Hollow Mountain (Wudjub-guyan) Walk

An out-and-back climb of 2.2 km return, retracing the same route down, with about 2 hours the typical time on foot. The distance is small, the effort is not: this is rated Grade 4 / Medium-Hard, and it sits around 7/10 for practical difficulty.

• From the Hollow Mountain Car Park, a signed gravel track leads into a densely vegetated gully of banksias, grass trees, native pines and eucalypts, hemmed in by rocky cliffs.
• The grade steepens past an iron-stained cliff and fallen boulders, and the track turns into a rocky ledge route.
• Higher up you pass the wind-scoured caverns that give the mountain its shape; allow time to look through the cave system before the final ascent.
• The finish is a bare rocky summit looking over the Mount Stapylton Amphitheatre and out across the Wimmera Plains.

Expect rock hopping and genuine rock scrambling, not just walking. Independent measurement of the route puts the high point near 372 m and the low point near 230 m, so roughly 180 m of climbing packed into just over a kilometre each way. Track surfaces can be slippery, and the upper ledges and slabs involve rocky, exposed ground where a slip matters more than a stumble on dirt. Trail markings are yellow symbols and visibility along the route is generally good, but route-finding attention is still needed once you are on rock.

• No dogs on this walk.
• No fires permitted.
• Slippery rock is a standing hazard, not an occasional one.