Grampians National Park

In Australia we celebrate Queen Elizabeth’s birthday, which essentially means that we get to enjoy a long weekend in June with Monday as a “public holiday”. Over that long weekend, Erik and I decided to head to the Grampians, a mountain range about 3 hours from Melbourne that offers hiking, rock climbing, and wilderness.

We based ourselves in Halls Gap, a town of about 300 people that swells during holiday times. Our accommodation was a small cottage surrounded by mountains and frequently visited by kangaroos. The town itself is really cute and has a great pedestrian/bike path that we used to walk from our cottage to town and also to the visitor’s center. There are some hiking trails that start right from the center of town, which is quite convenient!

Seeing kangaroos in the wild never gets old!

We left Friday after work and arrived at D’alton’s Resort around 8:30pm. David, one of the owners, was waiting for us with information about our cottage. It was a little chillier in Halls Gap compared to Melbourne, so we were happy to learn that David had turned the heat up in our cottage before our arrival, making it feel nice and toasty when we walked in the door. The cottage itself had a small kitchen, so we brought plenty of food from Melbourne, as I had heard that food prices were very high in Halls Gap.

Cottages with mountains in the backdrop

Cute and cozy cottages!

On our first day we planned to hike to the top of Mt Rosea, however, about an hour into our hike the clouds and rain came and we had to turn back. The visibility was poor and we decided that it was not worth the hike to the top if we were not going to be able to see anything once we arrived there. After making it down to the bottom, we tried another hike, this one to the Pinnacle, and ended up having to turn back on that hike as well! The weather just was not cooperating, so we spent a lazy day hanging out in our cottage, which actually turned out to be very enjoyable!

We hiked a little past this landmark before turning around on Day 1. 

Crazy-looking rock we noticed on the way down

Sunday’s weather was much more cooperative, and David gave us a tip about an alternative trail to the top of Mt Rosea, so we took that route, which allowed us to enjoy a different hike compared to the one we had just done the previous day.

It kind of looks like I'm about to jump in this picture, but I assure you I was not!

A "selfie" near the top of Mt Rosea

Erik got ahold of the camera, so there are a few pictures of me from our hike!

View of the Grampians from the top of Mt Rosea

Before our second attempt to hike to the top of Mt Rosea, we completed the hike to the Pinnacle, which is one of the more popular hikes in the Grampians. We saw a lot of people on that trek, including lots of young families and school groups. There were definitely more than 300 people in Halls Gap on Queen’s Birthday weekend!

Erik near the Pinnacle, with Mt Rosea in the background

Cool rock formations make for enjoyable climbing with this guy!

View of Halls Gap from the Pinnacle

We also did a short walk at Reed lookout to the Balconies, where Erik decided it was safe to walk out onto a ledge. Actually I sent him out there for the photo, and he was a good sport!

Before leaving town, Erik wanted to get in a quick workout, so he ran some sprints on the local footy oval. He had the company of MANY kangaroos during his workout, which certainly helped to keep me entertained!

These kangaroos often stopped to watch Erik running!

This guy was about to box! This was the first time I've ever seen a 'roo assume this position.

This one nearly hopped right into me when I was taking pictures!

The pouch must be handy on cold days!

Pucker up!

'Roos and mountains!

In addition to ‘roos, we saw a few emu and heard lots of kookaburras on our weekend in the Grampians. The Grampians have endured bushfire damage over the last few years, most recently this past January, and much of the northern park is still closed due to that damage. One of the more popular spots to visit, Mackenzie Falls, has been closed since January, and I would definitely like to make a trip to that area once it re-opens. The Grampians are supposed to be an amazing place to visit in the spring due to the large amount of wildflowers that bloom there, so perhaps a spring camping trip will be in order?!