Cathedral Range State Park

Just outside of Melbourne, a couple of hours drive by car, lies a whole world completely separate to the cosmopolitan and bustling nature of urban life. The Cathedral Range State Park is one of those, and lies roughly 100km north east of Melbourne. It offers a range of hikes to suit all abilities, with the jagged ridges offering stunning views. For those interested in activities other than walking, you can boulder, camp and also run on various trails.

The part is over 3,500 hectares in area, and because it's only a couple of hours from Melbourne we were able to go for the day and do some hiking. From the suburbs, it was a 2 hour car drive to one of many car parks that you can use, passing through the rolling countryside and many vineyards! That was the first time I had seen a vineyard in real life, the rows of neatly arranged grapes on well irrigated land, stretching for miles into the distance. Whilst Cathedral Ranges has many rocky outcrops and routes, there is also plenty of greenery, and we soon found ourselves driving through a thick forest.

As I mentioned above, there are various routes that you can attempt to hike in the national park, information for which we found here. The original plan was to do the Sugarloaf Peak and South Jawbone Peak Loop, an 11.3km trail with over 600m of elevation. However, upon starting it (and worth noting for future hikes and anyone reading this!), we realised hiking always takes longer than you expect, and durations can vary massively depending on the weather, personal fitness level etc. So we decided to switch to the North Jawbone Peak via Jawbone Creek Track route. This was a far shorter hike of 3.7km, with 315m of elevation gain. It was an 'out and back' trail, returning along the same route we came.

Despite this trail being short, it did have plenty of inclines and steps (another factor which can affect the pace of the hike), meaning slow and steady was the way forward! With the sun also coming out midway through our hike, regular water breaks were very much needed. As we started our ascent to the viewpoint, there was a bit of scrambling involved (climbing over rocks and boulders), but that wasn't too difficult. After reaching the top, I can safely say all that effort was worth it!

We took our time at the top, taking in the views, enjoying the silence and breathing fresh air. Bringing snacks such as dried fruit and nuts, cereal bars and plenty of water meant we could refuel before starting our descent back. Making our way back to the carpark was a lot quicker, although extra care had to be taken when descending down steep slopes. Coming out to the Cathedral Range State park for the day was well worth it, and a nice way to get out of the city and enjoy being around nature. On our way back, we stopped off at a place called '300 Grams' in Northcote, a suburb of Melbourne, to grab some dinner. I got the vegan 'Hot Bird' burger along with some Southern Fried Cauli Bites - both were a delicious way to gain back all the calories I had burnt!

Hiking tips:

Planning on going on a hike soon? Here's some tips I have (based of this trip and also previous hikes I've done):

• Allow more time than is stated on the website to complete the hike
• Bring plenty of water
• Bring enough food/snacks to last the day - do not leave it in the car, you don't know how long you're going to be on the trail!
• Bring basic first aid supplies with you (plasters, hand gel, blister tape, any medication etc).
• Wear appropriate shoes (hiking shoes preferably) and comfortable clothing
• Bring a sunhat, suncream and sunglasses - even if the weather says otherwise in Australia!
• Keep a spare change of clothes in the car that you can change into at the end of the day.
• Start your hike as early as possible - better chance of getting parking, and helps you allow for delays on your trek.

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