New Year's in Mt Dandenong

I love VIC.

I can drive an hour, two hours, in any direction and be someplace new and special and exciting.

Today, we decided to visit SkyHigh@Mt Dandenong.

Attractions worth checking out:

• If you like gardens, the English Garden and Secret Garden make a lovely stop. Look for the Wishing Tree, the creek where young Billy was lost and miraculously found, the Australiana Tree, Percy Possum's House and the Giant's Chair.
  
• For families with young kids, the Maze with its passport that you self-stamp every time you locate a Square is great fun. A family ticket is $16, and you get a badge on successful completion of the Maze.
  
• The viewing terraces outside the bistro at the carpark offer terrific views all the way to the city, Mt Macedon, Mornington Peninsula and the You Yangs.

On the way down, we stopped at Olinda where we spent a happy half hour browsing in boutique stores Treasures of Istanbul, a gorgeous store where everything - ceramics, rugs, bags, boots, lamps, costume jewelry - is from Turkey, and where my aesthetically inclined firstborn and I bought a lovely pink necklace, and the store next door that sells home appliances, where we bought our very first pack of fine Himalayan Salt (it retains the iodine component, unlike ordinary table salt).

We also savoured the BEST pies ever - at Pie in the Sky Restaurant. We can see why their pies have won numerous awards. The food is delish and affordably priced, service is friendly, and the ambience is comfortable.

Hubby was so inspired by the "easy drive" to and from the Dandenong Ranges that we're now talking about camping in the area sometime soon and doing bush walks daily.