The Bed Report 1: Lochiel, Olinda, Victoria

This is the first instalment of a new series on my blog, reviewing a variety of accommodation across Australia. I hope you find it useful next time you're planning a domestic trip.

Review: Lochiel

The website for this forest accommodation east of Melbourne announces “No Olde World, No Lace”.

This makes clear its difference from traditional Dandenong Ranges B&Bs, often situated in quaint old cottages with old-fashioned decor.

The “treetops cottage” we're placed in is a purpose-built modern timber building with the accommodation spread over three levels.

The decor follows simple contemporary lines, with none of the pokiness or fussiness often found in older guest houses.

On the base level is a sizeable living room with parquet flooring, a leather sofa, a glass-topped table and chairs, and an enclosed wood-fired heater for winter warmth. There's also central heating for when the fire is too much bother.

Along one wall is a kitchen, a bit low on utensils but equipped well enough for cooking basic meals. On the next level up is the bathroom, featuring a spa bath, with the bedroom on the level above that.

The king-sized bed is placed beneath a high pointed ceiling into which are set large windowed sections, giving glimpses of the forest surrounding the property.

There's an even leafier view from the two balconies, as Lochiel has been built facing lush, dense greenery while actually being placed just off Olinda's main road and within walking distance to its shops and eateries.

The tariff includes breakfast each day at a local cafe, and a discount on restaurants.

Not far away are attractions such as bushwalking tracks, the William Ricketts Sanctuary with its curious statues, the tea rooms of Sassafras, and the Puffing Billy tourist railway.

For more details on attractions, dining and other accommodation in this area, download my Melbourne Getaways mobile app.

Just the Facts:
Lochiel
1590 Mt Dandenong Tourist Rd, Olinda VIC 3788, Australia
Phone: 03 9751 2300 (International +61 3 9751 2300)
Web: www.lochielaccommodation.com
Rates: From $279 per night

Disclosure time... I received discounted accommodation at this property.

Into the Hills on Puffing Billy

In all my travel writing about Melbourne and its environs, I've rarely written about the iconic Puffing Billy steam train (except for entries in my two iPhone/iPad apps, Melbourne Historical and Melbourne Getaways).

In fact I'd only ever been on the train once, and that was in the dining car for a limited distance. So it was time to enjoy the trip the way the average punter does - in one of the open-sided carriages that are pulled by steam power through the attractive greenery of the Dandenong Ranges east of Melbourne.

It was pretty chilly when we arrived at the narrow-gauge station at Belgrave, with the cool air highlighting the smoke and vapour from the steam engine:

Here's a shot of me in the engine:

And here's the gent who was actually driving the thing:

And we're off! First challenge was to take a decent snap of the train as it curved around and crossed this trestle bridge:

A brief stop at Menzies Creek meant a photo op for these tourists:

It was a very cold ride that day - but the open-sided carriages were a huge plus for photography (and also meant that kids could sit with their legs hanging out the sides of the train if they wanted to). Some beautiful green scenery on the way:

On our way back from Emerald we got to join the attractive dining carriage which was on the return leg of the daily Steam and Cuisine lunch service. Here's Narrelle:

Back at Belgrave at the end of the trip, I realised the First Class dining carriages were each named after a station on the former Tasmanian mining railway which is now known as the West Coast Wilderness Railway (and you can see my blog post from that journey here):

From Belgrave, it was a short dash up the walkway connecting the narrow gauge station to the mainline Belgrave suburban station, then onto an electric train for the trip back to the centre of Melbourne. Faster, certainly, but not as much fun as Puffing Billy.

Disclosure time: On this trip I was hosted by the Puffing Billy Railway. Find details of its timetable and fares by clicking here.

Dandenong Ranges: The Hills are Alive!

I'm standing in a clearing about three-quarters the way up a steep slope in the Dandenong Ranges National Park east of Melbourne, and I've just startled a wallaby.

As I was crunching my way along a ridge, trying to see a way around the fallen trees that were blocking the marked track, the brown furry creature bounced rapidly away from my position, heading downhill.

About 50 metres behind me is Narrelle, taking a break after realising she's wearing quite the wrong shoes for a track this steep and leaf-strewn.

There's just a tinge of Macbeth about our situation - in that returning downhill is as tedious as to go o'er - so we really need to find a way up the last bit of the slope to the roadway we know is nearby. But at least we saw some crimson rosellas on the way up. Very pretty.

I'm over-dramatising, of course - we're not really in any trouble. We know the road and a golf course is just up there on top of the ridge, we could still reverse our steps back down the hill to the RJ Hamer Forest Arboretum, and it's the middle of the day so there's little chance of the sun setting before we get out.

I probably even have mobile phone reception. And it is very beautiful in this expanse of native forest, surrounded by gum trees, mountain ash trees and tree ferns.

And this always happens to me when I visit the Dandenong Ranges. Keen to bushwalk, I consult a simple map that includes tracks but not topographical info, and inevitably find out that part of the walk is much harder than expected. But I've always come back alive.

On this occasion I go back to fetch Narrelle, and we walk along to a point where the undergrowth is minimal. Then we start up the remaining slope - and are immediately surprised to see a woman in a pink shirt strolling along what must be an intersecting track above.

Fairly soon we're walking along the edge of the golf course, back to the sealed road. I can tell we're in civilisation, because there's a man in a cap trying to rescue his golf ball from the long grass on the fenceline between wilderness and manicured greens.

Walking along the road back to the town of Olinda, we're slightly startled by the contrast. A few minutes before we were picking our way up a poorly marked track on a slope in the middle of nature; now we're walking past cars and modern signage, and soon stepping into the golf course's cafe for a rehydrating drink.

On the basis that you're allowed to eat whatever you want after vigorous exercise, we'll soon be purchasing a couple of meat pies for lunch for Olinda's excellent (and much-touristed) Pie in the Sky pie shop.

Which is part of what I like about the Dandenong Ranges National Park. Rather than being an area of total wilderness, it's actually a long, attenuated nature zone wrapped around an core of small towns and B&B accommodation.

Which means you can go for a vigorous walk through dense native forest, then arrive at a place well-supplied with tea and scones. Try doing that in the Wolfe Creek Crater National Park...

Tim Richards travelled courtesy of Tourism Victoria.