Home on the Range

After the Puffing Billy train ride, we drove to Olinda for lunch.

Olinda Village - the heart of the Dandenongs

“Located a short drive from the Yarra Valley and famous Puffing Billy, Olinda Village is a place of stunning contrasts: take on the golf course or take time out enjoying views of the majestic ranges and forest; experience cutting edge cuisine or classic homestyle cooking; be captivated by shopping from the contemporary to the classic; relax in luxuriously modern B&Bs or old-worldly cottages. Olinda Village has it all.”

Pie in the Sky

Pie in the Sky is one of our favourite eating place. We never fail to stop in to this place for lunch when we are up in Olinda and we always enjoyed the hot piping pies. Their pies have won many awards and I like the simplicity of this place.

There are many others places to visit but if one is up here between September and October, you must visit the National Rhododendron Gardens.

“The National Rhododendron Gardens boasts 15,000 rhododendrons as well as a multitude of azaleas, camellias and daffodils. At different times of the year visitors can view flowering cherries, magnolias, Japanese maples and proteas. Visitors can follow self-guided walks around the garden or simply find a spot to sit down and enjoy stunning views of SilvanReservoir Park with the Australian Alps in the hinterground.

William Ricketts Sanctuary

Further down the road is William Ricketts Sanctuary.

William Rickets bought a four-acre bush block in 1930s, on Mount Dandenong and he called it Potter's Sanctuary. Word soon spread about the extraordinary sculptures that began to adorn the property. The Victorian Government heard about his work and, in the early 1960s, the land and adjoining blocks were bought for the people. William Ricketts lived on at the Sanctuary into his nineties and continued to create his sculptures until his death in 1993.

William Ricketts Sanctuary is a place of beauty and tranquillity, due both to the natural setting and the mystical sculptures half hidden among ferns along the pathways. It is a place for quiet reflection and for contemplation of the essence of the vision of William Ricketts. Many travel across the world to visit this place time and time again.

SkyHigh

Around the corner from William Ricketts Sactuary, less than 1 hour from the Melbourne CBD you can be SkyHigh. It is on the uppermost reach of the Dandenong Ranges, amid cool fern glades and lush towering native forest.

This place was first established as a survey point in 1861.

We were here to look at the Mornington Peninsula across the majestic sweep of Port Phillip Bay, surrounded by Melbourne’s growing urban fringes, to the You Yangs on the southern horizon and hope to catch the after sunset in the southern sky, brilliant in the clear mountain night, the spectacular carpet of city lights.

But that day was pissing rain and it was wet and cold. A blanket of mist covered the view and there was nothing much to see.

SkyHigh has something for the whole family including, an exquisite English garden, Adventurous SkyHigh Maze and links to trail walks in the Dandenong Ranges National Park.