Walking from Basalt Temple uphill we come to a shady tree and find patches of thick, cool, soft grass. We gaze back towards the 3600 views from Basalt Temple that had reminded some of us of the Himalayas, others of Mt Kailasa. Across to Mt Feathertop and Mt Hotham, I was reminded of last summer’s pack walk, also in hot sunshine after one defining storm. We enjoy a break until someone notices the smell of horse manure nearby. Why wouldn’t wild horses find this patch of shade welcoming in the same way we had? Another few hundred metres uphill we meet a familiar T-junction of the track. We’re heading left, back to pole 333 and our Tawonga Huts campsite. On these 3600 views across the seemingly treeless Victorian high country plains, a few dark splotches on a ridge to the right attract our attention. We stop. Focus. Question. Yes, we have the great good fortune to see a mob of wild brumbies. They graze undisturbed. Conversation stops. We don’t need to discuss or debate. Like the horses, we enjoy. We enjoy that we can be here. We enjoy that no-one disturbs us. We enjoy the beauty. We enjoy the wildness. Minutes later we turn to face more high country plains, more beauty, more wildness, still thankful that we can be here undisturbed. What great good fortune is ours.
