Sky High

When we came to Australia I made a promise to myself that I would try and go somewhere new at least once a week.  That started quite well at first as we explored the city, but what with work and the lack of a car to get anywhere further afield all my good intentions went to waste.  This Sunday however we managed to get things kick started again, with a trip up to Mount Dandenong.  Hardly a mountain at all it's summit is a mere 633 metres above sea level, although that is enough altitude to attract a little light snow fall in winter.  The original name for Mount Dandenong was Corhanwarrabul.

The Road to Mount Dandenong

Our drive took us up the narrow, winding Mount Dandenong Tourist road, past many crazy cyclist.  Our first stop was the small township of Sassafras.  It was clear that here was a location in the full swing of 'Christmas in July'.  Despite being the middle of winter and very chilly the small village strip was teaming with tourist like ourselves and there was no room in any of the cafes to go and get some lunch.  From Sassafras we found the start of a walking trail along the Sassafras creek, but as we were not equipped for a 15km hike we decided this would be something we would have to come back to do another day.

Trees around Sassafras

Feeling a little hungry by this point we stopped at a restaurant called Cuckoo.  It is a Swiss style buffet restaurant, which didn't seem too bad for a buffet even if the mock-European decor and costumes were a little tacky.  Still we didn't really feel hungry enough for an all-you-can-eat experience so we moved on.

SkyHigh Mount Dandenong

Our next stop was SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, a garden, restaurant, maze and viewpoint.  There is a $5 gate charge just to get in, but at the summit of Mount Dandenong it offers a stunning panoramic view across the whole of Melbourne, from Port Philip bay in the south to the Yarra Ranges in the north.  Now after getting very cold taking misty photos of the distant CBD we were hungry enough to try the restaurant.  Sat beside the huge Christmas (in July) tree  I had an amazing view out the massive windows towards the city (although Barnadi had his back to it).  The meal we had was unremarkable and overpriced, and the service was terrible.  The poor couple next to us ended up with a lap full of coffee.  If it wasn't for the view the place would have closed down years ago.  After lunch however we walked around the small 'English' garden but decided against the maze as it cost an extortionate $6 per person to enter and having already paid $5 to get in it seemed a little unreasonable.  As we were about to pull out of the car park, Barnadi spotted a Kookaburra behind a wire fence so we stopped while I tried to get a good photo, struggling against an automatic focus that was more interested in the fence than the bird.  We were being laughed at though, quite literally, when we realised in plain sight and on every fence post around us sat another Kookaburra and another and another.

Melbourne CBD

Kookaburra

Our final stop on this journey was the William Rickett's Sanctuary, a park filled with mythical sculptures that blend into the stones on which they are set.  Crucially it was free to enter, so well worth the stop to explore.  We didn't spend too long here though as we had to head back in time to go to work.

William Rickett's Sanctuary