βYou can rest your bottom on my shoulder if youβre OK with that.β Itβs not a sentence I expected to ever hear but, in this moment, itβs most welcome. My right foot is wedged into a rock crevice while my left is dangling in space, some distance above the nearest foothold. Without further ado, I pop my derriΓ¨re on the kindly proffered shoulder and am lowered the few centimetres necessary for me to get a toehold.
Credit: Getty Images/RooM RF
Itβs day one of Park Trekβs four-day walking tour in the Victorian Alps. The tricky descent is through the rock formation known as Chalwell Galleries on Mount Buffalo and our two guides, Graham (whose dedication to his work Iβve attested to above) and Sandra, are working calmly and efficiently to get all nine of us down without mishap.
Itβs a great start to the tour, challenging but wonderfully rewarding. With snappy one-liners about the degree of difficulty and lots of discussion about how best to face each new rock, our group has soon bonded.
On the way to home base in the alpine town of Bright, we stop at lovely Ladies Bath Falls, where I test my mettle by taking a dip in the freezing river. It does wonders for hot feet and tired legs.
We are staying in simple, comfortable cabins bordering the Ovens River. Thereβs a communal space for meals and briefings and at dayβs end we tuck into a platter of nibbles from Milawa Cheese Factory while Graham and Sandra prepare dinner.
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Conditions next morning are perfect for our proposed walk, a comfortable 12-kilometre hike above the tree line through a rolling landscape of alpine grasses, granite outcrops and spectacular views across the ranges. Spring flowers β from snow daisies and fluffy green grevilleas to tiny native orchids, the delicate blooms of the high country β are in profusion.
After a lunch consisting of our own selections from the wide range of goodies provided, we head for Le Souef Plateau via a short but steep walk featuring distinctive granite formations. Standout is The Sentinel, a huge, gravity-defying monolith seemingly balanced on a knife edge.
Three years ago, lawyer Charles Thompson, inspired by a childhood spent hiking, camping and fishing that left him with a deep love of nature and an awareness of its importance to our wellbeing, abandoned a successful business career to take on this small Melbourne-based company. He aims to promote closeness to the natural world by offering well-crafted walks all over Australia.
