Mt Stapylton in the Grampians has an otherworldly feel to it, with huge cliffs and weathered rocks sticking out from the otherwise featureless Wimmera Plains. It makes for a very Australian scene.
Our first time in the Grampians, and Mount Stapylton was a good introduction to this rugged national park in Central West Victoria. The scenery had a more remote feeling than the reality, and in this section of the park it looked quite arid, with plenty of weathered rock and impressive cliffs. The surrounding Wimmera Plains are flat as a pancake farmland that stretch as far as the eye can see. It’s a fairly short track but well worth it. You can also do the Mt Zero walk on the same day.
Parks Victoria provide simple track notes on their website. It’s straightforward enough but at one point we missed a left turn in a small gorge around the back of the mountain. The left turn takes you out of the gorge and from that point the walk is on rock all the way to the summit. Just keep a look out for the markers. You’ll come across a metal sign before you get to the top; after this the markers are red (from memory I think they are painted on the rock). It’s an easy scramble to the summit.
Mt Stapylton Track: The Scenery
Flat rock. Its hard to get the scale but you can see a very small Sophia towards the top. Sophia walking up flat rock. Mt Zero in the background. The natural amphithetre.
We thought this rock formation looked like a swan or a goose. Very colourful bug. Looking back towards the start. Sophia resting near the summit. It was a hot day and not much shade. A panorama looking south over the rest of the Grampians. Looking east I think. Looking back towards the start.
Sophia hamming it up on the summit. The rest of the national park is behind her. We thought this rock looked like an animal, perhaps a dog, or maybe a pig. Descending, looking roughly east. We got a bit lost on the way up the gorge you can see in this photo, continuing up it and failing to take a left onto the rocks where Sophia is standing.
The natural amphitheatre, with Sophia sitting on the bird shaped rock. From this angle the rock, which looked like a swan on the way up, now looks like a mythical creature of some kind. Sophia is attempting to ride it back to the start I think. You can just make out two rock climbers about half way up. One is climbing and one is sitting.
