How weird is nature? The beautiful Organ Pipes National Park can be found just off the Calder Freeway, about 20 kilometres north of Melbourne. The 121-hectare park is named after its star attraction: 2.5 million-year-old basalt columns that look strikingly like organ pipes.
This type of structure is known in the geological community as trap rock. The valley walls of Jacksons Creek are actually Pleistocene volcanic rocks that fractured during cooling into these vertical columns.
Today, people gather in the park to view this bizarre rock wall and spend time in the traditional country of the Wurundjeri People. Head to the Tessellated Pavement and look at fossils that are over 4 million years old. There are native plants to spot including a field of Kangaroo Grass to the north plus picnic spots and walking tracks.
While you're there, we'd suggest taking the short three-kilometre circuit walk around the park. Starting at the visitor centre, you can follow the trail that passes along the main features of the park, including Keilor Plains, the Tessellated Pavement and the Organ Pipes themselves.
