The Rebel Gardener

Grampians weekend away

Every now and again it’s good to get out of the city and out into the country for a weekend away. One of my families favourite places to go is the Grampians.

Now for those who don’t know, the Grampians are a Mountain Range situated about 2 ½ hours drive to the west of Melbourne. They cover an area of about 3000 square Km and are a great place to go bushwalking, rock climbing, fishing, horse riding and lots of other outdoor activities.

One of the things we love to do is go bushwalking and the Grampians are just full of walking tracks. They range from short easy ones to others that take in some quite steep terrain that rewards you with some quite spectacular views. On the Saturday we went for a walk up to a lookout that overlooks Lake Bellfield. It was an overcast day though and as it turned out we ended up walking through the cloud. Despite missing out on the view though, it was still quite pleasant, as there wasn’t any wind and considering it was winter it didn’t take long at all to warm up.

The other amazing thing about the walk was to see the bush and how it had regenerated after a bush fire a couple of years ago. The bark on the trees was still very black and the branches and trunks had all grown new growth. The forest floor was also amazing as it was absolutely littered with new little seedling that had germinated after the fire. There were Banksias, Grevilleas, Hakeas, Isopogons, Acacias and lots and lots of other stuff growing everywhere. Most won’t be ready to flower until spring so it will be worth another visit then as I reckon it will look quite spectacular.

The only two plants I could find in flower were Correa reflexa and Epacaris Impressa. Epacaris Impressa especially looked spectacular as its bright pink flowers could be seen from quite a distance.

The wildlife in the Grampians from a tourists point of view is also another one of it’s features. The Grey Kangaroo is the obvious draw card especially for overseas tourists. Probably the best place to view them is right in the centre of the Halls Gap township .

When we parked our car there was a mother and her joey feeding on the grass right in front of us. You do have to be a bit careful though as when we got out of the car the larger male that was feeding a few metres away sat up on his hind legs, thrust his chest back and just stared at us. I’m sure if we wanted to though we could have slowly approached them for a closer view but considering the wounds a kangaroo can inflict on a human it just wasn’t worth taking the chance.

Kangaroos are obviously one of the draw cards to this area but unfortunately they aren’t very well liked by the farmers as they can eat crops. The other problem is that they have absolutely no road sense whatsoever. We drove into the Grampians on the Friday night, in the dark, along the Ararat-Pomonal road. There were quite a few dead Kangaroos on the side of the road, so if you’re driving at night  it really does pay drive a bit slower and be vigilant.

The amazing thing about it though is I personally over the years have just considered it to be problem at night. Saturday morning though at about 10am I nearly learnt my lesson the hard way. We were driving along a straight stretch of road and I saw two kangaroos jump across the road ahead. They weren’t close enough to be a problem. But luckily I slowed down, as we got closer they then turned around and crossed the road again right in front of us. It was a close escape for us. Kangaroos are just so unpredictable, so if you’re in a car and see one (or two) expect the worst and slow right down.

The Grampians also have lots of other wild life as well. There are lots of birds, Wallabies, Echidnas, snakes and lizards as well as Emus.

There are also lots of great places to stay in the Grampians, ranging from luxury cabins with spas to caravans and you can even camp if you wish. We ended up staying at Lake Fyans Holiday Park which is about 15km from Halls Gap. We normally stay somewhere different each time, not by choice but mainly because we always seem to leave it to the last minute and as a consequence most places are booked. There is a large lake there which is a great place for fishing and boating. The last time I stayed there was in 1990. We spent most of our time there water skiing but unfortunately the drought has hit the water level quite hard. Now the boat ramp doesn’t make it to the water anymore, although there are plans to extend the ramp into the water so it can be used again.

Despite this though we thought it was a fantastic place to stay. There’s a swimming pool, playground and games room to keep the kids entertained and they also have a restaurant which had fantastic food, cold drinks and also a log fire to set the atmosphere on a cold winters night. Even the wildlife there was very friendly.

The Saturday night actually bought some rain, not much though, but better than nothing. Rain also means that it’s a great time to visit the waterfalls. The Grampians have several places you can go to view waterfalls and one of the most popular is Mackenzie Falls.

MacKenzie Falls are right at the bottom of a very deep gorge but a well built path makes the descent a pretty easy one. The important thing to remember though, is if you feel as though you’re not as fit as you once were, it’s easy going down but not as easy climbing back up again. I saw a few people really struggling .

Once you get to the bottom though it really is worthwhile. Although the falls weren’t flowing as hard as they can (despite the rain) they still looked quite magnificent and would be a great place to cool yourself on a hot day.

So there you have it, the Grampians in a nutshell. If you even decide to visit you really need to give yourself a few days to see as much as you can. If you’re going for the wildflowers the best time to go is in the spring. If you’re into bush walking the best time is when it’s a bit cooler so the height of summer might not be the best as it can get quite hot. In the end though, whatever time you choose to visit the Grampians there’s certainly plenty to do and see.

We always have a great time at the Grampians.

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