It’s the school holidays, so I’m making the most of having some time off work to explore Victoria. My Aussie friend and I decided to go on a road trip to the Macedon Ranges as neither of us had been before. Having done some research we agreed upon visiting the internationally known ‘Hanging Rock’ and the Hanging Rock Winery. We also visited various other attractions in Trentham and Mount Macedon along the way. The Macedon Ranges are literally located on Melbourne’s doorstep. During the drive we saw plenty of low mountains, historic buildings, beautiful landscapes, wineries, gardens and state forests.
Kendelle picked me up bright and early from Melbourne’s Southern Cross Train Station and this is where our journey began. She was the designated driver, and I was the navigator. We headed out of the City on to the highway towards Melton. From Melton we followed the Western Highway past Bacchus Marsh towards Greendale. Greendale was set to be our first stop as we’d planned to do the O’Briens Crossing walk in Lerderderg State Park. Lerderderg State Park is a 14,250 hectare park located between Bacchus Marsh and Blackwood (approximately an hour from Melbourne). This plan was short-lived as the navigator failed to see the turn off point and before we’d realised we were in Trentham. Regardless, the drive towards Trentham was pretty spectacular cruising through plenty of the State Park.
Luckily Trentham was also on our list of places to stop. The first attraction we visited in Trentham was Trentham Falls. Trentham Falls is the longest single drop waterfall in Victoria, plunging 32 metres. It only took around 10 minutes to visit the falls as the lookout point is literally a two minute walk from the car park. The falls were good to see and broke the journey up but I’ve seen more impressive waterfalls.
Trentham Falls
Following the falls we headed to the heritage listed railway station to walk part of the 8km Domino Trail. I really enjoyed this walk as it was completely off road, taking us down an old railway route into the Wombat Forest – it was a really peaceful and we saw plenty of birdlife.
The start of the Discovery Trail
Enjoying the views beyond Mount Macedon Memorial Cross
We were feeling pretty peckish, so we decided to turn back on ourselves towards the car and begin our small journey to the Hanging Rock Winery for a spot of wine-tasting (fear not, we didn’t drink and drive). We were warming welcomed at the winery and sampled some pretty nice tasting wines. The winery was established in 1983 by John and Ann Ellis – it is the largest winery in the region and has established a reputation as one of Australia’s best small wineries, with award-winning wines. The Cellar Door is open to the public 7 days a week, and overlooks the Hanging Rock and Macedon Ranges making it a nice place to stop before or after a visit to the rock itself.
The Hanging Rock Winery
The Hanging Rock is 3km away from the winery and is situated on the small slopes of a small mountain known as the ‘Jim Jim’. Prior to the ascent we indulged in a cream scone and hot drink from the Hanging Rock Café providing us with some fuel to complete the ascent. We started the walk with a visit to the Hanging Rock Discovery Centre learning about the history, mystery and geology of the rock. Apparently the Hanging Rock is famous for the novel and film, Picnic at Hanging Rock. Once we felt fully informed we began our walk to the summit.
The Hanging Rock was far more impressive than I had anticipated. I was expecting to see just a ‘hanging rock’ but this wasn’t the case. During the 50 minute walk we followed a winding path up to the pinnacle seeing many spectacular views. Along the way we saw unusual rock formations including the Black Hole of Calcutta, The Eagle, The Chapel and Lover’s Leap. Interestingly, the Hanging Rock is a long- existent volcano formed when larva blew flew a vent in the earth 6 million years ago.
Walking up to the summit
Enjoying the views
After spending time at the Hanging Rock we drove back towards Woodend to take Black Forest Drive into Mount Macedon. We didn’t really have a plan from here but decided to carry on exploring the local area. We discovered a dirt track signposted the Sanatorium Lake which took us down a track through state parks and forests full of Eucalyptus trees. The track took us to a car park at the end of a no through road so we parked up and followed the eco-tourism walking trail around the lake. The walk took approximately 15 minutes as the lake itself wasn’t very big.
Sanatorium Lake
Around the lake we go..
From the lake we drove back along the track to Cameron Drive to visit the Mount Macedon Memorial Cross. The cross structure is 21m high and was built to commemorate those who served in the world wars. There are plenty of walks around this area of the reserve with outstanding views of the country. We were getting cold at this point and decided to call it a day and begin our drive back to Melbourne.
The drive through the Macedon Ranges
The Mount Macedon Memorial Cross
Enjoying the views beyond the Memorial Cross
All-in-all it was a great day 😀
On the Road with Marlow 