I woke up some time in the middle of the night then stayed awake for at least three or four hours :( I woke up at the usual time of course, and I was so tired I thought I could sleep some more, so I set an alarm to make sure I wouldn't over sleep. Except I still didn't sleep. Sigh.
So we got up and packed and headed off a bit later than I wanted (I wasn't fully transfunctionating).
We headed back up to the Hume, joining it at Glenrowan, where we also stopped for petrol and The Scottish Restaurant for brunch (slowest service ever in drive through, I assume they were under staffed).
Pretty drive along Seymour-Pyalong Road
Countryside on Lancefield-Pyalong Road
Had a pit stop in Lancefield.
War Memorial in Lancefield
Then to Hanging Rock. We did the "Summit Walk" but there really isn't any particular summit, the trail just diverges a couple of different directions and you're on your own. I couldn't reproduce all the photos we took in 2001 because all the rocks kinda look the same and the Android screen is tiny and pretty much impossible to see in the bright sunlight. So I just took a bunch of photos anyway then we headed back down.
Hanging Rock from Rochford Road
Sides of Hanging Rock summit
Rocks at Hanging Rock
Rocks at Hanging Rock
Rocks at Hanging Rock
Inscription by F Scott in 1866
Rocks at Hanging Rock
Holey rock at Hanging Rock
Rocks at Hanging Rock
View northwest from Hanging Rock Summit
Tree in rocks at Hanging Rock
View north from Hanging Rock
Lizard at Hanging Rock
Photo by Stu
Rock at Hanging Rock
Stu at Hanging Rock
Stu and me under the Hanging Rock
Stu under the Hanging Rock
The Hanging Rock
The Hanging Rock from below
Sides of Hanging Rock summit
Echidna at Hanging Rock
At the bottom I tried to find the place where we had a picnic in 2001, and I think I found it, but the tree is no longer there and the picnic benches have been replaced. Oh well. We did have a bit of a picnic there though, with an audience of magpies.
Baby magpie at Hanging Rock picnic area. It squawked the entire time we were there wanting to be fed!
Our picnic at Hanging Rock!
I wanted to try and reproduce the photos of the rocks from the roads around the edge, but everyone was hot and tired and sweaty and then the rain closed in, so that didn't really work.
Hanging Rock from Straws Lane
So we just drove and drove and drove on to Halls Gap, arriving 18:20. We dumped our stuff and headed out to find some dinner. There was one restaurant/bar open but we were all stinky so just picked up some tv dinners and beer and ice cream from the supermarket and went back to the motel.
The residents of Blampied/Mount Prospect are clearly not happy with Ausnet
View towards Langi Ghiran and/or Mount Cole from Western Highway near Beaufort
View towards the Grampians from Ararat-Halls Gap Road
The Grampians and the nothern end of Halls Gap
The motel room I booked was "mountain view" which has a view to the mountains east of Halls Gap. And outside the window a mob of kangaroos were grazing. So we opened all the doors (this room is *hot*) in an attempt to get some free cooling, and sat out in the yard with beers and watched the kangaroos and the birds and the sunset. How's the serenity?!?
The view of kangaroos and birds from the back door of our motel room
The view of Boronia Peak from our motel room
Magpie on the fence outside our motel room
Cockatoo on the fence outside our motel room
Fairy wren on the fence outside our motel room
Kangaroos outside our motel room
Then came in and had our dinner and turned on the aircon which is old and clunky and LOUD and not that efficient. I think I'm going to die here overnight.
See also my panoramas from Day 5.
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