The dandenong’s forest & op shop adventure 🌲

The Dandenong Ranges, or ‘The Hills’ as they are affectionately known by locals, is a wonderland of second hand, vintage and boutique stores, with rustic cafes warmed by open fires and all kinds of bespoke and interesting shops to peruse. And of course, then there’s the Op Shops…❤️

We settled into the forest for one week while Anna held family photography sessions in and around the Dandenong Ranges, with the theme of embracing winter, rain, mist and all. As you will soon discover, this wild and beautiful place is truly breath-taking.

For a beautiful place to have a picnic and a roll in the leaves, I love Pirianda Gardens. They are slightly off the beaten track and so generally on the quieter side. Any time is a great time to go, but autumn is spectacular when a carpet of leaves covers the ground. Take a picnic with hot chocolate and lots of blankets if you go in winter. It’s truly a magical spot!

As for Op Shops, I really loved the Monbulk stores. There were 4 here & they were genuine ones too.

The Monbulk Community Care Op Shop especially caught my eye, and once we got chatting to the lovely volunteers there, we were 100% smitten. This wonderful Op Shop is truly community-based, with a food bank, financial support via no interest loans to people in need – and of course, free range eggs.

The MS Op Shop across the road is equally as beautiful, and we really enjoyed chatting away to the ladies in both these stores.

There is also a Salvo,s which had a lovely voluptuous sizing section.

And the Monbulk Primary School Op Shop is also just lovely and definitely worth a peruse.

Then, a short 10 – 15 min drive through the beautiful forest is Belgrave. This quirky town has a real artsy vibe and it boasts some top-end vintage stores, an especially beautiful boho store, a vintage emporium & of course, an Op Shop! It’s definitely worth a wander.

While you wander around ‘The Hills’…

Why not take advantage of a forest photo shoot with your family?

Check out Anna’s website for loads of albums, info & prices 👉HERE

See information about my winter woodland sessions 👉HERE

And contact me 👉HERE

Filmed by Sean - Pale Forest Films

EATS
Its a little easy to get stuck and eat at one of those super touristy places - but Proserpina Bakehouse in Sassafras is highly recommended, a rustic true cafe with the most amazing fresh baked pies, AMAZING pizza & bread - oh and a mega amount of amazing cheese!!!
* It also has a wonderful Steiner inspired play area outside, bonus!
DIRECTIONS

🌲Pirianda Gardens - 9 Hacketts Rd, Olinda VIC 3788. DIRECTIONS

🌲You could look at Emerald op shops and another adventure at this link HERE

🌲Ferntree Gully has some wicked op shops and is very close, see this link HERE

🌲You may wish to check out Kilsyth op shops too, they are massive, see the link HERE

🌲There is the 1000 step walk which is really lovely, see info HERE

🌲Also worth visiting is Butlers Vintage Depot just outside Olinda, its a lovely curio vintage type store - BUT the main treasure is outside! They have a beautiful selection of garden treasure at really great prices. Check it!
Butlers Vintage Depot - DIRECTIONS

Places to stay

Olinda Mural House, its unreal! The hospitality is top notch, the home is sublime, it has 3 beautiful bedrooms with forest views & an amazing kids entertainment room! Suzanne & Ron, my hosts have been outstanding! Leaving me home made food on my arrival, cheese, music playing - honestly, its been an unreal home to stay in.
See info at this link HERE