Showing posts with label Mount Dandenong. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Mount Dandenong. Show all posts

Monday, December 12, 2011

Beach, Wine, and Putt Putt Golf


For my family's final full day in Australia, we did a lot. Who am I kidding? We did a lot for the whole two weeks they were here! Anyway, we started with "morning tea" at Brighton Beach. Everyone enjoyed picking out his or her favorite bathing box while eating lamingtons (an Australian sponge cake dessert) and drinking raspberry lemonade. We played some beach games and then headed to our next location.

After driving through the Sherbrooke Forest, we headed to the top of Mount Dandenong for lunch. We enjoyed the view of Melbourne's CBD from afar and had fun playing among the daisies, climbing the Giant's Chair, and looking through the Wishing Tree.



Then it was off to Domaine Chandon for their winery tour and a tasting. My dad really likes wine, so it was fun to show him the Australian wine region.


After the wine tasting, it was nice to relax out by the vineyards. Yes, it's a rough life, but somebody's got to live it!


We stopped off at another winery and had "afternoon tea," which included yummy cheese, crackers, and strawberries.


Then it was back to Melbourne, where we played a round of glow-in-the-dark putt putt golf in the Docklands using some coupons. Justin had been waiting anxiously for this event. I was proud to beat him and win the game!
Zack met us after work for an Indian dinner in the Docklands, and the Dills later went to bed for their last time Down Under!

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

Dandenong Ranges National Park

We started off our Queen's Birthday holiday weekend with a drive out to Dandenong Ranges National Park on Saturday morning.  It's only about an hour outside of Melbourne, but you feel like you're in a whole different world.  There are towering trees, everything is so green, and it feels like a rainforest with its chirping birds and moist, fresh air.

We did a short hike in the Sherbrooke Forest to a small waterfall.  It was nice to get away from the city for a bit, though we missed having Molly the trail dog running out ahead of us to scout out the path and make friends along the way.



A glimpse of Sherbrooke Falls



After our hike, we headed to the SkyHigh Restaurant, which sits atop Mount Dandenong.  Of course, the view wasn't quite as impressive as it is atop those Colorado Fourteeners, as this "mountain" is just over 2000 feet above sea level (633 meters).  But it was still cool to see Melbourne from a distance and enjoy some lunch in the sunshine.

View from Mount Dandenong-can you see Melbourne?
As always, there are more pictures on my Shutterfly site (link in the upper right).  Overall, it was a morning well spent, and tomorrow's entry will tell you all about our Saturday afternoon activity!