Western Victoria and the Grampians

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From the wet foggy climes of Mount Gambier to Western Victorian towns of Casterton and Coleraine, it was a straight and clear drive on the Saturday morning. Once you hit Casterton and climb high above the town you realise it is indeed a hole, out of which the countryside becomes rolling and scenic. Lots of cows and sheep grazing in the lush fields, which have clearly seen recent rain, ran scared as I streaked past at only 100kph, the official speed limit in Victoria - beware the hidden mobile speed cameras!!

After a brief stop in Hamilton to stretch the legs at the local lake, I headed eastwards until Dunkeld where I promptly hung a left and drove another 65km to reach my destination of Hall Gap. It was great to see the grandiose peaks of the Grampians and valleys full of statuesque eucalypt trees. Some trunks were burnt black, a reminder of the fires that ravished this region only early 2009. Ths has been so much so that walking tracks have been remarked and diverted to allow better regeneration of the native flora. How kind!

I finally made it to Halls Gap on time for SA time but late for Victoria time, being lead slowly along the kangaroo populated habitats of the Grampians valleys and some casually driven locals. After settling in to Tims Place we determined that it would be best to follow our nose to Pinnacle lookout and pass via the Grand Canyon, Australian version on much smaller scale than the US version Theresa tells me! A meandering 4 hrs with lots of photos allowed us to finish the rocky 1km loop and we saw loads of kangaroos, lizards and birdlife amongst the desolate, arid landscape. Although Halls Gap has had mich rain, it till appears in drought and needy of strict conservation measures. But this ade for good walking - mild breeze and clear skies - and excellent opportunity to break out the shorts!! (what kiwi wouldn't). Appetites for hiking whetted and world peace discussed, we satisified our stomach's appetite with vermicilli and veges stirfry, and dreamt that night in our twin room ($25 each, brgain!) of clear skies for Sunday despite a stormy forecast....

And a stormy night it was with 110kph winds, scrawly showers and as a consequence many trees and logs strewn across the road. Victorian weather in winter, right?

But we could not let this hamper our efforts to walk, and after a sleep in and breakfast of heart carbs we set off to the carpark of the Mt Rosea walk, west of Halls Gap and about 10km drive away. The hike started out through dense forest, largely with charred logs and light rain, then cleared to rocks and subalpine terrain. The views once the cloud cleared were awesome and just as good as the Pinacle which we 'knocked off' a day earlier. The absence of the other walkers said something for it's isolation from the carparks of the Grampians (!) and so the need to be safe when scrabling over the rocks was at the front of my (and maybe not so much Theres's) mind - could not have me out of action for the following 8 weeks in Eastern Europe, that would be very sad!! A cool stop at the summit and extreme winds meant we made a short shift of lunch and lost my rain cover for my pack - bugger! Well at least I am alive, and very much alive did I feel we were holding on for dear life at the top. Heights eh!!

That took us up to 2pm, when we descended down the same route and returned back to the car parked at the end of Stony Creek road. After a cupp and chat back at Tim's Place we headed into town for some browsing before parting ways about 3pm for our drives home. I headed straight into oncoming rain towards Dunkeld and ended up in Port Fairy about 5pm SA time (5.30pm local Vic time). This town is so pretty, and like Mt Gambier which is flush with 8 pubs within a 1km radius, the oldest pub in Victoria built in the 1840s.....and like many pubs, it was called the Caledonian! Those Scots sure love their drink...
That refreshed the body in readiness for 2 more hours on the road towards Mt G via Portland. In fact I was very lucky to get back to Mt G as the yellow fuel light came on at Nelson, 33km east over the Vic border. The couple were disappointed I had turned up and after a costly 5L of fuel and $1 EFTPOS charge I made it back to the big city and cheapert petrol of Mt G....had I been a few minutes late I would have ended up at the pub asking to buy 5L of liquor for the rental car to drink!!!!!!!!!!

Fortunately no bad wildlife incidents in this trip, but loads of Roos around Mt Gambier, lizards amongst the rockeries of each walk, and birdlife which I never tire of, especially the Kookaburras!! Even in the middle of Melbourne, they are present, how lovely to hear...


Well next stop is Eastern Europe via Auckland. I will fly out of Mt G on September 5th and then leave again on September 7th for Seoul, on Korean Airlines. Planning a lot at the monent being peak season, and hoping to do as much walking and hiking, plus the obligatory relaxation of any holiday (!!) as I have tried so hard to embrace here. Why not - life is so short.

Until then...

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