We left our Fish Creek meeting point and headed down the Great Southern Rail Trail for 400 metres before crossing the highway and picking up the start of the Hoddle Mountain Trail.
Interestingly, the Hoddle Mountain trail is graded variously as ‘easy / medium /hard’ which I guess is reflective of the diverse nature of the walk. The full return circuit is 17km in length and first passes across farmland to Lavers Hill quarry, then crosses the catchment area for the Battery Creek reservoir.
After a short break, we steeled ourselves for the walk up the somewhat steepish road which winds its way around the terrain to eventually lead to the communications tower on the adjoining hill. It was here that Pat announced that ‘we should lunch here because it is never this still’ …and so we did and enjoyed a magnificent panorama
As we munched on sandwiches and salads there below us laid Tongue Point and Wilsons Prom, Corner and Shallow Inlets, Waratah Bay, Inverloch and the Bald Hills wind farm and more – quite spectacular!
We then joined the ‘Loader Track and headed up to Mt Nicoll Lookout. At 305 metres, the views from the lookout are also exceptional. We then headed down hill and re-joined the Great Southern Rail Trail for the ‘doddle’ back to Fish Creek
The Hoddle Mountain Trail to Mt Nicoll never fails to impress. On this occasion we enjoyed perfect conditions for walking and viewing.
Things I learnt on the track included:
- ‘If you need directions …head bush’!!!!
- There are just so many photos you can take while walking up a hill
- Bev has some sensational ‘Covid’ soup and other recipes
Thanks to Roz and walking buddies for a great day – perfect weather, excellent company and awesome walk.
Participants: Roz Spratt (Trip Leader), Steve and Paula Horton, Ian and Sue Mayer, Bev Piper, Gwen Scheffer, Robyn Scott, and Pat Williams