Hiking in the Dandenongs.
(Churchill National Park / Lysterfield Park )
We had a gorgeous day yesterday and left the kidlets and went hiking in the Dandenongs. What a surprise when we found lots (or as dh would say mobs) of kangaroos.

Our hike started along side a disused aqueduct. As we meandered along I saw in the woods several kangaroos grazing. Hard to spot but there are two kangaroos in the photo below.


There is something about these animals that is so interesting. Last weekend when we finished out hike at Werribee Gorge (yes.. I need to post about that excursion) we were driving out of the park and I point (as dh said not saying much) when I saw one kangaroo in the field grazing. I'm not sure if the people that we passed as we walked along even noticed the kangaroos. Dh figures it is similar to seeing deer graze at home. Who stops to watch them eat... just more deer. I'm not sure when the experience will get old and common place for me.


While there were signs to stay on the path... I just had to walk off to take a picture of these guys relaxing in the sun.

What you can't tell is how much damage has been done with bushfires. While I'm used to seeing damage from fires from our hiking out West, what is unusual here is how many places we have gone hiking where fires have swept through the area. I'm not sure if we have hiked in this area that we can't see evidence of bushfires - be it a few years ago or recent.

What is great is with the rain we've had during the past few weeks things are green.

As we were hiking through the woods we came up to a mom and her joey. I first noticed feet sticking up as she slowly hopped to a new grazing spot but what was even neater was when he popped his head out and grazed while she grazed. (Sorry he's in the shadow but getting kangaroos to pose is not that easy. )



We hiked up to the top of a peek and looked out from Trig Point Outlook. This picture is looking away from Melbourne towards Lysterfield Lake.



On the way down I wanted to take a different path so it wasn't a up and down along the same path.


We chose to go across the meadow and down the Woodland Walk. Our walk along a marked trail became hiking to find the trail. I'm used to fairly well marked trails by cairns out West where there are no trees or trees with hash marks in forested areas. On the way up the to Trig Point we had nicely posted signs for trail splits.

We got to what I thought was the point that the trail met up with our original trail up and there was no indication of which direction so we amble up the hill across these fellows grazing.


As we crest the hill I notice that I dropped the map and we turn around to find my print out. This part of the path didn't feel right so we ambled down past the point we came out of the woods and started walking the other way. We come to a sign... YEAH.. this will tell us what trail we are on. No, it is just a sign to say that we are in Churchill National Park. So I'm trying to figure out where on the trail map we are so we start truly bushwalking up through what could be a trail following behind this couple. We end up back on top of the knoll where I noticed we had lost the map. This is now plain wrong. I trudge down and back up the knoll to get my bearings and scare lots of kangaroos along the way. These poor guys must have been thinking I've seen this pair around here several minutes ago. Whatever is their problem.

We follow the fence. Did I mention at this point the park abuts a neighborhood? We see pools and tennis courts as we are walking along the edge of the park we end up back at the sign we had seen minutes before that informed us that we in Churchill National Park. Heavy sigh. We follow what appears to be a trail going up the hill which feels like it is going in the wrong direction except that I can see the power lines that we hiked under getting to the Trig Point. We trudge up and the hill and voila.. there is a sign for the intersection I thought we hit at the bottom of the hill. For all the wonderful signs they missed a sign that showed one must go up the hill.

I hate not knowing where I am on a trail map. Even though we were a stone's throw from civilization. It would have been more helpful if the signs had read Lysterfield Park. I was so upset I didn't even appreciate how many kangaroos we scared along the way.

Once back on the the track, dh goes to me stop.. turn around. Behind us was this kangaroo on the trail just looking at us before he bounded off into the woods.

Think I'll be back with the eldest so he can see kangas in the wild.

Now I'm only 1/2 dozen posts behind. I'll try to catch up and post about some of our other adventures. I know that many are waiting for the Great Ocean Road and Tasmania. I know "me bad."

Off to the wilds of Chadstone Centre to watch PotC3.