The Grampians: II

Astoria Park and Boronia Peak

By Thomas Feng

September 30^th, 2017

Sunrise at Astoria Park

Nathan and I spent the night at Deb and Jim's farm: Astoria Park. Located in Pomonal, 20 minutes out of Halls Gap, it is where the mountains meet the grassy plains. The property is a 450 acre sheep farm where they have lived for over 35 years with an excited, squealing brown labradoodle named Gemma. When we arrived the night before, they greeted us with delightful home-made bread and mulberry jam, and challenged us to making a good wood-fire unlike other city folk.

I woke up to see the most silent and soft sunrise I had ever witnessed. As I wandered out into the field, my entire body gleamed to the light like a bud blossoming into a sunflower.

Country Hospitality

Soon after I walked into Deb and Jim, who had come to give me a jar of their mulberry jam to take home because I had told them how much I loved it.

I admired the sun shining onto Red Man's Bluff as they told me stories from the Black Saturday bushfire and how they almost lost everything. The house we stayed in used to be the tin shack which was the only surviving structure from the fire; and was their home for years after while deciding whether they should stay or leave.

I sensed their everlasting connection to the land, their home and that day from seeing smoke in their watery eyes.

I thanked them for sharing their wisdom, their hospitality and their home. We hoped we did them proud on the fire.

Alas we had to head off again for another walk in the Grampians before driving back to Melbourne, but I know we will visit Deb and Jim again soon.

The Walk: Boronia Peak

When we parked the car, we looked straight up to the top of the mountain. That was our destination.

The walk itself compared to the Pinnacle trail was much more conventional along a dirt track. At the bottom of the mountain was a flourishing forest, and we were treated to an entire herd of deer whose heads watched us closely and three adorable wallabies jumping around the trail.

As you climbed further up, there were no grand canyons but there were wildflowers and the views out onto the plains were incredible. The trail teased you a few times where you thought you had made it to the top, but the "real" peak was actually an additional kilometre or so.

We were fortunate to be treated with ideal hiking weather: 15 degrees, slight wind and bright sunshine.

The Peak

A final rock-climb led us up to the peak. The views of the Grampians and the surrounding towns were spectacular. When we looked west we saw the road we travelled down right at the bottom; Lake Bellfield to the south; to the east you could see where the mountains met the plains. It was the perfect place to have breakfast.

As we satisfied our hunger with bananas, soy milk, popcorn and muesli bites, we reflected on how incredible this area and the walks we had been on were and how invigoratingly fulfilling it was to be out in nature exploring.

On our climb down, an emu and her two newborns walked alongside us on the trail for a moment.

During the drive home, Deb and Jim texted us: "We give you five stars on the fire lighting. You have done Melbournians proud. Loved meeting both of you... Safe trip home."