The Grampians

After a successful night in Melbourne I went to the airport again to rent myself a car for the next three days. As soon as I got me a cute Toyota Prius Hybrid I headed out west on the Prince's Highway towards The Grampians National Reserve.

I have to give credit to Marius for giving me advise on this one. And both Jan and Marius for making me do this since I was quite wary of venturing on Australia's streets on my own with all that left driving business and such. But it turned out to be easy as pie, not considering the handful of times when I turned on the wipers instead of the lights each time I intended to make a turn. But I guess this is also the international sign for: Watch out! Tourist coming through!

The Grampians

So I was driving there for 3 hours maybe when I first saw the mountain ranges of the Grampians. And it was truly a remarkable sight even from far away. It turned out to be even more spectacular driving through the valleys with the ranges towering up to the evening sky. In Halls Gap I tried to find a room for the night and ended up again in a place offering log cabins. Not quite cheap but it was definitely worth it. My neighbours being a herd of kangaroos grazing behind the cabin on an extending pasture in this fascinating valley surrounded by sunset lit ridges inviting for long and promising hikes.

Halls Gap - Behind my Log Cabin

Close neighbours at the Log Cabin #1

Close neighbours at the Log Cabin #2

Close neighbours at the Log Cabin #3

As it got dark: "my god, its full of stars!" - to quote a famous scifi movie. But see for yourself, stars in all different colors. You can only have this view far in the countryside. Despite this cosmic experience I had to get to bed early because I wanted to catch the sunrise on one of those many lookouts spreading through out the crests high up.

"My god, it's full of stars"

Nightsky in the Grampians

What my eyes beheld that morning was an experience I never would have dreamed of. A panoramic view of hundreds of square miles of lowlands covered by a thick morning mist slowly dissolving in the morning sun and giving sight on eucalyptus forests, lush meadows and little lakes glaring in the sunlit sky. A picture from another world.

En route to Boroka Lookout

Boroka Lookout over Halls Gap

Boroka Lookout

The Grampians - Mount Difficult Road 

My schedule was tight so after a little breakfast I went on with a little photo hike to the McKenzy Waterfalls which turned out to be a formidable walk with really nice views and motives. Unfortunatly after my nightshot session I was so tired that I forgot to recharge my batteries. So after catching everything from above the waterfall I had to device a plan. But whats the famous motto of the Australians? No worries! You're right!

The Grampians - Walk to McKenzy Waterfall

McKenzy Waterfall

The Grampians - McKenzy Waterfall

So I just asked at the next kiosk to kindly plug my charger in for a couple of minutes while having a cup of coffee. While I was sitting there a lady from Melbourne joined me after she was attacked by a Kookaburra that snatched the entire pie she was just eating moments before right out of her mouth. Totally flabberghasted she needed a couple of minutes to loosen up and I was telling her about my trip. Of course she was trying to convince me that Melbourne was actually a much nicer city than Sydney paying tribute to the classic cliché of each representative grudging on one another.

The Grampians - Last look back from Dunkeld

Nevertheless I kindly said my cheerio's and continued the steep walk down to the waterfalls base. Once arrived I relaxed in front of a scenery that was truly fabulous. But time had cast a curse on me and soon it was late after noon. Time to go on and continue my drive to The Great Ocean Road. So I plugged in my trusty IPod and tuned in to my favorite band of the nineties - Midnight Oil, thats right:

Where is home, where is my home?
I'm searching far and wide, oh yeah
Where is home, where is my home?
I hear my spirit cry
It's in the clear blue sky

Grampians Road