The hike up Hollow Mountain in the Grampians is one not to be missed!
The Grampians are a magnificent national park that is made up of a series of rugged sandstone mountain ranges and forests rich in wildlife. One of Victoria's most popular holiday destinations, the park is a great venue for camping, climbing, scenic drives, and bushwalking. The vast network of hiking tracks throughout the park allows visitors to explore cascading waterfalls, brilliant spring wildflower displays, and panoramic views from lookouts.
There are a million different hiking track options in the Grampians, but one that I've always wanted to do is Hollow Mountain. It's not a terribly long hike, but believe me, what it lacks in distance it definitely makes up for in difficulty, skill, and the views. Oh man, the views; they really are magnificent.
Click through the photos above to see just how awesome this place is.
I was joined by a group of friends on this hike over a long weekend in January, meaning it was the middle of summer and quite hot.
The walk starts from the Hollow Mountain car park, and there's quite a lot of space so you don't have to worry too much about finding a spot to park. What I will say is that there isn't a lot of shade so if you're going in summer (like I did), definitely aim for an earlier start in the day to avoid some of the worst heat. There is a toilet block in the main car park area, but it's very basic (long drop toilets), so keep that in mind (might be a good idea to bring a roll of loo paper with you too). After parking the cars, my friends and I all shouldered our day packs and set off (keep in mind to bring plenty of water and a phone or camera to take pictures of the amazing views).
Hollow Mountain has a number of walks, but we did the 2.2km hike to the peak which sounded fairly simple, but believe me it requires some skill, some fitness and for those who are afraid of heights, some guts. There were times when we were scrambling over boulders, crawling through gaps in the rock, or else inching our way around some sheer cliff face drops. Make sure you have really good shoes for this walk, at the very minimum a good pair of runners, but proper hiking shoes would be better as you really do need the grip and stability.
This is a medium (grade 4) hike, and is relatively well sign posted. Basically you need to follow the arrows that are attached to the rocks, and make sure to take some time to explore the various caves and crevices along the way. After doing the rock scramble all the way to the top, and snapping the obligatory Insta-worthy photos, we pulled out our mid-morning snacks and just sat down, taking in the breathtaking scenery around us. The climb up was tough, requiring a lot of rock scrambling and some very serious cliff edges that had those of us who are afraid of heights taking an extra deep breath. However, it was all worth it a million times over.
Eventually it was time to make the trek back down to the cars to head off for our next destination. On the way down, we worked as a team to help each other through some of the more difficult sections. Keep in mind that going up is one thing, but coming back down is another. In fact, I would say that whilst it was strenuous in some areas getting up, the steepness and the unstable ground made coming down more precarious. Just be sure to take your time and help each other.
Hollow Mountain is a wonderful hike at the top of the Grampians National Park. If you like hiking then I would definitely recommend this one as the views are absolutely stunning and the hike up is interesting and challenging.
Until next time,
Nat x