During our recent camp to the Victorian High Country, Ian was moved to pen his Ode to Mount Buffalo

Well, hello
Beautiful Mount Buffalo
It’s been some time since we last climbed
Your slopes and rocky topped plateau

Since last, we see your forests burnt
Oh, we hope some lessons learnt
We’d hoped you were protected better
Despite the many laws and letters

The furry Alpine Ash and Snow Gums
Are sprouting from white skeletons
But though the catastrophic fires have harmed
We can see you still have charms

So we are here to walk your sights
A bunch of walkers, primed for heights
All the way from Batemans Bay
Just for you, a week to stay

You’re made for us, for we’re not baulking
Short strolls, long treks, keep us walking
Under boulders, over bridges
Even up your endless ridges

We love your waterfalls and more
To gaze on granite walls and tors
To walk your skin of snowy grasses
And weave our way through lofty passes

When near the Chalet we did look
Upon the charms of Crystal Brook
The Oval, Gorge, and just for a shiver
We even peeked at an underground river

Through the Galleries’ tunnels and cracks
Pushing through, scraping our backs
Emerging again so pleased as punch
To Lake Catani for a well earned lunch

Now time to go, your weathers test us
But we managed without much fuss
Those humid days did make us sweat
And rainy days, they kept us wet

Ye Gods, the next forecast was snow
But in the end we have to go
We’ll come again we’re pleased to say
Goodbye Mount Buffalo, till another day

Ian B
March 2017