After killing some time in Hamilton we continued our drive east towards our next stop just outside Grampians National Park. Here is our first view of the southern part of the park. This is Mount Sturgeon on the left, and Mount Abrupt on the right.
The next morning we made the drive into the park, and our first short hike of about a mile was to Venus Baths, likely the most visited spot in the park as it’s easy to get to.
We walked a little further along the path past the baths and nearly walked right into this Wallaby, eating quietly on the side of the path. He just kept on munching away as I took his photo.
Our next stop was Boroka Lookout, an awesome viewpoint over the valley below. The little town below is called Halls Gap, and serves as the entrance to the Grampians. The lookout is just 50 yards from the parking lot.
We took turns taking photos with some guys at this spot.
Next up was MacKenzie Falls, a short but steep hike down to the base of the most popular waterfall in the Grampians. This shot is from above the falls.
Kim hiking down the lower section of stairs leading to the base of the falls.
MacKenzie Falls in all of it’s glory.
Yeah, not really that impressive after seeing all of those waterfalls in Iceland, but when it comes to waterfalls we’ll take what we can get. Here is a short video.
Our last stop in the Grampiajns was at Reed Lookout, with a view towards the west. You can see from this photo that there is a lot of fire damage below this point. Grampians National Park suffered a severe fire in January that continues to keep portions of the park closed to the public.
The Grampians have a wine region named after them, so of course we had to at least make a visit. About a 50 minute drive from the park is historic Seppelt winery.
Seppelt was started in 1851 in the Barossa Valley, with their first vineyards in the Grampians being planted a short time later. Their first vintage of wine in the Grampians was in 1863. Seppelt is known for their extensive hand dug cellars that were started in 1865.
This historical marker mentions that these cellars were hand dug by gold miners. There was a gold-rush nearby in the 1850’s, and the gold was pretty much gone by the 60’s.
Our guide pointed out this part of the cellar where you can see the pick marks from the miners axes.
The wines were ok, and included an odd Sparkling Shiraz, which they referred to as “Christmas in a Bottle”. I actually preferred this sign in the tasting room over the wines!
We departed the Grampians area and headed towards the coast so we could drive along the Great Ocean Road. Our first stop was at “Bay of Islands Lookout”, where the Great Ocean Road first hits the ocean. This was just the first of multiple stunning stops along the coast! These are islands of stacked limestone that have been weathered by the ocean for thousands of years.
This is looking east down the coast from the same Bay of Islands Lookout.
You can take a short hike to get a different perspective on the islands. Beautiful spot!
One last shot from this stop. The weather was perfect!
We then drove about 5 minutes and stopped at “The Grotto”. You had to hike down a little hill and then “wow!” Gorgeous! Of course, we had to wait to take a photo as some Instagrammer loser had hopped over the “do not enter” wall to take photos up next to the water. They need to pass a law that makes it legal to punch these people in their silly little faces.
The next stop, maybe 2 minutes away, was “London Bridge”. The gap you see on the left was once an arch that you could walk across, but it fell in 1990. Two tourists had just crossed the bridge when it collapsed, and were stranded on the island until a helicopter picked them up a few hours later.
Here is what the site looked like before the collapse.
Another 20 minutes, after getting lost in “under construction” Port Campbell (grumble grumble), we made it to “Loch Ard Gorge”, with two more dramatic limestone islands.
Just adjacent to Loch Ard Gorge is “The Razorback”, which gives you an up close look at the limestone layers of an island that has recently (as in only a few thousand years ago) separated from the mainland.
About 5 minutes drive later you arrive at the spot everybody comes here for, the “Twelve Apostles”
Looking to the west, there are supposed to be ten of the twelve apostles in this photo, but apparently you can’t see them all without taking a helicopter ride, which we opted out of (we’re spending enough money already!).
Towards the east are these two prominent apostles. The surf in the background made for a really excellent photo!
Looking closely at this one you can see a little window in the upper left. This drive along the Great Ocean Road was definitely a “must do”… just try to avoid the busses and the Instagrammers and you’ll be ok!
We stopped for a beer and a snack at the Great Ocean Road Brewhouse (the red ale is fantastic!) in the cute beach town of Apollo Bay. I liked this sign.
Coming up next, we stay in the beach town of Lorne, and then drive to Phillip Island to see the “Penguin Parade”.
