4 Stray Katz: My Mountain Goats (Rock rambling at Porongurups and Stirling Ranges

Our children's rock climbing abilities were most certainly gifted to them from Daniel. They are so quick and agile on the rocks and have a knack of quickly choosing a safe and appropriate route when walking on rocks. Their abilities were certainly put on show over the last week.

Firstly we visited the Porongurups and did the Granite Skywalk. It is described as an 'engineering marvel'. Basically it is a suspended walkway on the edge of Castle Rock that allows you to walk around the summit next to the rock, it literally feels like you are walking in the sky. Riggers had to abseil down to drill in the anchor points then the stainless steel sections were delivered by helicopter and lowered to the riggers hanging off the side of the mountain - a completely crazy idea that they totally pulled off. It was an incredible view and you could see through the base which was astounding (but not for those with any aversion to heights). What I thought was a short walk though actually turned out to be a 4.2km mountain climb so we were all quite exhausted by 4.30pm when we finally got back to the car (we had travelled from Albany that morning after stocking up on supplies so got a very late start for the walk

The Balancing Rock - the kids enjoying trying to budge it.

The Castle Rock Granite Skywalk - incredible.

Jackson encouraging Emilia up the ladder

What a view - we were higher than the trees and you could actually see to the ocean (just as it was a bit misty).

We were impressed with the kids abilities on this hike but the best was yet to come. We camped at the magnificent Stirling Ranges, which has a range of hikes including the popular climb to the top of Bluff Knoll, the highest peak in Southern WA (1095m). We spent the next day deciding on our walks and doing the scenic drive which included a few short walks to gain different viewpoints on the Ranges. We decided on the summit of Toolbrunup as our first walk then Bluff Knoll the day after.

The Toolbrunup Peak is 1052m high and a 4km return walk, however it is a grade 5 which means 'pretty damn hard' (it only goes to grade 6). We decided to just attempt the walk and see how the kids went to give us an indication of how they would fare for the Bluff Knoll walk. Well they totally blew us away with their perseverance, persistence and determination. The both walked the whole way up this very challenging walk that included a lot of steep rocky sections and was a fairly steep incline the whole 2km up. It took us 3 hours to reach the summit (1052 m high) and we were rewarded with spectacular views and children who were so proud of their efforts (I was proud of my effort too!). After some happy snaps we started our descent as it was getting hot (it was predicted to be 36deg). The way down was actually harder as many of the rocky sections we had climbed up were made of river rocks that moved when you stepped on them. This is okay on the the way up but on the way down it caused a few slips when we weren't concentrating. Emilia is such a trooper, she fell and hurt her knee and kept going even though blood was dripping down her knee. Daniel took off with Jackson near the end and he actually fell asleep while getting piggybacked. Daniel did an amazing job piggybacking a sleeping 3 year old along the rocky path (as I said the kids abilities were definitely from him). In the end it took Emilia and I 6 hours and it was 37 deg by the time we got back. Such a stellar effort by us all. We were all exhausted that afternoon and after a long, cool bath in the eski the kids got treated to a few movies laying in bed (as well as ice-cream and watermelon). Daniel and I just couldn't believe what an amazing effort they had both put in, we are so proud of them. We did also look at each other a few times in the afternoon and ask if we are crazy - taking young children on a difficult hike up a mountain (Mum don't answer that one!).

We were all keen as to do Bluff Knoll the next day, which, although slightly higher and longer, is actually meant to be an easier walk. We rose early to horribly grey skies but decided to drive up anyway and hope for the best. It was so incredibly windy and rainy and the summit was hidden in cloud. We went to the lookout to assess the situation but the rain was just getting heavier and kids were nearly getting blown over. We were all very disappointed but not as much as Jackson who completely cracked it and started trying to run off to do the walk by himself! It ended up drizzling on and off for most of the day (and didn't get above 18 deg) so we drove to nearby Mt Barker for a look. We attempted a few plays in the park but kept getting rained out. Daniel ate what was apparently the best pie he had ever eaten (curried beef) from the Mt Barker bakery, so good he went back for a second!

We planned to try again to do the walk the next day but the rain kept up most of the night and the mountain peaks were still shrouded in clouds the next morning. With much disappointment we packed up and headed north for some better weather. We have promised the kids we will return to do the walk.......a promise we hope we can keep.