Dandenong Ranges National Park -- Day 8

Day 7, yesterday (Sunday), was a quieter day we spent more at home with Tim, Moira, and Patrick.  We attended First Church, Melbourne, and went to Huntingtower's Open House in the afternoon.  We got a nice tour of the school, conducted by one of the grade 11 students, Hudson.  We surprised Brett F-M with a visit to her classroom. Later I took a walk in the neighborhood and enjoyed Tim and Moira's lovely garden.

Today, Monday, we drove east to Dandenong Ranges National Park for a hike in the woods.  What a beautiful place! We enjoyed the multicolored birds --cockatoos, parrots, ravens (?), and galah, saw a kookaburra, searched for the lyrebird (never found), and caught sight of a wallaby.

We first drove to Sky High lookout.  Melbourne is in the distance, the Yarra Ranges, and Port Phillip.

A beautifully carve pole, completed in just three weeks.

 This is at the base -- isn't it great?

 The boys, at the pole and on a bridge in the garden near by.  The beautiful flower below was also in the garden.

 In the Secret Garden.

 One of many colorful parrots in the trees.

And on Ben.

 And Timothy.

 That David can't get enough of tree-hugging!

 The Mountain Ash sheds it's bark -- here's a strip of bark we found on the ground.

 Many paths through the forest.

Help!  Tim's being devoured by a carnivorous bark-shedding tree! 

 We met Gael (yes, GaEl -- pronounced like Gail) who lives in the area and gave us expert information about the lyrebird, it's habits and so forth. Unfortunately we didn't see or hear the bird on this walk.

But we enjoyed the walk anyway. 

And met a wallaby instead! 

And saw lots of cockatoos in the trees. 

 And caught sight of a kookaburra!