Daytrip in the Dandenongs

Third day-trip around Melbourne since our arrival and we set our eyes on the Dandenong Range. The Dandenongs are a short set of low/hilly mountain ranges (max 633 m) approximately 35 km east of Melbourne. With impressive stands of old-growth eucalypt forest, the drive up along the range is a wonderful sight and makes you wonder at the past beauty and wilderness of the region prior to the large urban expansion from Melbourne and surrounding  urban hot spots. Despite the fairly low height of the range, it is high enough to promote a clear change in climate (cooler/colder than the lowland parts of the region depending on the season) and to provide for a very different floral community. We did not attempt any proper walk within the range but the short stroll to the Olinda falls (300 m) (small set of falls, quite disappointing from the top platform) in the Olinda forest makes you hungry for more and a daytrip for this purpose is marked down in my spring time diary. 

Along the way we stopped at the skyhigh viewing platform where one can enjoy a view towards the city. Unfortunately the cost of AU$ 5 was too high for us (we were really unprepared  and only had 3 dollars at hand) and we had to do with a view between houses and trees at the entrance of the Skyhigh platform which still allowed us to marvel at how close the city is and how clearly it can be seen.

Finally we stopped at Sassafras, one of a number of small towns in the range. Sassafras boast a number of very affordable but beautifully and originally stocked craft shops (especially the Gepettosworkshop wooden toy shop, which can also be found in Olinda), tea rooms (including the apparently famous Miss Marpples Tea Room), a nursery, soap shop, tea shop (hundreds of pots and cups on display, but the chocolate sold there is not worthy of your palate), and a small courtyard with a second hand bookshop and a shop boasting a mixture of affordable decorative items (wood, metals, old, kitsch, new, shinny, over the top, etc) worth a look. The courtyard had a large wood fire where one could warm up while listening to a two men band and enjoying a warm marshmallow compliment of the house. Overall, Sassafras differs from other similar ‘craft town’ (Maleny and Montville in Queensland for instance, where we are originally from) by providing interesting items that one can actually buy without having this feeling of having spend too much for not much.  I understand that craft shops should be more expensive than large commercial ones, but there is this tendency to find similar items across many 'craft town' with very large price difference that cannot be explained (I will sound stingy but as an example we bought a baby hat in Melbourne city for AU$ 18 and found exactly the same at Barwon Heads in a 'craft shop' for AU$35. The 'craft' here was made in an Asian country but charged as if made in Australia).

The proximity of the Dandenongs from the city and the activities/features on offer makes it a perfect day out for the family, the walkers and the nature lovers. We will have to go back to enjoy some walks in the impressive old-growth eucalypt forests scattered with large tree ferns, escape the heat of summer (I assumed it would be crowded up there during that time), or to simply spend a nice day with visiting family members. There is also the 100 year old steam engine train (Puffing Billy), running along its original track in the range (see link below), which would certainly entertain many young and not so young ones. Get out and play!

Gepettoworkshop 
Puffing Billy
Park Victoria Dandenongs Walks