Hike at Mount Lofty Loop
Sometime in January 2025, I came across an article revealing the best hiking trails in Australia. According to the Alltrails 2024 annual report (unfortunately, I cannot seem to find this report on the Alltrails website) the top 5 best trails in Australia are:
- Grand Canyon Track, Blue Mountains, NSW
- Bondi Beach to Coogee Beach Walk, Sydney, NSW
- Mount Lofty Loop, Melbourne, VIC
- Whistlepipe Gully and Lesmurdie Falls Loop, Perth, WA
- Enoggera Reservoir Circuit, Enoggera Reservoir, QLD
Like most folks, January is a time where I am motivated to do better in all aspects of my life. Particular focus was my health (as detailed in my blogpost). I got this idea that going on a hike could be a good way to do something different and also assist with my aim to walk more. This, my friends, is called habit stacking.
Long story short, because of my location, the only hike I could do was the Mount Lofty Loop, and that is exactly what I did on the 22 March 2025. My family usually occupies my weekends, but my wife and son went to my in-laws' that day, allowing me to do something for myself.
It wasn't a very long hike, and neither it was super difficult. All the stars aligned because that Saturday was a nice beautiful sunny day in Melbourne.
Looking to fully take advantage of habit stacking, I also took my Fuji X100VI. I recently re-purchased this camera but had not found the time to use it. It is at the back of my mind that I like the idea of having this camera rather than actually using it.
During my hike, I found a beautiful and peaceful spot. I sat down, meditated for 10 minutes, and then resumed my hike. I usually meditate daily indoors, but meditating outside felt more tranquil.
Gallery of some more pictures:
Some pictures I took I like. They are not the best images ever but they are mine, taken from my camera, when I was in my happy place.
I saw:
- Australian native animals such as kangaroos. I was not brave enough to go near them to take a closer shot. I missed not having a zoom lens.
- found a river where a person was struggling to kayak, but his determination was inspiring.
- focused on the nature that surrounds us every day, which we take for granted.
- there is something calming about looking at the sun shining on the river stream.
Driving to the hike, I saw a beautiful horse that I wanted to take a picture of but I suppose I got lazy. Anyway, driving back, I hoped the horse will still be there.
My luck did not disappoint and I quickly parked the car, grabed my Fuji and took a snap.
