Hanging Rock

It was time to leave Castlemaine. We went down to Tog’s for a last breakfast, then packed up our stuff, said our goodbyes, and hit the road. Our destination? Hanging Rock.

You’ve probably heard of Hanging Rock because of the book, and film, Picnic At Hanging Rock. It’s the story of a girl’s school expedition to Hanging Rock, with a packed lunch. Spoiler alert: some of them are never seen again.

Hanging Rock is a real place – a volcanic rock formation; the story, however, is fictional. Nevertheless, it is treated as real by many people, who resolutely refuse to believe that it’s not based in fact – a myth that the writer has done nothing to dispel. It’s a popular tourist destination, and has facilities to host music events and, yes, picnics. The main feature is the volcanic pillars formed from cooling magma, which can be ascended on foot. The whole area is a conservation area, so we looked around for signs of wildlife, and spotted several SBBs (small brown birds), as well as a more distinctive crimson rosella.

A small brown bird

Crimson rosella

We climbed to the top of the rock, passing the actual “hanging rock” itself, which is about halfway up – a rock suspended between two others. Close to the top is an inscription “T SCOTT 1866”, an early example of tagging.

By Nick carson at English Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 3.0, Link

The way down was a lot quicker, and we then had a quick lunch in the café before heading in to Melbourne. We explored the National Gallery of Victoria for a bit, before heading to Gazi for a cocktail, and Tonka for dinner.