SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, Mountain observation point in Dandenong Ranges, Australia.
SkyHigh Mount Dandenong is an observation point located on a mountain in the Dandenong Ranges in Victoria, sitting at approximately 633 meters elevation. From this vantage point, visitors can see Melbourne's urban sprawl, Port Phillip Bay, and distant peaks in the landscape.
The site opened in 1861 as a lookout on the 633 m summit and became one of Melbourne's best-known attractions in the 1970s and 1980s. It fell into disrepair in the early 1990s and closed completely in 1997. In 2004 a new lease was negotiated with Parks Victoria, the restaurant and gardens received a $3.5 million facelift, and the site reopened in December 2004 as SkyHigh Mount Dandenong, formerly the Mount Dandenong Observatory.
The mountain's Woiwurrung name is Corhanwarrabul. The site also holds the William Ricketts Sanctuary on its east face, where more than 93 ceramic sculptures are set among eucalyptus forest. The Australiana Tree, a gum tree struck by lightning in 2006, was carved into native animals in a totem-pole style.
The site sits at the end of Ridge Road off Mount Dandenong Tourist Road, about 45 km east of Melbourne. The upper balcony and enlarged viewing window face west over Port Phillip Bay and the You Yangs. The English Garden has gravel paths and wooden arch bridges; the Giant's Chair stands on the front lawn.
The Giant's Chair is a large novelty wooden chair on the front lawn, and the Australiana Tree is a gum tree struck by lightning in 2006 and then carved into native animals in totem-pole style. The Kugel ball, a granite sphere resting on a thin film of water, stands in the gardens.
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