This weekend was one full of mountain views and epic waterfalls, so by every measure a freaking good ass weekend. On Friday we met up with Joey (our Aussie adventure friend that took us to see some epic waterfalls a few weekends back) and she showed us around the Dandenong Ranges which are the closest mountain ranges to Melbourne. We started the day off with an adrenaline rush. No not by jumping off cliffs... but by feeding wild Cockatoos. Beautiful birds, but scared the living crap out of me to have them land on me. Can't explain it but here's to finding new fears and attempting to conquer them. From there we explored waterfalls, mountain lookouts, short hikes and huge gardens. It was the perfect day, full of all of my favorite things. Zipping through the tree canopied roads and exploring random sites with a bad ass local was just what I needed. Later Joey had us over to her house for pizza. It was so nice to be welcomed into her home and meet her family. I am so overwhelmed with the kindness I have experienced from Joey and her willingness to put up with us and show us around Melbourne. Having a local take us around and share her favorite spots has made this experience that much better.
Now you all know that I couldn't only see one mountain range a weekend! So on Sunday with a group called New to Melbourne, 20 of us international students from Swinburne joined in on a bus trip to the Grampians National Park and OMFG it was amazing. I had heard about the Grampians before I came to Australia and knew that I needed to get there during my time here and they did not disappoint. While we didn't get to hike much since we were on a big bus, the stops we made were incredible. We started at McKenzie falls and then headed to a variety of different lookout points. Every were we stopped there were mountain views stretching in every direction for kilometers and kilometers, my favorite thing in the entire world. At the end of the day we stopped at Halls Gap, an area where Kangaroos hang out and you can go up and take pictures with them. Hella touristy but hella cool and the most Australian thing I have done so far. It was a perfect day spent in a beautiful place with a group of rad people that I feel so lucky to have become friends with. Here are some pics of the epic views of the weekend, caution there is alot (musings continued after):
5 amazing waterfalls, 10+ epic views, 1 tour bus, 7 rainbows, 8 random down pours, 9 plays of Vengaboys, 5 kangaroo friends, 1 epic sunset, 2 drinks of homemade Vodka, and 700 pictures later I am feeling full of love for Australia and the outdoors. Being surrounded by so much fresh air and so many amazing people and adventures has me feeling light as air and I can't stop smiling. Can I live the rest of my life exploring new places and meeting new people?
Cheers - keleniak
p.s. Before this experience I promised myself I would do one new/possibly scary thing a week: This week that was feeding a Cockatoo. Didn't think that would be a scary experience, but here's to finding new fears and trying to conquer them
