Bushwalking in the Dandenongs: March 17, 2007

Mie has been visiting us from Japan for a couple of weeks, and we had an outing to the Dandenong Ranges Nat'l. Park last Saturday. It was a perfect Autumn day, and the great tall eucalyptus forests were bursting with amazing fragrance, due to some magical combination of the dry air, recent rainfall and weekend foot traffic tramping on some fallen leaves.

We walked through green gullies of tree ferns and a vertical landscape of very straight and towering mountain ash. It was very very pleasant and rejuvenating.




We also went to William Rickett's Sanctuary, a sort of outdoor sculpture gallery showing beautiful clay sculpture of Australian indigenous people and animals that have been skillfully blended with rocks, trees and nature.



We stopped off to feed some colorful bird life at a picnic ground before heading back to Melbourne (about a 1 hour drive).



Above is a wild orchid, and below is Mie's farewell dinner.