The
Grampians National Park is a great place to visit.
Third largest national park in Victoria, The Grampians is one of
the most visited places in the state, with some amazing rock
formations, impressive views over mountain ranges, beautiful
waterfalls, diversity of plants and animals, and numerous
sites of Aboriginal rock painting.
There
are plenty of bushwalks, and good options for camping, fishing and
mountain climbing in the park; and just outside are some nice
vineyards, art galleries and lots of Chinese and European gold history.
The Balconies. Poster by AllPosters. Click
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Geology and Vegetation
The sweeping slopes and craggy sandstone escarpments of the park are
different from the younger, fertile basalt
plains that surround them. Inside the park, sandy and infertile soils
are produced by weathering
of sandstone.
This creates harsh conditions for the plants,
which have developed
some
clever adaptations to cope. There are at least 800 native plant species
in the park, 20 of which are endemic. The vegetation types
include sclerophyll forests, open woodlands, heathlands and swamplands,
and during the spring, the rich flora puts on some of Victoria’s best
wildflower display.
Aboriginal Rock Painting and History Aboriginal
people have been living
in the area for at least 5000 years, and the area has today some of
the best examples of Aboriginal
rock painting
in south-eastern Australia. The rock art sites are in the park’s
“shelters”, while displays of mythology,
traditions, clothing,
tool, hunting
and weapons
of the local tribes are in the Brambuk Living
Cultural Centre in Halls Gap, which also offers
cultural tours.
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Hall's Gap - the Centre of the National Park
Hall's Gap is the park’s central town, where there is a supermarket,
cafes and restaurants, a range of accommodation, and a visitor centre
with informative displays, information about the parks attractions and
activities, and
maps of walking tracks.
Places to stay
in Hall's Gap include Bagara
Cottage, Boroka
Downs Botique Residences, Comfort
Inn Country Plaza, D'Altons
Resort, DULC
Cabins, Grampians
Chalets, Grampians
Motel, Halls
Gap Escape Cottages, Halls
Gap Motel, Halls
Gap Valley Lodges, Heatherlie
Cottages, Kiramli
Villas, Kookaburra
Motor Lodge, Marwood
Villas, Mountain
Grand Botique Hotel and Pinnacle
Holiday Lodge.
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Short Walks from Hall's Gap
There are many great places around Halls Cap, easily reached by short
walks. The most photographed is the Pinnacle Lookout,
not far from the Visitors Centre, but there are other popular spots
such as Sundial Peak, Boronia
Peak and Chataugua Peak.
Pinnacle lookout. Poster by AllPosters.
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Longer Walks from Hall's Gap
North-west from Halls Gap is Zumstein, a
popular picnic area visited by kangaroos,
and
the beautiful McKenzie Falls with several
walking tracks around them, which take you to different lookout points.
There are picnic facilities here too, and McKenzie Falls is connected
to Zumstein by walking tracks.
McKenzie Falls. Poster by AllPosters. Click
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Northern Grampians: Wartook Valley
North from McKenzie Falls and Zumstein is an area called Wartook
Valley, known for its Aboriginal
and European pioneer
history, and as one of the best wildflower regions. Furthest south are
the little townships Wartook and Laharum, east of which is the
Ngamadjidj Aboriginal Shelter, and further north is Gulgurn Manja
Shelter. There are walking tracks to Mt Stapylton,
Hollow Mountain and Mount
Zero, and you can also visit one of the many wildflower
and
olive farms in the area, and do some horse riding or fly fishing
with a local guide.
Western Grampians: Mt Arapiles
West from Wartook Valley is Black Range,
and north of it is the small town Horsham
with a wool factory, a regional art gallery and the Little Desert
National
Park north of it. West of Horsham is Mount
Arapiles, famous for its excellent rock climbing and
abseiling.
Places to stay
in Horsham include Best
Western Golden Grain Motel, Comfort
Inn Capital Horsham, Comfort
Inn May Park, Darlot
Motor Inn, Grampians
Edge Caravan Park, Mid
City Court Motel, Mercure
Hotel, Meringa
Springs Lodge, Ploughmans
Motor Inn, Sundowner
Westlander Motor Inn and Wartook
Rise Cabins and Lodge.
Mt Arapiles. Poster by AllPosters. Click on
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Eastern Grampians
East of Halls Gap is the Wonderland Range,
and south of it is the highest peak in the National Park, Mount
William (1167m). There is a steep track from the car
park to the top of it, where you can enjoy views above the clouds.
Southern Grampians: Mt Abrupt
South from Mount William Range is the small township Dunkeld,
and the 825m-high Mount Abrupt. A winding
track that starts from a small parking area besides the Dunkheld-Halls
Cap Road leads up to the summit where there are some of the best views
in
the National Park.
South-west of the Grampians
West of Dunkeld and Nigretta Falls is Hamilton
– a lovely town with wool-growing heritage, old buildings, beautiful
botanic gardens and an art gallery. Not far along the Glenelg Highway
are the amazing Wannon and Nigretta
Falls, a Volcanic Trail, and plenty of fishing and water
sports at Lake Hamilton.
Places to stay
in Hamilton include Bandicoot
Motor Inn, Best
Western Lonesdale Motor Inn, Comfort
Inn Botanical Hamilton, Hamilton
Townhouse Motel, Lake
Hamilton Motor Village and Caravan Park, Quality
Inn Grange Burn and The
Goldsmith Motel.
Wannon. Poster by AllPosters.
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East: Chinese History
East of the national park is Ararat, the only town in
Australia
that was established by Chinese. You can explore the town’s gold
heritage at the Gum San Chinese
Heritage Centre or visit Long Morgala Museum and Australia’s
largest wind farm at Challicum Hills. Places to stay
in Ararat include Chalambar
Motel.
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North-east: Vineyards
North of Ararat is the small town Great Western,
established in 1863 by winemakers. You can visit the pioneer wineries –
Best’s and Seppelt,
where you can do some wine tasting.
What to Do in the Grampians National Park
There are more than 150km of bushwalking tracks in this national park,
all from half-hour strolls to serious overnight trails,
pick up the maps and information at the visitor centre. You can join a tour to the Grampians
from Melbourne.
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Where to Stay in the Grampians
The park’s camping grounds have toilets and fireplaces so you can do
some excellent bush-camping, just book with EPA.
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Here's a map of the Grampians National Park,
where I have tagged the places that I mentioned on this web page. You
can click on the tags to see what places they are, and double-click
anywhere on the map to zoom it in and see the places closer. Drag the
map to move around, and if you want to see the satellite image with
Google Earth, click on "Sat" in the top right hand corner.
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What Other Visitors Have Said
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Grampians Not rated yet OMG, my Grampians trip was so amazing.
I loved climbing the Pinnacle and the view at the top was awesome, but if you plan to clibm the pinnacle remember …
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