Our final destination in our road trip from Adelaide along the Great Ocean Road was the Dandenong Ranges. Skip back to Day 1 to read about Adelaide to Warrnambool, or read Day 2 about the Great Ocean Road, and you can jump back a day to read about Day 3 for Geelong to Olinda.
Dandenong Ranges Botanic Gardens
The morning was misty and enigmatic, with low clouds hanging over the Dandenong Ranges. We headed straight to the Botanic Gardens, hoping to see the cherry blossoms. Unfortunately, strong winds and the weather from the previous week had blown all the petals away. However, the gardens were still beautiful.
Wandering the steep gardens from the upper car park, we strolled beneath majestic gum trees, marveling at the rhododendron plantings. We admired the flowering banksias and the giant blooms of the waratahs. As we passed beautiful reflecting lakes, we discovered the Chelsea garden, a much more sculpted installation within the gardens.
The Chelsea Australian Garden features a striking metal sculpture that draws you into the rock garden, reflecting pool, and boardwalk. We appreciated the highly refined and curated experience, which contrasted beautifully with the wild and natural feel of the rest of the gardens.
Dandenong SkyHigh – in the clouds
A popular attraction is the “SkyHigh” location just north of Olinda, famous for its restaurant with curved windows offering uninterrupted views to Melbourne. We followed the road through the clouded forest only to find out that there was no view to be had! So instead we turned around and drove back through the eerie forest, shrouded in low cloud.
Enchanted by the experience, we were glad to have enjoyed it, even without the famous views.
Daylesford
Our last day from the Dandenong Ranges to Adelaide promised to be a long journey. The 800 km drive would take about nine hours, so we opted to avoid the freeways and toll roads for a more interesting route.
We veered off the beaten track to Daylesford, a small town renowned for its volcanic hot springs. Despite its size, Daylesford boasts a beautifully over-glamorized town center, with grand buildings lining the main street. This is thanks to the influx of visitors to the hot springs. The area is now also famous for its artists and galleries.
We decided to visit one gallery – the David Bromley gallery. Bromley is known for his simple line drawings that somehow capture a portrait’s mood and essence with just a few strokes. Many of his head-and-shoulders portraits feature bold horizontal stripes across the model. As we wandered through the gallery, the attendant informed us that all art was for sale at a 30% discount. Some pieces were reduced to just $26,000! While we loved the artwork, we preferred to keep our money for food!
Returning to Adelaide
The satnav guided the rest of our return journey. We travelled along remote roads through rolling countryside, passing fields of crops and grassland. The scenery remained mostly unchanged for hours, punctuated only by a few small country towns.
Most sections were single lane, but some portions featured just one lane—essentially a central sealed strip flanked by two soft shoulders. The idea is that vehicles drive in the middle, and when another car approaches from the opposite direction, both pull off to the side to pass.
In one part of Victoria, we spotted a wind farm in the distance. It wasn’t unusual to see wind turbines during our road trip, especially along the coast. This time, however, we drove right through the columns of the turbines, marveling at the enormous structures lined up perfectly in a grid of at least 80 turbines. We even saw one turbine being built or repaired, which highlighted just how massive the blades are compared to the trucks and cranes handling them.
As we passed through Coonalpyn, we encountered the stunning grain silo art. We were amazed by the massive artworks painted on the concrete canvases of the silos. These enormous structures typically rise like modern castles from the plains of the Australian fields, often plain and gray, sometimes white. Recently, artists have been commissioned to transform them into vibrant works of art. There is a trail to help you locate these magnificent silos, allowing you to marvel at them just as we did.
Well, that is the end of our road trip. Did you want to read about the start and Day 1, or the Great Ocean Road in Day 2, or Day 3 in the Dandenong Ranges?
