Hiking in the Dandenongs

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Hi everybody, I hope you all had a great Easter Holiday. I spent the holiday weekend in the Dandenongs, a mountain range about an hour east of the city. While they are not terribly tall, only about 600 meters high (that’s about 2,100 feet if my conversion is correct) they are absolutely beautiful. I went with Marta who has friends that live in the area, and their backyard actually borders a national park. One of the girls is a high school biology teacher, so our hikes were quite educational.
The forests were gorgeous, very dense with lots of ferns, birds, eucalyptus trees and giant mountain ash. I was a bit surprised at how tall some of the trees were. I also got my first look at tree ferns. They are a lot smaller and have a trunk like a palm tree with what looks like a giant fern growing out of the top. Besides the forests I also enjoyed Belgrave, the town they lived near. It basically consisted of one old fashioned main street. As much as I love the city it was good to get out for the weekend.
We had all of last week off for Easter break, but besides the trip to the mountains I spent most of it working on my papers. One day I’ll learn not to procrastinate. I hope everyone is doing well. Until next time.

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Photos

Marta and I in front of a Mt. Ash
A look at just how tall these trees are compared to us.

Same tree different view
Another pic to get an idea of how big these trees are.

A view of the trail
This was part of the trail we hiked in the national park.

Tree Fern
A look at the Tree Fern which were quite numerous.

Fern Cover
Some parts of the forest were quite dense, with ferns obstructing the view.

Taking a break
We stopped to rest after hiking up a very steep hill. It made me realize how out of shape I have gotten!

Fiona and Bonnie
Our hosts for the weekend.

Ferns Everywhere
Some of the ferns where waist high.

Back in the city....
A look at Flinders St. Station at night

Comments

[anonymous]

the trees
You know,any tree would look tall beside you..I hope all is going as well as you wanted..I know you wanted to do this for a long time...we miss you here at the " Crazy 8 " - Jeff H

[anonymous]

NICE SHOTS
GIRL YOU ARE KILLING ME WITH ALL THIS OUTDOOR ADVENYURE,TRY TO STAY SAFE AND SAVE SOME FOR ME ,PLACES TO GO, - JOHN HENRY

[anonymous]

wow !!
HEY jodi ! its been forever !! your pictures are awesome !! e-mail me sometime! (-: [e-mail] Looks like you are having an awesome time! im jealous hehehehe (-: - Dottie !