The Best for Last

With our first six months nearly behind us we figured that we would have one last outing before we left this beautiful place. We had been up to Hollow Mountain near the beginning of this grand adventure but only had a small taste of it. We knew it was an area that we would have to return to. Today seemed like a good day to go exploring.

Many of the locals and visitors who have been around for a while have described the area as one of the nicest in the Grampians, and they were right. The area has an aboriginal art shelter, climbing area and beautiful walks and lookouts. The trail starts off with a gradual climb and then we ended up at the bottom of this huge overhanging rock face. We then angled around the edge of the cliff and headed up a fairly steep but relatively easy climb next to the sheer cliff. Aiden had steeled his mother’s determination to climb up prior to trip by stating “Mom might not be able to climb where me and Dad can”.

After the steep bit, the trail opens up and you can see an impressive red cliff band that the trail heads up towards. Once closer, the trail angles to the right but on the left you can see a shallow cave under what looks like a massive boulder or shoulder of a ridge. Aiden and Sean headed underneath and by the sounds of it, it must have been a tight fit in places. They came out the far side of the boulder and beckoned me to join them in a cut between the boulder and cliff where you could see into the next range of cliffs. After a little more exploring, Sean discovered the hollow part of the mountain where there were two caves stacked on top of one another with windows out of the rock overlooking the valley and surrounding country.

All in all it was a beautiful warm afternoon that left us with fond memories of this place and a desire to discover more when we return. Now on to packing up and getting ready for the big trip home. We are looking forward to seeing friends and family.