Girraween National Park

One of the reasons that we visited Stanthorpe was to go walking in the Girraween national park. I've always been a bit ambivalent about walking in Australia as it seems that as soon as you're out of sight of the car park the view remains the same until you get back in the car, but Girraween was a little different.

At first you're in a maze of windscaped rocks, cold springs, and hidden forested bathing spots

 But in the far distance you can see the Pyramid looming

This is flagged as a 3.4km return walk which 'requires sturdy footwear' - but really, how hard can it be?

 

The walk started off easily as it winds through some amazing lichen-sculptured boulders

 but after some serious stairs it broke out into some open ground

made of bare, beautiful high traction granite

It required a fair degree of trust in your boots as you climbed

but I'm an ex-climber, so I should be right..... 

I was doing OK up until this point, where the ground slopes away and looks like it will spit you off the edge if you trip. At this point I was starting to remember why I am an ex-climber

I fought back my sudden attack of the fears and pushed on...one of these photos was taken on the way, the other at the top. Can you guess which is which? 

I was pretty stoked that I made it to the top but when I was up there I met this family, complete with three young kids and a handbag... 

Getting down was a little less elegant than the climb

But eventually we made it back to safer ground

We took a small diversion on the way back to check out the granite arch

along with some other beautiful scenery

Some locals turned up to greet us when we made it back to the car park

 They even bought their kids for a bite to eat...