Stirling stuff
You know that feeling when you plan a trip just looking at marks on a map, and when you get there and actually see it, it is exceptional?
We stay at the Stirling Range Retreat, another low key bush campsite with good environmental credentials. The ranges would not look out of place on a Hebridean island. Apparently Australia does have some real mountains; who knew!
Mount Hassel, like most of the peaks, is short and sharp. D1 and I make the top. It's a little too steep and exposed for D2 at the end, but she makes a valiant effort.
This is Australia, not Scotland, so of course there are vineyards. A nice winery lunch is followed by the Granite skywalk. I dislike hanging off these man made walkways; the summit cliffs feel much safer to me.
The highlight of the stay is a sunrise hike up Bluff Knoll. There are a dozen or so people at the top, and the sunrise is spectacular.
