Overnight the mercury dropped, and we excitedly awoke for our second day of hiking around Mount Hotham to be greeted with a small snow flurry, which then soon cleared to perfect hiking weather. Originally from London, I have certainly seen my fair share of snow, but as I have been in Australia for the last 18 years, it has become a novelty once again; the last time I experienced any snow was on a trip back to the UK at Christmas in 2010.

Packing camera and the usual selection of lenses we headed off to follow the Cobungra Ditch Walking track, an abandoned water race which had been carved through the rugged mountainous terrain by upwards of 120 tough souls in support of the Cobungra Gold Mining company back in 1883. The walk is not particularly challenging compared to some of the hikes and scrambles that we regularly undertake in the Grampians, but it is still a very enjoyable 18km circuit which takes in some stunning Alpine scenery and interesting wildlife. A great number of the snow gums which were damaged by the 2003 bushfires are now regenerating, and the track is littered with dead branches which, although hazardous on windy days, do make for excellent images!

The snow flurry from our balcony…

Staying at The General in Mount Hotham meant that many of the hikes we were interested in did not require driving to a starting point; we simply set off…

While this post may be a little image ‘heavy’ I decided to combine my favourite images captured from the second day’s walk as really I feel it is all part of the same ‘celebration’ of this beautiful area. Our walk on day 3 started at Dinner Plain, which is but a 10 minute drive from our accommodation at Mount Hotham. The Tabletop walk is graded as difficult according to the Australian Walking Track Grading System because the final 1 km of track rises steeply to the summit of Mount Tabletop, from which there are some beautiful views of the surrounding area. With the return leg the walk ends up being 14 km or approximately 5 hours in duration (although often much longer when stopping to take photographs!).

This collection of images from our short break are also significant for me as I had been recovering from a particularly sore back, which I had injured back in September (the 22nd, I remember it clearly!), and yet managed to hike for over 38 kms on the three days. Normally this would not even cross my mind, however it has been such a difficult year with my health that I was particularly pleased to feel that I was finally making progress. I am not and have never been a sit at home type of person, there is simply too much to see and do, and I am a notoriously impatient patient! Certainly I have come to realise just how much we can take our health and mobility for granted, and just how quickly life can change.