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Caught the 8:01 train out to Upper Ferntree Gully, spoke to the ranger, bought some maps and supplies and have been bushwalking happily for the last 4 hours.

Just stopped for lunch; munching on my poppy-seed bagel, with chicken, schnitzel, spinich,cheese and sundried tomatoes - oooo!

Upper Ferntree Gully

Ricklivesey
2006-08-31 12:28:45

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Caught the 8:01 train out to Upper Ferntree Gully, spoke to the ranger, bought some maps and supplies and have been bushwalking happily for the last 4 hours.

Just stopped for lunch; munching on my poppy-seed bagel, with chicken, schnitzel, spinich,cheese and sundried tomatoes - oooo!

It's been a lovely day so far. Need to find out how to get home, whether I can walk on further and get a bus back or whether I need to turn back after lunch for the return journey. It's been a mostly forest walk and there haven't been many spectacular views or huge mountains, but the 1000 steps were cool, (although there were only 867).

Mmm, tuna, feta and rocket is much tastier! Gorgeous,

15:13 - The peak of Mount Dandenong!

FHEW!

I just wandered out of the bush onto a main road and found a sign indicating there was an arboretum just up the way, so I headed off to check it out. I think I'm about 800m above sea level, and am at the heighest point in Melbourne with panaramic views of the sprawl, which I believe is the third biggest urban city sprawl in the world, although it sounds a bit unlikely.

Amazingly, the arboretum, (SkyHigh), turns out to also have a bistro / bar attached, so I'm now sitting here in the gorgeous sun, supping an ice-cold Carlton - bliss!

If only I'd got some more cash I could easily sit up here for hours getting slowly hammered. Saw some wicked nature on my little treck, including several stunning crimson Lyre birds. Should be able to walk another 1/2 hour to the William Rickets sanctuary, (reccomended by an old guy I met en route), and it's not too pricey I think I can get a bus back from there.

It's funny how you bump into Sisters in the strangest of places! As I walked in I clocked one of the waiters and we've been having a bit of a chat as he's been serving the people around. I asked him, (Simon), where's good to go in St Kilda and he said he was working at The Greyhound tomorrow night and invited me along. Turns out it's only 5 mins away from my hostel, does gay nights every Sat, and I'd not even heard of it! Looks like my weekend is already starting to take shape!