On Walkabout In: Mt. Buffalo National Park – Part 2

Basic Information

• Name: Mt. Buffalo
• Where: Victoria, Australia
• Elevation: 5,652 ft (1,723 meters)
• More Information: Parks Victoria

Prior Posting: Mt. Buffalo National Park – Part 1

Narrative (Continued)

After walking up the snow covered road on the top of Mt. Buffalo I eventually reached the trail head to the 1,723 meter summit of The Horn which is highest point of the mountain:

However, even from the start of the trail the view was absolutely spectacular:

That rock formation that composes The Horn towers over one of the many massive gorges that surround this high rock plateau in northeast Victoria:

There was plenty of warning signs warning walkers about the danger of the ice on the trail but really it wasn’t all the bad:

As I ascended up The Horn I was quickly surrounded by a grove of ghosts gums that only grow in these high altitudes in Australia:

These ghosts gums however were all scorched from the 2006 bush fires on the mountain but they are slowly regenerating. After passing through the grove of ghost gums the trail then begins to pass up and over the large granite rocks that make up The Horn:

From the summit of The Horn, it offers unparalleled views of the top of Mt. Buffalo to include The Cathedral pictured below:

On the summit lookout there is a sign that labels all the various peaks visible from The Horn which is a good thing because the best views of the Victorian high country can be seen from here such as the snow covered slopes of Mt. Hotham:

Great views of my favorite mountain in Victoria, Mt. Feathertop are also available from the summit:

Looking south I could even see high peaks of Mt. Buller to the distant right and The Bluff out in the distance to the left with Mt. Cobbler in the center of the picture:

I spent a good 30-40 minutes on the top of The Horn just admiring the spectacular view because it is without a doubt on a clear day one of the best views in all of Australia. After finishing checking out the view I then descended back down the mountain and the menacing clouds that had rolled in earlier had passed offering a perfect picture of The Horn once I was down the mountain:

This walk up to the summit of The Horn is just one of the 23 total hikes available on the mountain that are all easily accessible from the paved road that traverses the mountain. For anyone planning to spend a day up on Mt. Buffalo I highly recommend at least completing one of these hikes because the views across Mt. Buffalo and the surrounding high country are truly outstanding and not to be missed.