The weather started getting warm and we went on a hike in Dandenong Ranges (early December).
We started from 1000 Steps car park. Apparently many people had the same idea and finding a parking spot was a challenge.
My knee was still a bit sore so we decided to walk on the Lyrebird track instead of Kokoda track.
The steps are much lower here.
We heard a bird with a nice call, here’s a recording:
After about half an hour we reached the One Tree Hill.
The area is situated on the site of the historic Doongalla Homestead, which was destroyed by a fire in 1932.
We returned via the Belview Terrace which was nice and wide.
The sign reads:
Resilience
The Seven Seasons of the Eastern Kulin Nations (Grass flowering)
The First Peoples of the Eastern Kulin Nation, which include the Wurundjeri woiwurrung people, the Traditional Owners of this land, measure change with an annual cycle of seasons marked by changes in the land, animals, water and sky.
There are seven annual seasons and two non-annual seasons, wiinj (Fire) and Baanj baanj (Flood), which occur on average every 7 and 28 years.
Grass flowering season is November.
This is the time that the kangaroo grass flowers. Bats are seen flying around, as well as the male common brown butterfly. Coranderrk (Victorian Christmas bush) begins flowering.
Continue along the trail to read about the other Eastern Kulin seasons.
We finished our walk with a lunch at the 1000 Steps Cafe.
Sign reads: Kookaburras will steal food. The warning was true: at some point a kookaburra suddenly flew to our table. It took us by complete surprise. Before we could do anything, it grabbed a potato chip and flew away.
Overall it was a nice hike. Going uphill was hard but not too challenging. We walked 7 km total – it took us about 1 hour and 50 minutes.