Jul 2009

the glorious Grampians

a selfer with the sky and rocks

After Adelaide, we drove east towards the Grampians, a national park in Victoria about 250 kms west of Melbourne. According to wikipedia, the Grampians Park was listed on the National Heritage List in December 2006 for its outstanding natural beauty, and also for being one of the "richest Indigenous rock art sites in south-eastern Australia." Not wanting to miss that superlative, we set off- looking forward to spotting some Aussie wildlife in the wild, hiking, and getting into the Christmas spirit. Grampians did not disappoint. We stayed in a great cabin in the town of Halls Gap- it was the first proper cabin we'd stayed in, with all the comforts of home (including a fireplace, spotless kitchen, cozy den, and two bedrooms with clean, soft duvets.) The bonus? Kangaroo watching every evening and morning on our porch:

coffee?

beautiful bird in front of our cabin- Australia doesn't do boring, brown birds

approaching the Grampians

kangaroo crossing!

gorgeous vista in the Grampians National Park, Victoria, Australia

baby Chritmas tree at our cabin in Halls Gap

We decided to do a day-hike:

funky rock formations

look-out at the "top" of the hike

rock scramble!

We also took a drive to check out some of the Aboriginal rock art for which the Grampians is especially famous...

Aboriginal handprints in the rock- thousands of years old

more rock art- see the white figures? they look like stick people...

After a few days in the Grampians we were ready to hit the Great Ocean Road, and celebrate Christmas for the first time in the Southern Hemisphere.