Visiting the Grampians National Park
By Ezmee Wyatt, University of Melbourne, Australia
If you are into hiking, Victoria has a lot to offer – a couple of friends and I visited the Grampians National Park and it was beautiful! We decided to use public transport to get there so we could save some money (the trains here a pretty cheap), and it took about 4 hours in total – we got the train from Melbourne Southern Cross station to Ararat station and then the bus up to Halls Gap, where we stayed.
We had booked this lovely lodge and it felt like we were in the middle of nowhere – kangaroos were just hopping about!
As the journey was so long, we didn’t arrive until around midday, but that didn’t stop us from exploring. As our lodge was so close to the start of many of the hikes, we still had all afternoon. We decided to visit Clematis Falls and then venture up to Chatauqua Peak. By the time we got there the sun was just beginning to set and it was absolutely beautiful – you could see for miles and the view was amazing. However, we didn’t have too long as it is not wise to hike in the dark (especially in Australia where snakes and spiders are ubiquitous!). On our walk back we also saw some wild wallabies and ended up stopping in at Spirit of Punjab, the local Indian restaurant – it was delicious and I’d highly recommend!
That night we also met the lady renting us the lodge, she was lovely and offered to lend us some bikes to make getting to the start of our hikes easier. So, the following day, after a breakfast of pastries and coffee, we jumped on our bikes and headed towards the first climb of the day – to Reed Lookout and The Balconies. This route was almost entirely uphill, but absolutely beautiful and the view was definitely worth it! We didn’t see anyone else on the walk at all – we realised at the top that you can drive to the viewpoint, so I think most people opted for that! After a much quicker walk down, we grabbed our bikes and cycled to the next route of the day, the Pinnacle. I think this was my favourite of the two – the hike up was stunning, with loads to see and lots of different terrain. The view from the top was insane – this would be the route I would suggest if you opted to only do one. On our cycle back to the lodge we decided to detour to Lake Bellfield for sunset, this was so peaceful and definitely worth a visit. My bike did get a puncture on the way back though, so safe to say I was knackered by the time we got back to the lodge!
If you’re studying in Melbourne, the Grampians should definitely be on your to-do list – it has so much to offer and it provides a great break from city life!
