Dandenong Ranges

P1

The Dandenongs seen from Eureka Tower

The Dandenongs (English: Dandenong Ranges), originally known as Corhanwarrabul, are a series of flat mountains, with 633 meters to reach the Mount Dandenong its highest point. They are located about 35 kilometers east of the center of Melbourne in southeastern Australia. One finds there mainly steep valleys and canyons before, covered with temperate rain forest of predominantly high eucalyptus trees and dense undergrowth.

Geography and Landscape

In essence, the Dandenong Ranges are divided into three sections:

  • The Ferntree Gully, a hiking and recreation area with picnic areas for the people of Melbourne, is made ​​of natural bushland and large tree ferns. It was in 1882 declared a nature park. One of the most popular trails is the 1000 Steps Walk, a staircase path of not quite 1000 levels up through the fern ravine to One Tree Hill Picnic Ground. Previously there was actually only one tree, and the hill was a popular viewpoint. But the vegetation is grown back; the Lookout Tower was dismantled in 1995.
  • The main attraction of Sherbrooke rainforest are giant eucalyptus with powerful tribes, surrounded by thick bushes and creepers. The Sherbrooke Falls on the eponymous Sherbrooke Creek reached only after heavy rains, the volume of a real, over the rocks tumbling waterfall. The forests have been decimated by logging in the 19th century, since 1958, however, the remaining areas are protected.
  • Doongalla is another hiking area with viewpoints.

These areas were grouped together for the 1987 Dandenong Ranges National Park, in 1997 the Olinda State Forest and the Mount Evelyn were annexed.

The highest peaks

  • Mount Dandenong - 633 m
  • Mount Corhanwarrabul - 628 m
  • Ferny Creek Summit - 561 m
  • One Tree Hill - 502 m
  • Sassafras Summit - 488 m
  • Sherbrooke Summit - 488 m

Mount Dandenong is a popular destination with a restaurant and an English garden. On a clear day, the Melbourne skyline is from the panoramic terrace can be clearly seen and the view extends even to the foothills of the Great Dividing Range.

Flora and Fauna

In the National Park five vegetation types with more than 400 endemic plant species are documented:

  • Tree fern gullies
  • Temperate Rainforest
  • Floodplain
  • Different subgroups of eucalyptus forests
  • Sclerophyllous vegetation.

In the park 130 species of birds, 31 species of mammals, 21 reptiles and 9 species of amphibians are documented.

In the bird world Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella, Kookaburra, Goldbauchschnäpper and thick -billed Crow Shrike are common. Lyrebird are a rare attraction.

" Puffing Billy"

A tourist attraction is the opened in 1900, steam-powered narrow gauge railway Puffing Billy, which runs in two hours over 24 kilometers from Belgrave Gembrook after through the canyons and the rainforest.

Settlements in the Dandenongs

In the Dandenong Ranges approximately 72,500 people live; count the outlying areas to the east and west of the ridge just adds approximately 120,000 inhabitants are achieved. The largest towns in the core region ( over 5,000 inhabitants)

  • Belgrave
  • Emerald
  • Ferntree Gully
  • Kilsyth
  • Montrose
  • Upwey
Cyatheales Riparian forest Puffing Billy Railway Belgrave (Victoria)
214629
de