Though I’ve lived in Melbourne for several months, I recently came to realize that I hadn’t really seen much of Melbourne outside of the city and the inner suburbs. After doing some cursory research about day trips, I found that there are tons of things to do really close to the city, and one of the most appealing was a trip to the Dandenong Ranges, a set of low mountain ranges that are actually part of greater Melbourne.

The Dandenongs contain, among other things, an absolutely stunning rainforst, and the plant life is in quite lush. The Sherbrooke Forest, filled with towering gum and mountain ash trees, as well as massive ferns, makes you feel like you’re in Jurassic Park, and a dinosaur could emerge from the foliage at any moment. [Read more…]