the grampians

mountainview-grampians

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a world away


rolling-hills

The wind was blowing fast; along the path patches of sunlight rolled enticingly towards us, accelerated and suddenly vanished just out of reach. We hurriedly hiked to escape the shadows, as we moved upwards trees gave way to low scrub and the view went from metres to miles. The hills rose and fell like a shaggy green pelt, rubbed raw in places to reveal craggy reddish rock. The parasitic trails of humans snailing through the shivering green.


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hilltop-view-farms

blue-mountains-hiking 

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grampians-red-orange-rocs-cliffs

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kangaroos-scrathcing

Later in the valley we replaced the howl of the wind with the soft munching of furry jaws. The wallabies gently nibbled, while their coarser cousins spent the afternoon fully dedicated to a good scratch. Standing on hind legs, faces pinched in concentration, nails running over their bellies and backs – a little gang of hairy old men, inhibitions long lost, pot bellies out and proud.
I watched a wallaby with a low furry tum lop closer, then suddenly a tiny bright eyed face appeared behind her forefoot. A surge of pure joy jumped through me, delight is not lost with childhood, just harder to grasp.

wallaby-grampians

wallaby-joey-australian-wildlife-tent-camping hiking-bush-walking

yellow-paperdaisies-grampians cliffs-grampians-mauve-wildflowers  man-lying-rocks 

 

 

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