July 30-August 1: Hanging Rock/Organ Pipes National Park

We met an Australian couple, Greg and Senka King, briefly in Echuca when we needed some help backing our car out from a tight spot in our hotel parking lot. They recognized our Canadian accent and told us that they had been on a Canadian exchange in Ontario two years earlier. They invited us to meet up with them sometime and we exchanged email addresses. We were thrilled when we received an invitation to attend their “significant” birthday parties on July 24. We had a great evening together there, enjoying a live band, learning some line dance moves and meeting up with another couple from Brisbane who had also been on exchange to Canada. Greg and Senka then invited us to spend the following weekend, July 30- August 1, with them. We arrived in Sunbury on Friday night earlier than anticipated, which gave me the opportunity to get a wonderfully relaxing Thai massage in the town. We did meet up with Greg and Senka later at their place.

The next day we set off to a scenic spot called the Hanging Rock Recreation Reserve.

Hanging Rock

is really a rare volcanic formation located near Mount Macedon in Victoria, Australia. It is said to be the best example of a volcanic plug or mamelon in the world. Since its formation, the mamelon has been exposed to considerable weathering and erosion, resulting in a conglomeration of unusual rock formations that can now be seen on the site. You can hike up the rocks to some great viewpoints, where the rocks just seem to hang on top of each other.

It had started out as a cool and windy day, but cleared up as we started our ascent. The first thing that greeted us was a mob of kangaroos in the adjacent field. As we climbed initially through the forest of towering trees to the rocks,

we could see a beautiful panoramic view across the valley.

At one point we came upon a cute wallaby.

and some bird life.

What sheer beauty awaited us as we caught our first glimpses of the massive rocks!

Supposedly there is a mysterious story now made into a movie about a girls’ school who went on a picnic to Hanging Rock in 1900. Several girls plus a teacher disappeared from there, never to be heard from again. Apparently there are holes between the rocks that have no bottom and no traces of the disappeared people were ever found, even after intensive searches! Since then we have enjoyed watching the Australian movie of that story, aptly entitled "Picnic at Hanging Rock". In spite of the drama from the past, we had a great and safe hike and enjoyed a deliciously warm coffee respite at the cozy restaurant there.

We drove on to the spa resort of Daylesford. Our first stop was at a rustic restaurant called Cliffy's which had a fantastic dessert spread available!

The next stop was at a fabulous chocolate factory called the Chocolate Mill, that makes delicious Belgian chocolates. The building itself is made out of straw bales. We watched a chocolate-making demonstration there

and purchased some wickedly-delicious varieties.

The outside grounds displayed some interesting sculptures.

We continued on to the famous Locarno Spring

for fresh spring mineral water, which is supposed to be very healthy for your constitution, and which tasted like fizzy mineral water. We enjoyed a lovely walk over the nearby river. After that we headed to the town for a walk down its main street with many unique buildings

and sculptures.

Of course it was also nice to check out the shops. That never disappoints! Our last stop was at the Convent Gallery in town. Nestled on the crest of the Wombat Botanical Gardens overlooking Daylesford,

the Convent gallery is located in an historic 19th century mansion, the origins of which date back to the Gold Rush of the 1860's. Thereafter it became a convent and boarding school for almost 100 years. In addition to three floors of unusual and contemporary paintings, the place showcased fine art, unique sculptures

and glass displays. We enjoyed a coffee at the Altar Bar

and stopped to rest in the Bad Habits Cafe! We returned to the King home to a delicious dinner of lamb.

The next morning was bright and sunny and we awoke to discover the front part of an actual tram sitting in the King's back yard. We soon learned that Greg is a tram aficionado, collecting and making replica trams in his garage.

Later we drove together to visit another interesting site in the area, the Organ Pipes National Park.

The ‘organ pipes’ are really a set of basalt columns as straight and regular as organ pipes formed about a million years ago by one of the world's largest lava flows. The massive lava flow, about 70 metres thick, spread over the plains from nearby volcanic hills. A surface crust formed and the lava beneath cooled very slowly and contracted. Vertical surface cracks developed, and as the lava continued to harden, the cracks lengthened until the basaltic mass was divided into columns. Over the next million years, the Jacksons Creek gouged out a deep gorge in the bare surrounding Keilor plains. This deep valley cut through the thick basalt layer to expose the formation known as 'the organ pipes'.

There were other rock phenomena to be seen as we hiked through the park, like the Rosette Rock which is a radial array of basalt columns like the spokes of a wheel, and the Tessellated Pavement, the tops of basalt columns. It was a beautiful site,

providing a lovely ending to a lovely weekend!