Mitre just seen the best sun rise this year!
Where – Mitre Rock
Distance – elevation 230 metres but the climb was only about 50m
Time – less than an hour
In 10 words – Little gem, amazing rocks and awesome dawn views across landscape.
So we have made it to week 2. January 9 at 5.55am.
Was going to be Mt Zero but when my walking partner slept in, and then after I turned around to come back and pick her up, she managed to bring two left shoes – that were not even hers! – we settle for more accessible Mitre Rock.
It is going to be a scorcher and we want to get the walking done before the heat sets in.
Heading west out of Horsham and the car temp reads a chilly 9 degrees.
It’s called an inversion layer and it hovers eerily above the ground.
Just past the bridge at Quantong a thin layer of cloud rises just above the stubble and crops on our right and left.
We stop for a quick pic but we are on a mission to get to the rock – which is the poor cousin to Arapiles (Dyuritte) and looks like a priest’s mitre – before the sun comes up.
It’s a race and as we head up the rise at the turn off to the rock, I see the sun in the rear view mirror.
And just as I find a gap in the trees, the orange sunlight spikes its way over the horizon. It’s a big show of colour and might and she’s letting us know we are in for a scorcher.
The rock behind me also gets painted with a filter of burnt orange which is very impressive and worth the 5am wake up call.
The moment captured we drive around the corner to start our climb. It’s dark on this western side and cool but all around you can see the sun finding other places to brighten, lighten and wake up the landscape.
It is pretty easy going. More effort looking out for snakes in the dry grass either side of the sketchy track than it is scrambling over the rocks.
We head up towards the left and are impressed by the 720ha salty puddle of Mitre Lake that spreads out across the flats to the north. At mid summer the lake is more salt than water but there are still a few patches of trees and sky reflected on at one end so she is not completely dry.
From the north western side of the rock you get some great views. The early morning sun picks up every shade and texture in the landscape. The receding waters of the lake, the trees and the teethmarks left by hungry harvesters as they chewed their way through this year’s crops.
It’s a moment of contrasts – dark where we stand on these shaded rocks but out in the open the shadows a big and distant metal silos simply shimmer.
It’s time to head to the eastern side and get the full burst of morning.
So a bit more scrambling and snake-avoidance and we are nearly there. This rock is full of life. There are many tiny correas bursting from a stony base and producing beautiful lime flowers. The birds also in full song – which is a bit surprising considering you are on a rock.
Suddenly I hear something gin the bushes and stop dead. Nothing slithering my way but there are two eyes upon me from a wallaby propping in the scrub. They are good animals to live on a rock as they kind of behave like one. We embark on what can best be described as a game of bobs and statues. I sometimes wonder if Wallabies are secretly closing their eyes like a three year old and hoping that if I can see them, they won’t see me.
I respect his space and his grace and quietly and gently pass thanking him for sharing his space.
I am nearly at the top and I see the light approaching. And what a light it is.
Rocks on ledges contrast with the floodlit paddocks below.
One amazing rock sits absurdly like a flower pot carefully placed for photo opportunities. Beyond Mitre itself is just a burst of beautiful soft light amidst a misty vista of the Gariwerd Grampians and Black Range State Park in the background with a sea trees littered across the cream paddocks. Just awesome.
And as we turn to head back down the rocks itself turns orange with the full throttle morning burst.
So in summary not a difficult climb but a bloody amazing one all the same. I mitre had a really good time.
Pumped by the adventure I take a detour on the way home to Vinegar Hill – A little-know lunette located down Vinegar Hill Lane off Arapiles Grass Flat Road. This hill overlooks Mitre Lake and it is a perfect location for sunsets.
Today I discover it is pretty amazing at dawn too. We get out best view of Arapiles or Dyuritte for the day, with well shaded crop circles of recently ploughed paddocks in the foreground and our rock bathed in sunlight to the rear.
This whole expedition has rocked.
52 weeks 52 walks 