Trekking Hanging Rock at a llama's pace

Jocelyn Pride discovers that trekking the Macedon Ranges’ mystical Hanging Rock with a llama is good for your soul. No, really…

“Hmmm, hmmm, hmmm," hums Jaro in a melodic B-flat, I’ve-got-something-important-to-say-sort-of-way.

Huge brown eyes with movie star lashes look straight into mine and his banana-shaped fluffy ears twitch back and forth as I make soft cooing sounds.

It’s love at first sight. A perfect way to start a 24-hour relationship… with a llama.

Domesticated by the Incas thousands of years ago, llamas are one of the oldest animals on the planet. Known as the dolphins of the land, these camelids are whip smart, full of personality and easy to train, as Mark Brindley of Hanging Rock Llama Treks discovered. By saving a llama’s life, he changed his.

“When my partner brought home a day-old orphaned cria (baby llama) with a hole in its heart from her veterinarian clinic, I was hooked," says Mark, a retired aircraft engineer turned llama farmer. “Although Yoda only lived six months, she opened me to a new world."

Mark now has 15 llamas and recently started offering guided llama trekking within the Victorian Macedon Ranges region.

Jaro stands patiently as I learn the art of llama handling.

“Before you ask, spit happens," says Mark with a playful chuckle. “But don’t worry, it’s rare and only a llama to llama thing."

The thought of being in the middle of a llama drama and sprayed with green slime is a tad off-putting, however Jaro and his mates already have the herd hierarchy worked out.

“Just make sure you give them their own space."

After weighing each saddle-bag loaded with our camping gear, food and wine, clothing, and llama essentials like a pooper scooper, tether ropes and ‘llama lollies’ (pellets), we head to Hanging Rock Reserve.

Leading a llama is like taking an oversized well-trained dog for a walk, except I soon find they only have two speeds – stop and llama pace. Each step Jaro takes is slow, deliberate and strong.

It’s easy to see why these sure-footed, well-natured animals are revered as pack animals. Even weighing in at 160 kilograms they’re kind on the environment.

“A llama leaves less of a footprint than our hiking boots," says Mark.

We meander the labyrinth of undulating trails lined with peppermint and manna gums around Australia’s ‘second’ rock formed six million years ago when lava oozed through a vent in the Earth’s surface.

Immortalised in literature, Hanging Rock is as evocative today as it was in Joan Lindsay’s novel and Peter Weir’s film Picnic at Hanging Rock, the haunting tale of the disappearance of a group of school girls here on Valentine’s Day in 1900.

(MORE… Picnic at Hanging Rock – fact of fiction?)

Jaro occasionally cuddles into my neck and sniffs my pockets for ‘llama lollies’. Chris, my travel companion is envious. She doesn’t bond as quickly with Warrego, the tallest and most aloof of the trio. “Llamas can be more like cats than dogs," says Mark.

For afternoon tea we lazily snack on chocolate brownies and banana cake, sipping tea while the llamas chomp on grass and snatch mouthfuls of pine needles.

As camping isn’t permitted in the reserve, we load the llamas onto a horse float and drive half-an-hour to a ‘pet friendly’ camping ground in the tiny village of Blackwood on the edge of Lerderderg State Park.

With great hilarity and wide-eyed llamas watching on, we manage to pitch the tents before darkness shrouds us.

Dinner is a fine camp fire affair – nibbles with a local pinot gris, lamb curry (Mark’s secret recipe) with all the trimmings, followed by sticky date tart.

As we snuggle into the sleeping bags, our four-legged friends kush down (sit) as sentinels behind the tents. Their hums and snuffles are like a lullaby and I’m asleep within seconds.

Our six-kilometre hike the following morning is a challenge. Narrow tracks criss-cross the old gold mining trails. This is new territory for Jaro but nothing fazes him. He carefully picks our path, up and down the rocky hills – confident, steady, grounded. He has my complete trust.

Instead of my usual hurried pace, I’m totally in the moment. I feel the breeze touch my face, listen to the swish of the leaves and each note of a kookaburra’s laughter.

Jaro’s humming becomes my ‘om’. It sure beats a colouring book.

The details: Hanging Rock Llama Treks, Victoria

Getting there: Hanging Rock is a 60-minute drive north-west of Melbourne.

Playing there: Mark offers a number of llama experiences ranging from kids’ parties on his farm to day hikes along a rail trail with a pub lunch to overnight camping treks. The price for the overnight experience is $130 per person including camping gear, food, wine and lollies for the llamas. hangingrockllama.com.au

Staying there: If you don’t fancy sleeping in a tent, ‘The Caboose’ at Hanging Rock Reserve is a beautifully restored railway carriage (sleeps two). Contact Garry and Kate Marks on 0418394984.

MORE… Finished exploring Victoria by hoof and ready to take to the air? Vintage flight – hot air ballooning Yarra Valley style

Located just an hour north-west of Melbourne, the largely undiscovered Macedon Ranges quietly pours some of Australia’s finest cool-climate wines and serves up some of Victoria’s best food.

Mention the Macedon Ranges and most people will think of day spas and mineral springs around Daylesford, cosy weekends away in the countryside or the famous Hanging Rock (of enigmatic picnic fame). Or they won’t have heard of the Macedon Ranges at all.

But this cool-climate destination has been inconspicuously building a profile as a high-quality food and wine region and is beginning to draw serious attention from oenophiles and epicureans alike.

The rise of Macedon Ranges wine

liquid gold barrels at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — Barrels of liquid gold at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

With elevations ranging from 300 to 800 metres, Macedon Ranges vineyards are among the highest in the country. This altitude, combined with significant day/night temperature swings, makes for a slow ripening season, in turn nurturing wines that embody elegance and structure. Think crisp chardonnays, subtle yet complex pinot noirs and delicate sparkling wines, along with niche varietals, such as gamay and nebbiolo.

Despite the region’s natural advantages – which vary from estate to estate, as each site embodies unique terroir depending on its position in relation to the Great Dividing Range, soil make-up and altitude – the Macedon Ranges has remained something of an insider’s secret. Unlike Victoria’s Yarra Valley or Mornington Peninsula, you won’t find large tour buses here and there’s no mass marketing drawing crowds.

Many of the 40-odd wineries are family-run operations with modest yields, meaning the wineries maintain a personal touch (if you visit a cellar door, you’ll likely chat to the owner or winemaker themselves) and a tight sales circle that often doesn’t go far beyond said cellar door. And that’s part of the charm.

Though wines from the Macedon Ranges are just starting to gain more widespread recognition in Australia, the first vines were planted in the 1860s, with a handful of operators then setting up business in the 1970s and ’80s. The industry surged again in the 1990s and early 2000s with the entry of wineries, such as Mount Towrong, which has an Italian slant in both its wine and food offering, and Curly Flat , now one of the largest estates.

Meet the new generation of local winemakers

the Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. — The Clydesdale barn at Paramoor. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Then, within the last 15 years, a new crop of vignerons like Andrew Wood at Kyneton Ridge Estate , whose vineyard in 2024 was the first in the Macedon Ranges to be certified by Sustainable Winegrowing Australia; Geoff Plahn and Samantha Reid at Paramoor , who have an impressive cellar door with a roaring fire and studded leather couches in an old Clydesdale barn; and Ollie Rapson and Renata Morello at Lyons Will , who rapidly expanded a small vineyard to focus on top-shelf riesling, gamay, pinot noir and chardonnay, have taken ownership of local estates.

Going back to the early days, Llew Knight’s family was one of the pioneers of the 1970s, replacing sheep with vines at Granite Hills when the wool industry dwindled. Knight is proud of the fact that all their wines are made with grapes from their estate, including a light, peppery shiraz (some Macedon wineries purchase fruit from nearby warmer areas, such as Heathcote, particularly to make shiraz) and a European-style grüner veltliner. And, as many other wineries in the region do, he relies on natural acid for balance, rather than an additive, which is often required in warmer regions. “It’s all about understanding and respecting your climate to get the best out of your wines,” he says.

farm animals atKyneton Ridge Estate — Curious residents at Kyneton Ridge Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Throughout the Macedon Ranges, there’s a growing focus on sustainability and natural and low-intervention wines, with producers, such as Brian Martin at Hunter Gatherer making waves in regenerative viticulture. Martin previously worked in senior roles at Australia’s largest sparkling winemaking facility, and now applies that expertise and his own nous to natural, hands‑off, wild-fermented wines, including pét‑nat, riesling and pinot noir. “Wild fermentation brings more complexity,” he says. “Instead of introducing one species of yeast, you can have thousands and they add different characteristics to the wine.”

the vineyard at Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The estate’s vineyard, where cool-climate grapes are grown. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Most producers also focus on nurturing their grapes in-field and prune and pick by hand, thus avoiding the introduction of impurities and the need to meddle too much in the winery. “The better the quality of the fruit, the less you have to interfere with the natural winemaking process,” says Wood.

Given the small yields, there’s also little room for error, meaning producers place immense focus on quality. “You’re never going to compete in the middle [in a small region] – you’ve got to aim for the top,” says Curly Flat owner Jeni Kolkka. “Big wineries try to do things as fast as possible, but we’re in no rush,” adds Troy Walsh, owner and winemaker at Attwoods . “We don’t use commercial yeasts; everything is hand-harvested and everything is bottled here, so we bottle only when we’re ready, not when a big truck arrives.” That’s why, when you do see a Macedon Ranges product on a restaurant wine list, it’s usually towards the pointy end.

Come for the wine, stay for the food

pouring sauce onto a dish at Lake HouseDaylesford — Dining at Lake House Daylesford is a treat. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

If wine is the quiet achiever of the Macedon Ranges, then food is its not-so-secret weapon. In fact, the area has more hatted restaurants than any other region in Victoria. A pioneer of the area’s gourmet food movement is region cheerleader Alla Wolf-Tasker, culinary icon and founder of Daylesford’s Lake House.

For more than three decades, Wolf-Tasker has championed local producers and helped define what regional fine dining can look like in Australia. Her influence is palpable, not just in the two-hatted Lake House kitchen, but in the broader ethos of the region’s dining scene, as a wave of high-quality restaurants have followed her lead to become true destination diners.

the Midnight Starling restaurant in Kyneton Ridge Estate Winery — The hatted Midnight Starling restaurant is located in Kyneton. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

It’s easy to eat well, whether at other hatted restaurants, such as Midnight Starling in the quaint town of Kyneton, or at the wineries themselves, like Le Bouchon at Attwoods, where Walsh is inspired by his time working in France in both his food offering and winemaking.

The beauty of dining and wine touring in the Macedon Ranges is that it feels intimate and unhurried. You’re likely to meet the winemaker, hear about the trials of the latest vintage firsthand, and taste wines that never make it to city shelves. And that’s worth getting out of the city for – even if it is just an hour down the road.

Delicate dishes on the menu at Midnight Starling. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

A traveller’s checklist

Staying there

the accommodation at Cleveland Estate, Macedon Ranges — Stay at the Cleveland Estate. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Soak up vineyard views from Cleveland Estate near Lancefield , embrace retro charm at Kyneton Springs Motel or indulge in lakeside luxury at the Lake House .

Eating there

Enjoy a four-course menu at the one-hatted Surly Goat in Hepburn Springs, Japanese-inspired fare at Kuzu in Woodend or unpretentious fine dining at Mount Monument , which also has a sculpture park.

Drinking there

wine tasting at PassingClouds Winery, Macedon Ranges — A tasting at Passing Clouds Winery. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Settle in for a tasting at Boomtown in Castlemaine, sample local drops at the cosy Woodend Cellar & Bar or wine-hop around the many cellar doors, such as Passing Clouds .

the Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar signage — Boomtown Winery and Cellar Bar. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Playing there

a scenic river in Castlemaine — Idyllic scenes at Castlemaine. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Wander through the seasonal splendour of Forest Glade Gardens , hike to the summit of Hanging Rock, or stroll around the tranquil Sanatorium Lake.

purple flowers hanging from a tree — Purple flowers hanging from a tree. (Image: Chloe Smith Photography)

Trekking Hanging Rock with a llama

Jocelyn Pride discovers that trekking the Macedon Ranges’ mystical Hanging Rock with a llama is good for your soul. No, really…

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