And there I was, atop Mount Dandenong on my last full day in Australia. Four and a half months had lead up to this. This moment, looking out from the top of this mountain with my best friend and her mum, afraid to leave. Afraid to have to return to reality, return to the real world. More afraid to leave than I was to arrive. This was unexpected.
I believe that the mountains are a hidden beauty amongst the tourist spots of Melbourne. Walking among so much greenery, breathing in the pure oxygen, I couldn't think of anywhere else I would have wanted to spend my last day.
Up in the mountains lies an artist's dream known as the Rickett Sanctuary. A man by the name of William Rickett had a great love for Australia and its natural land. Most people believed him to be nuts, but to be any type of artist, you must be crazy to succeed. WIlliam lived up in the mountain where he carved sculptures into the natural stone of the mountain. He had a strong idealisation of Aboriginal people and they were the subject of a majority of his work.
His sculptures have been preserved and the land on which they reside has been declared a nature sanctuary by Parks Victoria.
vvv Sarah enjoys snapping too many photos when asked for only one...
Although it held a jungle vibe, in my opinion, the walk-through made me feel as if I was underwater. The sculptures and all of the green gave me a sense of a deep ocean mermaid paradise.
After we finished the walkthrough of Rickett Sanctuary, we ventured on to the quaint town of Sassafras.
A.K.A. The sole town a person with a lisp would not wish to live in.
Sassafras was very old-timey, elaborate dollhouses on display, a self-roast marshmallow "cauldron," and the most terrifying shop by the name of Gepetto;s.
We stumbled upon these kids while meandering the shops and I had to stop and listen. As I said before, about the dancers at the Perth street art festival, something about impromptu artistry by young people makes me uncontrollably happy.
We eventually found ourselves in the lollie shop...surprise surprise. Some of the lollies were very interesting. Soon after exploring the lollie shop, Sarah and I got caught up in a tiny foodie shop with tons of free samples. To say we took advantage of these samples would be an understatement.
As it was my 21st birthday the following day, Sarah and I took it upon ourselves to bake a chocolate cake. You must take advantage of every opportunity you can get to devour a chocolate cake (unless it's from Mrs. Trunchbull *hahaha Matilda joke).
Jacinta came that night as well and we all ate a delicious, home-cooked roast (I cut the veggies!) and ate the cake with ice cream and strawberries. They surprised me by singing me happy birthday and lighting candles on the cake. I hadn't blown out candles in what seems like forever (but is realistically only about 4 years). I tried my hardest, and succeeded, in holding back tears.
Sarah's mum and dad are amazing and I would just like to thank them so much for making me feel so welcome while I was there. I couldn't have asked for better people to stay with. A huge thank you to Sarah's mum for chauffeuring us around and tolerating our shenanigans. I couldn't be more grateful to know that I have family across the world as well. <3
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