Castle Rock: a scramble into the clouds

A balancing granite boulder.

An early start for Castle Rock in the Porongurups, with cloud taking some of the heat out of the climb and adding depth to the views.

Scrambling between the granite boulders.

The route had a little of everything: forest walking, enormous granite boulders and a final scramble up through the rocks. The ladder and metal walkway of the Granite Skywalk bring you out beside the rock face, with the country opening up below your feet.

Cloud drifting across the view.

The cloud kept changing what we could see. One moment the hills were soft outlines; the next, a gap revealed another stretch of farmland or forest. The rock formations closer at hand were just as interesting, including a huge boulder balanced above its much smaller base.

A very good morning for climbing up, squeezing through and then stopping to look out.