken aback by the interest shown by this huge boar.

When it's finally her turn, Delaney is delighted to be on top of the horse!

Aisha and Brioni both take their turns, but Calista decides she doesn't want to go for a ride.

Delaney and Calista enjoy patting the horse in a quiet moment.

When it's time to return to the bus, the girls race off across the unformed landscape — free-range play in the middle of the city!

I love having the bus nearby. We broke up our visit to Collingwood Children’s Farm by returning to the bus for some food. I’m also thrilled to discover that Melbourne is not only edgy and artistic, organic and natural, but family-friendly too in many ways, like this!

The Melbourne Didgeridoo and Cultural Festival introduced us to the large Westerfolds Park in northeast Melbourne where the Mia Mia Gallery of Aboriginal art is located. Yesterday, the gallery precinct at the top of the hill was transformed into a thriving market and entertainment space as didgeridoo players, groupies and appreciators of Australian Indigenous arts came together to celebrate.

Passionate about the didgeridoo, Stax offers didges for sale, merchandise and free workshops.

This stallholder allows his pet python to roam the marquee frame while he talks with customers.

Col demonstrates his singing bowl. He makes these and pentatonic drums out of recycled gas bottles.

Col’s drums sound absolutely amazing. He donated one as the festival’s raffle prize, and I’m sorry we didn’t win it!

Some particularly Australian meats are on the menu at this festival.

Geri the goanna is brought along to the festival by his carer. It's fantastic to see a goanna so close up, as they're usually running away from us when we encounter them in the wild.

As well as browsing the market stalls and listening to the music, we enjoyed exploring the gallery precinct. The art gallery has an amazing collection of Indigenous artworks for sale, although they particularly ask visitors not to photograph them, so I can’t share the details with you.

Chainsaw stump sculptures outside the Mia Mia Gallery depict the native animals that live in and around Westerfolds Park where the gallery is located.

An artist has fashioned this circle with sand, grains and spices and decorated with crystals, leaves and festivals.

Delaney peers into the hole in a log.

Our girls love roaming the festival site with Lily.

Our girls were thrilled to be reunited with their travelling friend Lily whose father was performing today as part of the festival. Jesse Lethbridge is a brilliant didge performer as well as a creator, and he was very well received by those who have his didgeridoos or know his music.

Jesse Lethbridge moves off the stage to the same level as the audience as he explains his instruments and the techniques he uses when playing.

Jesse keeps a band of bells around one ankle to provide extra percussion while he plays.

The vibe at Didge Fest was relaxed, inclusive and authentic. Stall-holders interacted very personally with browsing customers, and our girls loved buying little Australian toys from one friendly vendor. Although the program dictated the line-up, musicians improvised, inviting other performers on stage with them.

We're privileged to witness the reunion of two friends who spontaneously start a beat-boxing session that lasts about ten minutes.

Niknarmada's Adam Rankin plays the gongs to the accompaniment of three didgeridoos.

Rosi and I find a quiet corner to catch up while the kids play.

I’m glad we got to spend more time with the Lethbridge family again. Seeing Jesse play is a treat, too, and the girls love playing with Lily. With all this — and more — happening at the Didge Fest, this was a memorable outing in the wonderful city of Melbourne!