A Trip to the Dandenongs

Devonshire Tea and a stroll through a scenic garden.

TravelPersonal AustraliaVictoriaDandenong RangesKallista

On Sunday we took a road trip up to the Dandenongs for an old favourite - Kallista Tea Rooms.

I’ve been here many times in my life, but only on this trip did I learn that my family has been going here longer than I’ve been alive! Mum told me that Nan and Pa had found it while out exploring the Dandenongs one day, and we’ve been going for our favourite Devonshire Tea ever since.

Back in the day they used to have a bird feed trough curving around the front window, and you’d get treated to the sight of dozens of birds up close happily munching away. Unfortunately it was removed at some point, supposedly due to complaints of hooligan bird behaviour from the locals. Despite its removal, even now, each trip you’re guaranteed to see a few varieties of birds sitting in the nearby branches, eyeing off your tasty scones.

The occasion for this trip was very special - Mum’s birthday! We hadn’t been in a while and this seemed like the perfect excuse.

Toast topped with cucumber, avocado, radish, herbs, and sesame seeds on a cafe table.
Lunch at Kallista Tea Rooms.

We each chose yummy options for starters, followed by Devonshire Tea. I forgot to actually get pictures of the scones of course, but here’s a pic of my avocado toast, my typical brunch go-to.

We also got quite lucky with the weather, it was raining for much of the day but kindly cleared up when we ventured outside.

Three people smiling for a selfie outside Kallista Tea Rooms.
After Devonshire Tea at Kallista Tea Rooms!

After lunch we went to a nearby specialist gardening store for some supplies for the backyard. AJ signed up for the membership to get a subscription of the magazine and a discount on our purchase, which gave us free access to their attached garden.

We decided to take a stroll through and I’m very glad we did - it was very serene and we saw lots of pretty birds and plants. AJ spotted a well hidden Kookaburra that I would otherwise have missed. As luck would have it I’d brought my new camera out for a test run and managed to get a few that I was happy enough with for a first outing.

Flowering rosemary and sunlit grasses in a Dandenong Ranges garden.
Flowering rosemary in the garden.
A crimson rosella perched among bare tree branches.
Crimson rosella in the trees.
A kookaburra perched on a branch among pale green foliage.
Kookaburra among the branches.
Moss and lichen growing along the edge of a stone surface.
Moss and lichen close-up.
Orange-red leaves on thin branches with a soft garden background.
Orange-red leaves in the Dandenongs.
Garden shrubs and trees under an overcast sky in the Dandenong Ranges.
Garden greenery in the Dandenongs.
Soft-focus trees on a misty Dandenong Ranges hillside.
Misty trees in the Dandenongs.

I’ve got a lot of learning to do with this camera and with photo editing, but I’m excited for the journey.

Grand Opening

This post also serves as the first test and ceremonial grand opening of this travel blog. Yay!

I’m not really sure what the future of this site will be yet. I don’t know how often I’ll make posts, how I’ll structure / approach each update, or even how much effort I’ll put into each post. All I can say right now is that for the foreseeable future it will serve as a record of my time away in Japan for anyone that’s interested in following along.

One principle I’m going to hold to is no use of LLMs to write the posts. Even if it means lower quality content, shoddy grammar, repetitive vocabulary, posting less frequently, etc. I want this journal to be authentically me.

Also I’ll be adding more functionality to the site over time, I’ve got a few fun ideas that I’m hoping will work well with the travel nature of the posts.

All that said, apologies in advance for any growing pains, and thanks for coming along for the ride.

日本、行くぞ！ 頑張るぞ！