In the heart of the region stands its most popular natural landmark, Hanging Rock, the famous backdrop to Joan Lindsay’s novel, Picnic at Hanging Rock, and Peter Weir’s film of the same name. The striking outcrops are part of the Hanging Rock Reserve, and a great place for barbecues or emulating history with a picnic. Hanging Rock park ranger, Guido Bigolin, regularly spots cast and crew of the film on pilgrimages back to the rock. He says Director Peter Weir returns to “sit on a rock all by himself” in contemplation.

The reserve may be quiet most of the year but it comes alive during the Hanging Rock Races, held on the track at the base of the rock every New Year’s Day and Australia Day. Thrusting 718m above sea level and more than 100m above the surrounding plain, Hanging Rock is one of the best examples in the world of a volcanic feature known as a mamelon (the French word for ‘nipple’). It was formed six million years ago when lava gathered on the surface as it was squeezed through a narrow vent in the earth. This resulted in an unusual rock known as soda trachyte (also found at the nearby Camel’s Hump on Mount Macedon) which is rare anywhere outside Scandinavia.