Living life on the edge: It's no picnic at Hanging Rock as couple perch inches from an 800ft fall

By EMILY ALLEN


High risk: This young couple are perched only inches away from an eight hundred feet fall. The pair had crawled to the edge of Australian landmark 'Hanging Rock', where the sandstone is only about a foot wide

This young couple are perched only inches away from an eight hundred feet fall.

The pair had carefully crawled right to the edge of Australian landmark 'Hanging Rock', where the sandstone is only a foot wide.

Photographer Michael Matthews was amazed to see the duo so far out on the narrow rock formation, overlooking the Grose River Gorge in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales.

He said: 'They were on the end of the rock for about 5 minutes.

'They even had a hug and a kiss out there, but were being extremely careful.'

Mr Matthews, 54, had driven from his home in Sydney, having seen an image of the Hanging Rock on a postage stamp.

Long drop: Photographer Michael Matthews was amazed to see the duo so far out on the narrow rock formation, overlooking the Grose River Gorge in the Blue Mountains of New South Wales

He said: 'I decided that I had to see it for myself.

'It was a two hour drive from my home followed by an hour's walk from the car park.

'Because of the obvious dangers of this area, it is not highly advertised. There were no signposts pointing to where it was'.

Mr Matthews reached a viewpoint known as 'Baltzers Lookout' but still couldn't see Hanging Rock.

He said: 'I felt quite vulnerable up there. There were no fences and a wind was blowing.

Great view: Mr Matthews, 54, had driven from his home in Sydney, having seen an image of the Hanging Rock on a postage stamp and vowed to track it down

'I felt it would be easy to get blown off the cliff if you got too close to the edge.

'I felt so uneasy that I almost left without seeing the Rock but I persevered and managed to go to the end of the lookout.

'I carefully clambered down and Hanging Rock came into view.

'Once down there, on the same level of the Rock, I couldn't get any closer than a foot from the edge of the cliff without risking a major panic attack.

'It was impossible to see the very bottom of the formation, but I know it stretches down for about eight hundred feet.'

'I noticed the couple when I glanced up suddenly. They must have jumped on to the top.

'I panicked, especially as they got so close to the narrowest end.

Mr Matthews carried on taking snaps of the scene before the couple carefully make their way back to the wider section of Hanging Rock, where they stopped for a picnic.

'I couldn't help thinking of the 1975 hit film 'Picnic At Hanging Rock', but that was actually filmed in Victoria,' said Mr Matthews.

'That's about a thousand kilometres away from here and not nearly as interesting!'

The film relates the story of the disappearance of several schoolgirls and their teacher during a picnic to Hanging Rock on St. Valentine's Day in 1900, and the subsequent effect on the local community.


source: dailymail