Heart Palpitations at the Granite Tors

One of the reasons to escape for the weekend was to do a bit of walking. Initially we were considering doing a decent overnight hike but for various excuses decided on a more sedate day hike. The overnight temperature plummeted which made for a restless cold nights sleep. A game of frisbee golf followed by eggs and bacon improved the start to the frosty morning.

We had selected the 7km Granite Tors as our day hike. Beginning at Orroral Tracking station, the walk was mostly along a fire trail but involved a 400m climb. As we left the tracking station, Ella recorded our names in the walking register. It wasn't long before we began peeling our layers off. It was fairly slow going as we trudged uphill. Thankfully a few lolly stops helped combined with some rock clambering to keep everyone happy.

There were several other groups of people enjoying the beautiful blue skies and warm weather. They were all much faster than us probably because they didn't have little people in tow. Thankfully we finally came across a small trail with newly well built stairs heading off the main track into the scrub. A quick conference decided that we should explore this little track. Within a few minutes we were in awe of the huge granite boulders perched on top of the ridge with spectacular views of Orroral Valley.

A perfect lunch spot! Post lunch meant it was time to explore. Here is where my heart palpitations began, watching our sure footed eldest daughter leap from rock to rock completely unconcerned about the steep drops! I couldn't convince everyone fastest enough to continue on our journey towards the geodetic dome.

Taking the small track, we wandered along the top of the ridge passing more huge rocky outcrops for a short distance before the dome roof of the observatory came into view. Built in 1974, this building housed a 10m telescope and laser. From the laser, pulses were fired to the moon and bounced back again via retroreflector mirrors place on the moon's surface by the Apollo astronauts. This provided information about the motion of the moon, the rotational wobbles of the earth, continental drift and theory of relativity. The observatory closed in 1998 when the facilities were transferred to Mount Stromlo.

Just beyond the geodetic dome was a wonderful lookout providing more spectacular views over the valley. We could almost see our car! The return walk as expected was faster and easier although the steep downhill gave our quads a good workout. Back at the car, Andy decided on running back to the campsite while the girls and I drove. With the warm conditions, we headed down to the Orroral River to have a very refreshing splash in the icy water. A top way to finish the day.