Waterfalls and wildlife, our days in the Grampians region were filled with natural beauty. Inland from Victoria’s southern Australian coast, Grampian National Park is a perfect base for exploration. Best shared in photos:
I have no idea how hubby spotted this Bobtail skink just off the side of the road.
Boroka Lookout in the Grampians offers 180-degree views of Halls Gap and Lake Bellfield in Western Victoria. To get there, we drove up the aptly named Mt. Difficult Road.
Another view from Boroka Lookout.
A Sulphur Crested Cockatoo in Brambuk Cultural Center in Halls Gap.
This is Broken Falls. One can take a long and impressive hike to get here, or drive to the nearby carpark.
Kangaroos lounging in the sun, seen in the field from the back deck of our hotel room.
As we drove through Ararat, we stopped for a tour of J-Ward, a former lunatic asylum for the criminally insane.
Also located in Ararat, and worth a visit is the Gum San Chinese Heritage Centre highlighting the incredible history and difficulty of the Chinese immigrants who came to work in the gold fields.
Aww. We had to stop to enjoy these ducks and ducklings.
The provincial town of Ballarat was our final stop on the way back to Melbourne.
Practical Information:
- The Grampians National Park is located in Victoria and is comprised of rugged sandstone mountain ranges and forests.
- We barely touched on all the things to do in the Grampians. It is a popular holiday destination for camping, climbing, scenic drives, and bushwalks.
- We stayed at the Kookaburra Motor Lodge in Hall’s Gap. Clean and tidy, it is centrally located, but the highlight for me was the kangaroos that were sunning themselves in the field just behind the hotel. Apparently, this is normal activity for them.
- For more information on the Grampians visit the official national parks site.
- We used Lonely Planet – Australia to help guide our travels.
This is the sixth article in a series as we drove a loop from Melbourne along the Great Ocean Road to Port Fairy, then up to Halls Gap and the Grampians before heading back to Melbourne.
- Melbourne Street Art: Explore Australia
- Driving the Great Ocean Road: Explore Australia (Part 1)
- More Photos from the Great Ocean Road: Explore Australia (Part 2)
- A Convent Turned Luxury Hotel Along the Great Ocean Road
- J-Ward: Inside a Lunatic Asylum for the Criminally Insane
Map showing the route we drove over five days. The marker is in Hall’s Gap in the Grampians. The bottom map shows what a small portion of Australia this covered.
Kangaroos, skinks, birds, waterfalls or hiking, which part of the Grampians is your favourite?
If you enjoyed this photo tour of the Grampians, please share it on social media including Pinterest:
Disclaimer: We are frequently provided with a complimentary entry or other benefits. However, the opinions expressed here are strictly my own.
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Beautiful scenery and shots.
Thanks Fi
Hi Rhonda – I’d love to take that route .. and isn’t that skink amazing. Incredible landscape too … my father made contact with a war colleague who lived in Ballarat … and I should have visited him – but never got down under … I think I’ve got his details, so if I ever do … I could perhaps catch up with the family … cheers Hilary
That skink was such a cool find. As for family friends, I do hope you make it down under to meet them. And when you do, you have a map all routed out for you.
I love the photos
Thanks Brenda
Such lovely and breath taking pictures Rhonda, I would love to travel more 🙂
What’s stopping you?
Stunning views and great photos. Love the Wood duck and babies.
Thanks, and I am glad to know what type of ducks they are.
Wonderful photos, each and every one. And you have a great eye to have seen that skink – they’re rather shy, at least here in the States.
Merry Christmas!
It was hubby’s good eye that spotted this one. I actually asked him why he has stopped the car 🙂
Always enjoy your photos Rhonda completely different world to London heheh!
Have a tanfabulous day 🙂
This part of Australia would be completely opposite London. The cities would be more similar. It was settled by the Brits.
What a view! That’s a lot to see in one area. Was the former lunatic asylum creepy?
Thanks Alex. We did it over several days. J-Ward was quite creepy. I wrote a separate post about it here.
What a fun adventure. I love anything with a view. Boroka Lookout jumped right out at me, so that’s my favorite.
Have a fabulous day. ☺
That lookout was really breathtaking. I hope you get to see it for yourself someday.
Every photo is stunning! Merry Christmas to you!
Thanks Teresa.
Lovely shots – Merry Christmas!
Thanks Carol.
The Bobtail skink looks both cool and scary! What a great find.
He moved so slowly, he really wasn’t scary at all.
Truth be told, that critter is kinda creepy looking.
Hubby is a reptile fan. So much so he had two huge (4-foot) iguana’s when I met him, so I would never publically agree with you.
What great pics and what a wonderful place to visit. Very nice. I do want to go there.
Hope you have a Merry Christmas.
I hope you do get a chance to do this loop. Remember to go slow and enjoy.
Being a former Victorian (I grew up in Bendigo), your photos brought back wonderful memories of travelling around Victoria when I was little. It was nice seeing a bit of greenery in your photos as Victoria can be very brown and dry. 🙂
What a fabulous place to grow up. I would love to be a kid with all of this in my backyard.
What great wildlife you saw!
I have a blue-tongued skink in my school library and she is the most gentle scary-looking animal you ever saw.
Australia is an amazing place to look for wildlife as so much of it is indigenous to the country and fascinating to the rest of us.
Wow Such a beautiful post, your photos are always awesome, my favourite this time are the ducks and ducklings, super cute! 🙂
Have a wonderful Christmas Rhonda!
xxx
http://www.travelera.es
Thanks Nulai. The ducklings were super cute.
Absolutely beautiful! What great scenery. I could do without the skink though. hahahaha I love the name of the road you had to take to get the view.
I loved the name of the road too. Once we saw it wasn’t that bad, we had a good laugh over it.
What a great trip you are having. I’ve not done the Grampians road trip, another one for one day! Merry Christmas to you and yours!
Be sure to include the Great Ocean Road.
Lovely! What a pity it’s on the other side of the world from me 🙁
That’s what airplanes are for 🙂
aww the little duckies look so cute.. but the adult ones look weird, like sort of part duck part goose (at least our sort here)
and I heard of Skinks before.. saw them on the Aussie Outback show with Tim Faulkner! Those were Wild ‘roos? or part of something at the hotel?
Yep, those were wild kangaroos. They just hang out in the field but are free to come and go as they please. The fence in the back keeps them out of a different property, not into the one they are on.
Skink? Cool, but a little creepy! I actually said “Aww” before my scroll got down to where you wrote it for the ducklings! Beautiful photos as always!
The ducks were cuties, but the skink was pretty cool tot.
Lovely shots, Rhonda. Wonderful to see so many familiar sights on your blog.
Thank you for taking part in the Travel Tuesday meme.
It’s a beautiful area, too often overlooked by visitors. Glad you have been too.
How do you chose from all your wonderful photos? I think “Lounging Kangaroos” would make a great name for a band.
I think it takes me longer to pair down the photos than to write the words.
These are fantastic shots. You certainly found a lot to see!
We just picked well on our destinations. Nature did most of the rest.
I really like your article, it is really great 🙂 Thank you for the pictures too.
I also visited the Grampians and it was amazing !
Thanks. The Grampians are really special. Next time I will allocate more time.