THE WRAP
Seatbelts were engaged and the radio was switched to Smooth 101.5. We were off on our adventure to climb Mt Macedon. The city skyline began to recede in the review mirror and then the city suburbs gradually retreated, being replaced by open land and Mt Macedon began to loom in the distance. Our first stop for a stretch of the legs was the Woodend Park where the Trekkers enjoy a going on the flying fox and climb on the giant spider web. From there we ventured up the mountain to Major Mitchel’s Lookout, where we were joined by ‘Wal’ the little four legged mascot who was going to join us on the adventure.
Once the safety briefing was completed we happily descended from the wild winds of the exposed lookout into the protective buffer of the gum trees and began our trek. The sun began to shine warmly through the surprisingly lush green bushland warming our cores and putting a spring in our step. The kids enjoyed learning about bush and were most intrigued by the abundance of wombat droppings along the track.
The variety of the terrain most interesting and was continually changing as the hike rose and fell through different climate zones. The kids enjoyed walking and playing with Wal, while preventing the curious little dog from disappearing down one the many enticing wombat holes. The kids also enjoyed exploring the bushland and selecting their ‘cribs’ from a variety of old hollowed out trees.
After a couple of hours of hiking and fun we emerged from the bush to the picnic ground for lunch. The Trekkers did a great job helping to organize lunch and the camp fire, before roasting marshmallows upon the fire. Before packing up the site we had a quick game of ‘bush baseball’.
After lunch we set off on the most challenging section of the trek, the final push up to the Camels Hump, the highest point of Mount Macedon a rocky outcrop 1,008 meters above sea level. The kids did a tremendous job tackling the steep terrain, leading the way up the arduous climb like famous mountaineers.
The groups fantastic determination to reach the summit was rewarded by a brilliant blue sky and views stretching in every direction, across the famous Hanging rock and beyond. We savored the moment before climbing through a section of tricky rocky obstacles. We all returned to the van happy, tired and with a great sense of achievement.
On behalf of both Sam and I, we would like to thank the Trekkers gang for an outstanding adventure. They attacked each new activity and challenge with great curiosity and enthusiasm. It was even more pleasing to see the care and support they showed towards each other as they built a strong sense of camaraderie within the group.
