From varying terrain, abundant birdlife and dramatic stories, Victoria's Dandenong Range will stretch your brain as well as your legs.
The five-hour circuit of Mt Dandenong offers outstanding views, impressive mountain ash forest and abundant birdlife. And, if you like to combine walking with a coffee fix, there are cafes at the end of the walk – there’s even one on the summit!
Mt Dandenong (633m) is the closest mountain to Melbourne, with panoramic views over the city, Port Phillip Bay, Mt Macedon and the You Yangs. The weather can swing rapidly from sunshine to heavy rain or occasional snow, so Melbourne’s ‘four seasons in one day’ principle applies. The track is slippery after rain.
I like to start this 16km walk from Olinda, a small town with plenty of parking (and cafes). Walk east beside Olinda-Monbulk Road, turning left into Chalet Road, then left again onto Golf Course Track. Now you’re into the Dandenong Ranges National Park. The musical calls of golden whistlers and the screeching of black cockatoos in this damp, green forest are instant reminders you’ve escaped the city.
Turn left onto Mathias Track and then right onto Predator Track (hard to spot – 50m before Falls Road). You then reach an attractive clearing – a perfect picnic spot – but beware the sandwich-seeking, dive-bombing kookaburras.
Next, take Bartlett Track and Falls Road to Dorey’s Bridge. After a short detour to Olinda Falls, head uphill along Mechanics Track, surrounded by tree ferns and tall mountain ash. Crossing Mt Dandenong Tourist Road, you enter the Mt Dandenong Arboretum, a peaceful spot with introduced oak trees.
You then cross Ridge Road and turn left into the gated Trig Track. Now you’re into the drier stringybark forest of the western slopes of Mt Dandenong, with blackened tree trunks evidence of controlled burns by National Parks. I love seeing the new green growth on these scorched trunks, reminders of the staying power of gum trees after fire.
At the signposted junction, go left steeply uphill to the Mt Dandenong lookout, where the views are sensational. There’s a restaurant and gardens here to explore too, if you have time. Then head downhill to the Kyeema Memorial, the site of a plane crash in 1938. In heavy fog, the plane smashed into Mt Dandenong, killing all 18 on board.
There was a major overhaul of Australia’s aviation safety afterwards. Continue to Burkes Lookout, with more impressive views, a good spot for lunch. Then head downhill on the Channel 10 Track (named after the nearby TV transmission tower) and Dandenong Creek Track. I often spot cheeky Yellow Robins along here. Crossing Olinda Road, pick up the minor footpath, then turn left into Range Road and follow this back to Olinda.
Need to know
Mt Dandenong is a 50min drive east of Melbourne. For more info click here.