Hanging Rock

One Sunday about six weeks after we arrived and the third weekend of car ownership, we decided to pay a visit to a local legend just an hour north of us in the Mt. Macedon region. By this time we had gone south to Lorne, east to the Dandenongs and west of the city to Ballarat, so the only direction left to initially explore was to the north. We had heard that the Bendigo pottery factory was a good place to tour, but it was a bit too far for the time of day we set out, so we decided that Hanging Rock would make a nice afternoon junket.
     We proceeded north on the M78 for about 100 km until we reached the exit for Mt. Macedon. We searched for signs for Hanging Rock which was located in a state park, but experienced difficulty finding any. It seems we turned off one exit too soon. We could see the "mountain" easily and decided to head for it. We climbed up and over it, and thankfully, on the other side, we started to encounter signs that pointed us in the correct direction. A turn here and a bend in the road there brought us to the run up to the Rock. It was fairly obvious when we saw it. It lacked the usual vegetation and looked somewhat like the reminent of volcanic activity. Within minutes, we were there.
     The first unusual aspect we discovered was the unattended front gate freely inviting you to drive in, but warning of a park fee. This seemed odd, as how would they prevent folks from just driving back out. On closer inspection of the entrance, it appeared that to get out, you needed a pass. We had entered a mouse trap. Once at the ranger house / gift shop, there were kiosks that sold "tickets" to the park which were really the exit visa you needed to get out. Since the entrance was gated with a particularly heavy metal bar that raised and lowerd to the weight of the car to get in and ticket operated to get out, it was unlikely that anyone was going to beat this system. We did not try.
     The park was not empty. There were cars in the car park and groups of mainly families picnicing in the field below the rocks. It was there that we caught our first live glimpse of kangaroos. It was interesting to watch because some of the picnicers were apporaching the kangaroos with the intent of touching them. Since one looked much larger that the other two; it looked like mother and children, and that usually spells trouble. Fortunately, the larger one opted to bounce away and the smaller ones followed.
     After an encounter with the automated ticket machine (the one that gives you your bid to freedom) we turned our attention to the climb. A paved walk wound around the hillside starting from the gift shop and moving upward. It was populated with Sunday families out for a day's activity which means lots of children running into you and shouting out the discoveries to their tolerant parents. We proceeded up the moderately steep to gentle sloping trail which stayed an incline right up to the very top. Even at the top the rocks were jagged enough to make it a chore to get on them. The effort was worth it. The view was gorgeous. The visibility was very good even though the cloud cover obscured the direct sun. We could see the lay of the land for miles and noted the rolling hills dotted with sheep and cattle. Everything was certainly green.
     On the way back down we encountered a Koala bear in a tree very slowly eating the eucalyptus leaves. Watching this guy eat was like watching golf. This was the epitome of indifference. Nevertheless, the guy was really cute...that is until you got a close look at his claws. These things could rip open your gullet with one swipe. It is a good thing that they are pacifistic.
     Back at the gift shop we looked at the wares and decided to buy nothing. The shop had a museum attached to it so we decided to check that out. It charted the beginnings of the land, what might have formed the rocks and then documented the curious legend of the place. It seems in 1920 a group of young girls from the local finishing school went to the rock for a picnic. Four of these girls wondered off to climb the rocks and went missing for 24 hours. When found, one was dead and the others had no memory of their experience. The story propagated in the media and resulted in the closing of the school. What is really interesting is future scholars and detectives believe that the story was a fabrication. What an unlucky story for the school.
     As we headed back to the car, we spied more kangaroo so we stopped for a better look and a filming session. They seemed small to us; we wondered if they were wallabies. Not having any way to determine, we just filmed them and made our way out of the park.
     The drive home was uneventful. We arrived back home safe and just a little more experienced.