Laverton

About 18km south-west of Melbourne, Laverton is home to a big RAAF base, and locals claim that you just have to see both the RAAF Museum and nearby Point Cook Coastal Park.

The park itself provides a variety of experiences for visitors, including bird watching at Spectacle Lake, scenic walks and breathtaking views from The Tower - a viewing platform for the ecologically fragile Cheetham wetlands.

The RAAF Museum, as a fully-operational flying unit, allows visitors to watch pilots and technicians at work and inspect the wide range of aircraft on display.

Laverton is part of the Werribee commuter community which has developed round the core of Werribee Park - a vast private estate which was the family seat of the Chirnside brothers, who owned vast pastoral tracts in the Western District.

Based on a 60-room Italianate mansion the park is now owned by the Victorian Government and its gardens, wildlife reserve, picnic grounds, golf course and tennis courts are open to the public.