Mt. Dandenong is definitely Melbourne's favourite hiking and picnic spot. We got to know about this during our trip on a weekend. There are close to 4 hiking trails in here and on a normal weekend you can expect them to be jampacked with couples, families with small kids, friends climbing up the mountain. This is quite in contrast to the hiking trails in India, which are generally deserted. Hence gives a idea of how much of importance a general Australian gives towards fitness.
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| Lyrebird Trail |
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| 1000 step trail |
Mt Dandenong is around 50 Kms from the CBD and considering the never ending expansion of the city of Melbourne, this area has been gobbled up by the city and now forms a suburb of greater Melbourne. The ride to start of the hiking trails is great with winding roads and dense forest. We parked the vehicle at the visitor centre and started the climb. We decided to climb via the Lyrebird trail and return back via the 1000 steps trail, also known as Kakoda Memorial trail. The most famous of all the trails is the 1000 steps trail, which was developed in honour to the Australian soldiers who fought in the Pacific islands during the 2nd world war.
The climb up via the Lyrebird trail is steep. Even though one way distance is 1.5kms, it is mentioned that it takes close to 45 min to climb up the hill. The good thing about Lyrebird trail is that it is wide and hence can accomodate a lot of simultaneous hikers unlike the 1000 step trail which is narrow. The trail is through dense forest chirping with birds, a must visit for any nature lovers. Near the top the 1000 step trail joins the Lyrebird trail. Unfortunately there is no spectacular view from the top. We returned back via the 1000 step trail, which has a lot of spots dedicated to the fallen men.
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| Trails In Mt Dandenong Range |
From there we went towards the Skyhigh, a spot from where one gets great views of the CBD. There is an entry fee of $5 and they are quite a few spots to visit apart from the viewing platform. There are parks, mazes, a restaurant and other attractions. One can spend close to 2 hrs in this place. After this we returned back to our home.
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| View from the Skyhigh With Melbourne CBD looking like a distant fairyland !!!!! |
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