Tag:grampians
We were taking the visiting Scottish cousins away for three days to the Grampians and chose the Northern Grampians. Why the Northern Grampians and not southern, western, eastern, because not only for the abundance of wildlife, but they have most of, the iconic natural attractions found in the Grampians. Boroka Lookout, Reids Lookout, The Balconies, Mackenzie Falls and The Pinnacle can all be found a short drive from Halls Gap, a comfortable 3 hr drive from Melbourne.
We had visited the Northern Grampians in 2016 again basing ourselves in Halls gap. This time around we booked into Halls Gap Log Cabins, nice two bedroom cabin, and very comfy and handy to everything.
Wildlife at Northern Grampians
Every day as the sun went down the ‘roo’s came into the grounds. The owners, as a result, never need to mow their lawn here 😉
Another frequent visitor in the late afternoon were the emu’s. They turned up like clockwork every afternoon around 5pm in the large open paddock behind the cabins, wandering around foraging, only slightly interested in mad tourists.
We made the mistake, on the the first day of feeding a magpie…. I know, I know, I can hear you shaking your head. Within minutes we had a host of cockies joining the maggies.. and they ended up getting the lions share of the twisties!
Due to seeing a sign next morning, ‘please dont feed the birds’ we hung our heads and shame and refused to feed them next afternoon when they came calling.
Country Roads
We headed out next morning with plans to visit Boroka Lookout, Mackenzie Falls and Reids Lookout… unfortunately Google Maps on my phone directed us down a poorly signposted dirt road for about 30kms, then told us in the middle of nowhere “you have arrived”. By now, we also had no phone service so we kept following the road for about another 20kms. We came to a sign saying Halls Gap, and took it. Continued on the dirt road, for a few more kms, then came to a fork in the road, with no idea which way to head. Asses Ears Road or Rosebrook-Glenisla Road? Neither sounded a good idea.
Wondering which road to take, and with visions of search and rescue finding our bleached bones in 30 yrs time, I suddenly realised that right at this spot, I had four bars of service! Plugged in Halls Gap and off went again. Back the way we had come. Just a few yards down the road service dropped to one bar then none, but by now, I had the maps loaded. We eventually came back out at Northern Grampians road with a signpost to the lookouts and falls. Cue the applause in the car. We had just done a needless, 50km plus dirt road detour.
On the upside, we saw loads of wildlife, and while they moved way too fast to photograph, or get near, we did spots lots ‘in the wild’. From Kangaroo’s, Wallaby, Emu’s even a deer or two on these rarely travelled (by smart people) tracks.
Back on solid, man made roads we hot footed straight to Mackenzie Falls. Having absolutely no intention of going to the bottom of the falls, we took a couple of walks to view Broken Falls and Mackenzie Falls from the top.
Mackenzie Falls
Boroka Lookout
Leaving Mackenzie Falls behind we drove to Boroka Lookout.
Where both the MOTH and a visiting Scottish cousin ducked through the railing for a photo op
The rest of the day was taken up with non photographic but enjoyable stuff like eating, drinking, watching clouds go by….
Next Morning……..
Waking up next morning, we found the sun had gone.. .light misty rain was coming across the hills. We decided instead to visit Dunkeld in the Northern Grampians sector. Not the best idea. Rain pelted down as we were leaving the and the mountains had heavy cloud hanging over them
Arriving in Dunkeld we headed to the Arboretum. Maintenance was being done on the pier I wanted to shoot and it was completely blocked by fences and workmen. Plan B, we’ll go to the museum in the old railway station. Closed. Only open sundays and public holidays. After 1pm. **heavy sigh** Plan C – lets go to the bakery.
Set back off the main road in a suburban street the bakery is obviously well known as on a wet tuesday it was still busy. The carrot cake and coffee were delicious. No photo. Ate it too quick 😉
The Balconies
Leaving the town that was almost awake we drove back towards Halls Gap. By now the weather was improving so we decided to go to The Balconies on the way back. They are at the same carpark as Reids Lookout, but it had been too warm to do the uphill walk the day before.
The walk is supposed to be ‘easy’ as its only 1km each way. “Suitable for all ages and fitness”. According the to brochures its a ‘slight incline’. We, however, made use of the chairs on the way up and arrived sounding like asthmatic steam trains. Obviously our level of fitness is considered extinct and not worth mentioning.
This time I didn’t need to encourage the MOTH to climb the barrier and go out on the balcony. Not that I would have suggested it this time – it was blowing a gale up there. But an unknown man who “has done it heaps of times its quite safe” went out there for a friend and we snapped his pic as well.
Next day we headed back home to Melbourne…. had a lovely three nights there with Scottish girls. I thoroughly recommend the Halls Gap Log Cabins. Comfy stay and wildlife at your door, (and the shower was awesome)
Take One:
We planned a weekend away to Ararat with an Aradale Lunatic Asylum and J Ward visit and a side trip to The Grampians/Gariwerd. But, as they say in the classics, the best-laid plans of mice and men often go astray. Add women to that, too, vbg.
Gariwerd
The aboriginal name for the Grampians is Gariwerd. Gariwerd is a highly spiritual place for Aboriginal people due to the dreaming stories and the abundance of food, water and shelter it provides. This is evidenced by the number of occupation sites found in Gariwerd and that even today, Aboriginal people are drawn to this place. The Grampians/Gariwerd has the most significant number of rock art sites in southern Australia and over 80% of Victoria’s rock art sites.
Waterfall Hunting
We headed up the Western Highway towards Ballarat, veered off towards Horsham, drove through charming and quaint Beaufort (plan to go back there, lots of old photographic worthy buildings), lunched at the Cottage Garden Cafe in Beaufort scones with jam and cream. Yummy. We arrived in Ararat around 12.30 pm. As we couldn’t book into our accommodation until three, we decided, armed with all the maps, directions, and info from the Internet I had printed out, plus Lucy’s Tom-Tom, to head off and see a waterfall.
Mackenzie Falls
Initially, the plan was to see Mackenzie Falls, but as the Parks Victoria site said, the waterfall’s base was closed due to storm damage, and it’s not worth seeing a waterfall just from the top. So we drove off looking for Beehive Falls. And we’re still looking an hour later.
Backroads
Like the fabled Utopia, it’s out there somewhere but hidden behind the mists of time and lost travellers. We drove down Roses Gap Road (dirt road all the way) for over half an hour, stirring up a massive dust cloud behind us, and never found the ‘Roses Gap Car park that was on that road (according to the directions printed out) and never found Beehive Falls.
We did see some great views of the Grampians as we drove its length and breadth. But that’s as close as we got 🙁 As it was by now, around 2.30, we turned around and headed back to Ararat. After a brief but obligatory stop at MacDonald’s for a late lunch, we arrived at our cottage around 4 pm and loved it on sight.
Golf Links Retreat
We were greeted by our very hospitable hosts, Merren and Peter, who introduced us to the gorgeous cottage Golf Links Retreat we were staying in. Set in beautiful gardens, it’s a Bluestone brick exterior, old exposed brick walls and timber ceilings inside, a two-storey, three-bedroom, two-bathroom, breakfast basket, and Coonara heater. Heaven!!
We took the princess, too, and she took it straight away. It was ‘home’ for three days, and that’s just what it felt like. Home. We plan to go back and find those waterfalls next time, too!
Aradale
As Saturday was very wet and rained ALL day, we decided to stay in and do some ‘arting’. We took supplies with us and spent the day making gazillions of chipboard tiles that we would adhere to large canvases. Sunday was just as overcast and cool. But only brief showers, so we decided to head off to Aradale Mental Hospital. It started life named Aradale Lunatic Asylum. Take the tour (the link will give you all the info on it)
The outside was a beautiful, huge, massive complex of around 70 buildings. But inside, it had suffered from renovations in the ’50s and ’70s and wasn’t what I expected. It was more interesting once we got into the older parts.
J ward
Monday, we were heading home but stopped off and took the tour of J ward. J Ward started as a goldfields prison in 1859, and when the gold ran out, the ‘Lunacy Department’ (I kid you not) acquired it as a prison for the criminally insane. It housed the most dangerous and violent offenders deemed unfit due to mental issues to stand trial. They were detained at the Governor’s pleasure under the highest security (and lowest conditions). One famous inmate was Garry David Webb.
After our tour (very interesting with a very informative guide), we continued our journey back home. But, as I said, we plan to return to Ararat and the Golf Links Retreat to find those waterfalls and take the ghost tour of J ward!
Take Two:
Waterfall Hunting Again
Lucy and I returned to Ararat armed with better maps and a goal to see a waterfall in the Grampians finally. We had taken a wrong turn last time and travelled miles on a dirt road. This time, we were prepared. We drove straight to Halls Gap on Friday and saw Reid’s Lookout, The Balconies and a little McKenzie Falls (the track to the base was closed). However, the path to Broken Falls was open and more of our style (suitable for the fitness-challenged).
Broken Falls
The Falls are quite pretty, and I could see why they were named Broken Falls. The water plunges over the top but splits into several separate falls. Unfortunately, getting a good shot from the viewing platform was hard because quite a few trees blocked our view.
Watching the world go by
We were booked in at the Links Retreat B&B again, a charming little bluestone cottage alongside the golf course..we’d sit on the veranda and watch the golfers go by and putt around the kangaroos who were lifetime members. We took our art journals to work on, two big suitcases of supplies, and a small bag of clothes each. I should have taken a pic of the table as we worked on them. Maybe we did not think our hosts would have had a heart attack at the mess we made (but we cleaned up before leaving).
McKenzie Falls Again
We returned to the Grampians – Gariwerd and McKenzie Falls via Stawell for breakfast on Saturday. It was a sunny but cool morning, but unfortunately, it was raining quite a bit up in the hills, and I didn’t get a shot of them (Lucy did use my tripod, which we were sharing, but the rain came down in buckets as she finished so we packed it in) and we returned to Ararat for lunch. At least, that was the plan.
Unfortunately, Ararat shuts at 1 pm on Saturday. Almost nothing is open. There were no nice cafes except for MacDonald’s, which we were sick of. So we ate a lovely Subway lunch before returning to our cottage to art for the rest of the day.
Sunday in Ararat’s bustling town of 8200 very sleepy people, it seems Ararat was deserted and dead at 11 am. Few shops were opening, but there was minimal Sunday trading in Ararat. Of course, it’s not the world’s end, but you can see it from there.
One Tree Hill
Sunday night, the sun shone, so we headed up the road to One Tree Hill, an odd name for something covered in trees, but that’s country folk for you. We timed our visit to coincide with sunset; the view was beautiful.
Monday morning, I was back on the road home. Our art journals had quite a few pages done. We had a lovely time. And we made two new resolutions. First, never visit somewhere with lousy internet access; second, make sure the town stays open past 1950).
