We knew nothing of The Dandenongs, but thought the National Park would provide a nice couple of days in some lovely country. Driving through the magnificent mountains and trees was a pleasure, and some of the villages and cafes a delight. But we felt there was more there than what we had experienced, but could not find. Maybe we needed more time to get to really understand it all.
We were at The Dandenongs on 19 & 20 February 2019. Because of difficulties in getting our preferred time at Wilsons Promontory, we found ourselves with a couple of days of non-planned activities. “Lets go to The Dandenongs” we said!
Kerry’s snippets in fuchsia
Getting There
San Remo > Dandenong ~ 111kms
History
Mount Dandenong was originally known as Corhanwarrabul (the present-day site of Burke’s Lookout is also known as Mount Corhanwarrabul) and was the summer hunting place for the Bunurong people from Western Port and the Woiworung people from the Kulin nation.
Over in the Yarra Valley, the area around Healesville was originally occupied by the Yarra Yarra or Wurrundjeri Aboriginal group. By 1863 these peoples were settled at the Coranderrk Aboriginal Reservation on Badger Creek, which soon became Victoria’s largest and best-known Aboriginal reserve until its closure in 1924.
Botanist Daniel Bunce’s 1840s foray into the Dandenong Ranges marked the first recorded European expedition. Wholesale clearing began in the 1850s when the settlers moved in, before the state forest was established in 1867. The area was used as a main source of timber for Melbourne, and hunting for game, with the townships of Mt. Dandenong, Sassafras and Olinda the original settlement centres. It wasn’t long before the area started to become a place of respite and retreat for Melbourne’s workers, who were drawn to the area as a popular holiday destination during the early 1900s. They stayed in the guesthouses and resorts that were dotting the hillsides. Timber harvesting actually continued, in some areas until as late as the 1960s.
Other areas have highly productive land for horticultural production – such as flower farms, orchards, berry farms and herb farms – while other blocks were planted as spectacular gardens with exotic trees and shrubs. Large formal gardens with mature stands of exotic trees are a feature of the area.
In 1909, Daniel Camm a local pioneer settler and successful berry grower set up a jam factory to sell to Melbourne when prices were high. He later began to make the “Monbulk” jams a household name in the British homes for years. Today the factory is used to make plastic nursery pots for the surrounding industry.
In 1930, Alfred Nicolas constructed “Burnham Beeches” in Sherbrooke and in 1955, the Nicholas Institute for medical and Veterinary Research was established. Nicholas developed the ‘Aspro’ painkiller. The property’s hill station garden was later handed over to the State Government in 1972 although the house is privately owned but not used.
In the 1950s it became fashionable to own your own piece of the Dandenong Ranges paradise and little bungalows and shacks soon popped up across the villages on the hilltops.
Much of the Dandenongs were protected parklands as early as 1882 and by 1987 these parklands were amalgamated to form the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Over the years various freehold blocks that were once cleared of vegetation have been acquired by the State Government and added to the park. Today, parts of the region are home to special breeding and protection areas for fauna including Leadbeater’s Possum and Victoria’s bird emblem, the Helmeted Honeyeater.
Day 1 – Tue 19 Feb – To and at The Dandenongs
It was a straightforward drive to Dandenong, mostly on a 4 lane road – a nice surprise. Some good scenery in the early parts of the drive but after that is was generally flat farmlands and then increasingly the outer suburbs of Melbourne.
In our complete ignorance of this area and of Melbourne generally, we thought that Dandenong would be close to The Dandenongs, so we had booked a van park in South Dandenong. It was only as were were travelling north that we began to realise that our van park and where we wanted to be were about 35kms apart and across a busy part of the city.
We stayed at the Big 4, which is quite a good park. We got the only drive through site – actually 2 smaller sites. We are right next to an ablutions block but with a nice high fence, and the facilities are very good. Cost is $36.90pn.
After setting up, we drove to The Dandenongs starting at the northern end. We went in at Montrose and then along the Mt. Dandenong Tourist Drive. It is a lovely drive and we quickly see the attraction. Good views from Five Ways Lookout at Kalorama.
At 5 Ways, the roads divides into two roads that run almost in parallel to near Mount Dandenong. We took the Ridge Road to the right so as to get to the SkyHigh viewing area. This is a short diversion. We were surprised to have to pay $7 to get in – that is like having to pay to see the Three Sisters in Katoomba NSW. It is really only a viewing platform, and not a particularly great view at that, and a cafe. The garden are ok, but nothing really special. All in all, this was a bit of a disappointment. It was a shame that the weather was overcast and misty. I imagine on a clear day, the Melbourne skyline would look quite spectacular from up here. You can also see Mount Macedon in the distance on a clear day too (about 80 km away).
Driving on I remember someone saying that The Dandenongs are a bit like the Blue Mountains in NSW and Leura in particular. There is certainly a strong resemblance.
Mount Dandenong itself is a small village, and we did not stop. Olinda was a larger village, in fact quite like a small Leura with very similar cafes, crafts, shops and little oddities such as the Turkish shop, with its vast array fo lights, bowls, clothings and dishes. Near our car park we saw a very unusual tree.
We also stopped and walked through Sassafras. At Miss Marples, the very busy cafe, we had afternoon tea – scones, jan and cream for Kerry and bread and butter pudding for me. Absolutely yummy, but so filling. The cafe was nearly full, with people coming and going all the time. Its walls were adorned with photos from the original Mrs Marples films. Photos of Margaret Rutherford abounded, as did a superb collection of teapots of all shapes and sizes. The scones were delicious, but more like a large cake slab cut into squares.
From there we headed back to the van park, driving through some extensive farmlands which surprised us as we seemed so close to Melbourne.
Day 2 – Wed 20 Feb – The Dandenongs
It was another cold night and morning. We are going to have to get some more warm clothes today to try to cope with this Victorian summer.
First up, as we head for The Dandenongs, we filled up with fuel at a cheap service station ($1.35/L compared to $1.39). We got 103.63L having covered 546kms giving an economy rate of 18.98L/100km. This is not too bad. At the service station was a carwash, so we did that as well. The car looks gleaming – after the rain on the gravelly roads around Wilsons Promontory, its so nice to see a mud free car again.
We drove on up to Upper Fern Tree Gully and then on to Ferny Creek. Again it is a really nice drive. The Mountain Ash are quite spectacular.
We had planned to stop at Sherbrooke for a walk, but found ourselves past that area without seeing any of the signs we expected to some walks or places of interest. But we did drive past some lovely fences hiding what we assumed were lovely houses.
We came to the Alfred Nicolas Gardens, walking in through a set of magnificent gates. Nicolas and his brother discovered the aspro painkiller – the house and gardens were his holiday home with the gardens now under government ownership. The gardens are lovely and we enjoyed our walk.
The house is a 3 story art deco building fenced off from the gardens, but really in need of repair. It is a shame to see it left to decline.
Next we cane to the George Tindal gardens, which were also lovely.
After a few kms we came to Kallista, and shortly after that to Grants picnic grounds. This is a large area well set out and with 3 walks. But they are not really what we were after. There was also a bird feeding place and there were many tourists buying tickets and going in to feed the birds, in this case cockatoos. Not a bird I would want gripping onto my shoulder.
We did not stop at Belgrave but decided to head back to Dandenong to get some warm clothes. On the way I spied a timber place and stopped to get some more substantial blocks to go under the jockey wheel, or plate in our case. I found a plank I thought would work if cut into 4. I took it to the man responsible for all things timber, but instead of going to a drop saw, he got a blunt hand saw and it took some time. Still at least he warmed himself up a bit, and I came away with 4 good sized blocks.
We left somewhat frustrated with our time in The Dandenongs. The mountains and driving through the forests were great, and many of the buildings and villages were lovely. But we were looking for a bit more to do and we did not find the good walks we assumed were there. We are sure there is much more to see and do there, and it is most likely us just not knowing where to go and what to do.
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