week two | olinda, dandenong ranges, victoria

Winter seriously is the perfect time for day trips and explorations a little closer to home. I’ve been meaning to visit the Dandenongs since I moved to Melbourne and I was so thrilled to finally go. (Also quick shout out to my most recent travel buddy, they are fast becoming the best part of my trips.) 

Olinda is everything you could want in a hamlet you’re spending the day in. A couple of coffee shops, a delicious smelling organic soap shop and a few delightful shops selling toys, gifts and every other thing that you never knew you needed.  Just an hour out of Melbourne, my cousin and I set off up the mountain, not really knowing what to expect, except for the promise of a cold misty forest. And boy, did Olinda deliver.

We started our trek around the manicured National Rhododendron museum before seeking out better views and wilder forests. We snaked our way further up and into the national park just as the rain started to fall. If truth be told, everything is always a little worse in the rain, but the forest was just as misty and just as breathtaking as we’d hoped, much more like something out of a fairy tale than something so close to everyday life. 

TRIP RATING: 5/5 SCARY TALL TREES 

week one | rottnest island, perth, western australia

There is something to be said for flying across the country to see something brand new (to you) and Perth certainly did not disappoint.  With absolutely no knowledge, my two best gal pals and a tone of excited energy in tow I arrived in Perth as the sun set.  Getting absolutely lost and in the end just giving up and taking a cab into the city. We then met up with some friends and explored the pop up food stalls and cool little bars that Perth’s Northbridge district has to offer.

The next morning got off to yet another somewhat shaking directional start that saw us arriving at Dock B in freo much later then expected, resulting in a couple of hours to kill before our boat departed. For these happy hours we wandered through old Fremantle, relishing in the superbly restored old buildings and learning as much as we could about Perth’s  colonial past.

Just of the coast, our boat's destination was the tiny holiday island of Rottnest. Now a gorgeous holiday village,  Rottnest has quite a dark past, still slightly visible through its old stone buildings and long abandoned graveyards. It was very cold and windy so we grabbed bikes and set off inland leaving he windswept dock behind. Our afternoon was happily spent riding, paddling, meeting quokkas and taking pictures before stopping for a seafood lunch overlooking the coast.  

With just a couple more days to fill in Perth we decided to do, see, eat, and drink as much as possible. Along Cottesloe; into delis; through the Fremantle markets and into Mountain Goat brewery for a star studded, Perth famous, Sunday sesh. A wonder through Kings Park and a quite picnic in the sunshine filled our last happy morning and before we knew it it was time to head home again. I hope the next 51 trips turn out as perfect as this one, and if you’re ever able to, go to Perth. It’s Perthect. 

TRIP RATING: 4/5 Quokkas