A Visit to Mount Donna Buang

This weekend my housemate Dan and I went on a scenic drive out of Melbourne (now that we can). We were going to visit a reservoir, but discovered that the road there was closed for construction since Dan last visited it a few years ago. So instead we headed up to the summit of Mount Donna Buang, a mountain about 50 miles (80 km) from the center of Melbourne (and perhaps half that from where we live). It's the southernmost range of the Victorian Alps, and one of the closest mountains to Melbourne that gets snow in the winter.

First time my ears have popped since flying back to Australia in January.

I'd dressed for warmer weather (and lower altitude), so it was a bit of a shock to find that the wind was both strong and cold at the summit (due to a small cold front passing through). It wasn't enough to stop me climbing the metal observation post present, allowing me to get a nice panoramic view of the surrounding area.

View to the south-east from the top of the tower.

There are also a number of hiking trails that radiate out from the summit, and we went for a short hike on one of them among the giant eucalyptus trees (and my calves are feeling it today!). Along the way, I found this really neat-looking lichen clinging to a rock:

I've never seen lichen that grows out from the surface like this before.

All in all it was nice to get out of Melbourne and into the surrounding countryside for a bit for the first time in over half a year. It's a pretty nice spot for a good view if you're ever visiting, and though there were a few people there it wasn't overly tourist-y. Now that we can get out again we might do some more trips in the next few months, so I may see some more of Victoria before too long. A hui hou!