The Young and the Restless | Somewhere out of this world, in this world

One such place is Pink Cliffs Geological Reserve, a stone’s throw from the main street of the quaint little Heathcote township, about 100km from Shepparton.

The ‘pink’ in the name refers to the colour of the fine clay the rutted volcanic-looking trenches — the ‘cliffs’ — are formed from.

Pink Cliffs was used as a hydraulic sluicing site throughout the 1870s and ’80s, during Australia’s gold rush era.

Sluicing is a mining method where high-pressure jets of water blast large areas of earth away to be run through a sluice box, where gold is trapped and the residual slurry is washed away.

This activity eliminated the top layer of earth to reveal the incredible pink powdery rock formations you can see at the site today.

Due to significant environmental damage on the local landscape, sluicing at Pink Cliffs was ceased in 1890.

There is an educational circuit track that takes about 30 minutes to walk (depending on how many ditches and channels your kids — or you — want to explore), which leads you to both equally stunning upper and lower lookouts.

A large area is for viewing only, due to the ground being too at risk of erosion damage to be walked or climbed over, but kids are free to run wild over the cliffs throughout the rest of the reserve.

Being a geological reserve, you will find a variety of stones here, including smooth ironstone, if you are a bit of a rock buff.

The area obviously offers great photo opportunities of the small gorges themselves and the flora and fauna, as well as great bushwalking opportunities, with the site being surrounded by bushland (and other walks you can do in different areas around Heathcote).

Dogs are allowed, but must be kept on leads to avoid them trampling on the fragile out-of-bounds areas.

You could pack a picnic and make use of one of the tables at the reserve, or you could do what we did and grab some local bakery grub at Gaffney’s around the corner on your way there.

But be warned, once you step through the doors of that bakery, you’re going to be tempted to buy one of everything! (Or allow an extra half hour on your day’s itinerary at least for decision-making.)

There are no restroom facilities at Pink Cliffs (well, not the last time we visited), so if your kids (or you!) ‘need to go’ after the car trip, best stop in town first.

Sounds clichéd, but Heathcote does actually offer something to attract everyone, including:

• Bike and walking trails, including a 49km rail trail, and walks to lookouts and historic sites.

• A motor raceway, with a drag strip and regular meets and events.

• Wineries, with more than 30 cellar doors, and a gin distillery.

• A swing bridge over McIvor Creek, play spaces and picturesque picnic areas for families.

• Stunning parkland, including Valley of Liquid Ambers, which is close to town and perfect to visit this time of year to see the striking colours of the autumnal leaves.

• Central Victoria’s largest water storage Lake Eppalock, which is about 15 minutes out of Heathcote and used for boating, fishing, camping and other recreational activities.

You could stay for a weekend (or longer) without getting bored, or if you wanted to save yourself accommodation costs, it’s close enough to home to pack several activities into a day trip.

But our favourite thing to see there will always be those spectacular Pink Cliffs.

Or maybe the first bite of our bakery selections disappearing beyond our lips!