We have hiked a lot of the Grampians over the years, loving the rugged mountain ranges and the beautiful scenery, but are always trying to find new spots to explore.
Kev, a long time mate and a regular on my blogs, had heard about about a place that wasn't on any map and wasn't mentioned on many blogs on the net. The pics that we had seen looked amazing and with some directions that Kev had found, we had decided to try and find Hollow Cave.
Arriving in the picturess Halls Gap late Friday night after our customary stop in at Maccas at Ararat, we were eager for tomorrow to arrive. I did have slight concerns about what we were getting into as I had seen no map, read no material on the hike we were about to undertake. After a few beers in front of the fire and some reassurance from Kev, I was relaxed and looking forward to the day ahead.
The morning started with a nice coffee from the local cafe at about 8am before we hit the road started our hour long drive to the start point. The drive was cautious as there were roos everywhere and the last thing we wanted was a splattered Skippy.
The road was flat and wide, but the going was slow as the kangaroos were playing kamikaze with our vehicle and we had many close calls.
The hour long drive soon turned into 2 hours as Brent took a wrong turn and with everything looking the same out there, it took us ages to realize we were heading in the wrong direction.
We arrived at Buandik Camp Ground a little after 10am, geared up and let Kev lead the way. We had track notes that told us to head 110 degrees east and trek left along the ridge line.
Compass out we headed toward the rocky ridge, there was no clear track and the grass and shrubs were long but the ridge line was distinct and we knew we needed to keep to the left for as long as we could.
As we slowly climbed higher the views started to open up and the beauty that is the Grampians were starting to shine.
We knew that the distance to travel to Hollow Cave wasn't great, not even 3 km but the going was slow as we were wading through thick shrub and navigating along the edge of a ridge.
It was at this time that the selfie stick made its first appearance to the group. Reluctantly the guys lined up as I was about to become a Chinese tourist.
Selfie stick away, we were just over an hour into the hike when we came to an opening in the side of the ridge that looked like doable way to the top. We had read that this was the way up to the cave and was easy to miss, so up we went. It was a reasonably steep climb up but easy as there were plenty of foot holds and rocks to grab onto.
The way up to Hollow Cave
A short climb up and we were able to look out over the range. Scenery like this is what its all about and we always make sure to take time to capture the moment of where we are and appreciate the beauty of the surroundings.
As we continues to climb for a little longer our heads pocked out over a rock and there it was, something that is so hard to describe and looked more amazing than we had imagined, we were at Hollow Cave.
This thing was huge, a massive hole in the side of a rock mountain that overlooked some amazing scenery, we were in ore of where we were.
We de-packed and decided to take some time to soak in this magnificent place. The wind was chilly now that we had stopped moving so the layers went back on and the snacks from our packs come out. Time to relax for a bit before our next mission.... Red Cave.
Brent meditating, looking directly at Red Cave.
It was 11.45am, time to leave the serenity of Hollow Cave and start the 2km trek to Red Cave which was easily seen from where we were. The going was once again a little slow and tough with no track to follow, thick bush and some steep climbing.
After scrambling across some very slippery rocks, over fallen logs and around huge boulders, we come to a complete stop. A massive wall was towering above us with what looked like no way possible to get up.
We went right, no luck, then turned around and went left and found what looked like a thin track, we were heading in the right direction. By now we knew that we were going to be coming in above the cave as we started up the ridge and were getting higher.
With steep drop offs surrounding us every footstep had to be taken with cation, but the danger was worth it as we were above the tree line and had panoramic views of the Victoria Range.
It was 12.45pm. we soon realized that to access Red Cave was going to take some doing, there was no visible way into the cave that we could find that was safe to do so without ab-sailing gear. There was a huge hole in the rocks that opened up to reveal the cave, but without an Ironman suit or the spinning power of Thor's hammer, we were not attempting to enter the cave.
We decided to find some shelter from the icy wind and have some lunch. I smashed some wraps with banana and peanut butter, the guys had bought some food from the bakery so we were set. Eating lunch on the top of a mountain with good mates and panoramic views is hard to top. Its what its all about.
By 1pm, our bellies were full and we were on out way back, retracing the steps we had taken to get here.
We took the time to once again stop at Hollow Cave and take in its beauty before continuing on back to the car. By 3pm we had arrived, tired, scratched, sore but on a high. We had seen something that was not on any map, hasn't been visited near as much as most places in the Grampians and was simply amazing. A place I cant wait to bring the kids in a few years.
Arriving back in Halls Gap we decided to stop for a well deserved coffee when we were bailed up by the mile a minute trail groupie.
After sharing the days stories with her it was time to go and reflect on the day that was with a few beers. We had a ball.
