Grampians National Park

Now that summer in Australia is in full swing, Liam and I decided to ditch he city for the mountains for the weekend and headed west to Grampians National Park. Armed with the bare essentials (a $15 tent from Big W, a Swiss Army Knife + first aid kit, a roll of toilet paper, our bathers, hiking shoes and enough sunscreen to drown a horse) we left Melbourne early Saturday morning and drove 3.5 hours north-west towards the Grampians.

The Grampians is a region in Victoria full of sandstone mountain ranges, which tower over Halls Gap, Lake Bellfield, and the surrounding tangle of gum trees a wild vegetation, which wallabies, lizards, deer, and (as we would later discover) wild ostriches emus, call home.

Without much of a plan, we reached the Grampians visitors centre by early afternoon on Saturday, and loaded up on trail maps and day trip itineraries. In the end, we managed to walk, hike, climb and swim our way through each other Grampians major draws, including: Pinnacle Lookout, Wonderland Track, the Grand Canyon, the Balconies, Boroka Lookout, MacKenzie Falls, Chatauqua Peak, and Lake Bellfield. We kept a running tally as we went, and figured we hiked nearly 18 kms during the two days we spent in the Grampians.

Despite not having much of a plan when we left Melbourne, we managed to stay at a free and non-reservable campground called Plantation, which was equipped with basic necessities including fire pits, and an awesome view of the starry sky and Milky Way when the sun finally set (giving us some much relief from the insensate Australian heat).

Here are some photos from our two days in the Grampians:

First hike of the day! On our way to Pinnacle Lookout via the Wonderland Track

The summit of The Pinnacles, looking north-eastward towards Halls Gap

At Pinnacle Lookout

MacKenzie Falls

MacKenzie Falls made for a refreshing place to take a dip after a hard day of hiking!

The view from The Balconies Lookout reminded me of Pride Rock from The Lion King!

The rock formation on the left is called the "Jaws of Death" and overlooks the southern part of Grampians National Park

Our $15 tent. Or, as Liam described it: "our prison" (because of the inability to stretch out inside)

The view from Chatauqua Peak was stunning and well worth the 2 km climb in the heat!

What do you get when you lug a backpack up a mountain in 38+ degree heat? A very sweaty back at the summit!

Still, the gorgeous view made the trek more than worth it

Wild emus spotted on the way back to Melbs! (Apologies for the terrible photo)