Kicking off the @GR8OpenRoad in the Grampians, Victoria

Hi!

Thanks for taking the time to have a squiz at our monthly blog as we share our travels around Australia. We are a family of four; a high school teacher (Cassie), a firefighter (Cameron) and two lil' groms (William & Amelia) who kicked off our travels in early October and are currently making our way across South Australia. We are towing our 22ft Snowy River Caravan behind our brand-new LandCruiser 300 GXL. We spent a long time deciding on what tow vehicle to invest in, and after a month of travel so far, we are extremely happy with our decision. Over the coming months, we will be sharing snippets of our travels and reviewing some of Australia's most spectacular locations!

In our first week of travels, we found ourselves arriving at the foothills of the Grampians National Park, Victoria. We had chosen the inland route as we had (in previous years) already explored the southern coastal regions of Victoria. We were bee-lining our way to the South Australian border. Narrowly escaping the flooding in Northern Victoria, we were grateful that we were only dealing with the odd scattered shower.

We found our accommodation for our Grampians stay via Wikcamps; which honestly is the BEST $7 spent on a phone app ever! Wikicamps is a map database relying on user generated reviews which provide a great insight into campsites, caravan parks, day stops, water sources, dump points, hostels etc. We use this daily to determine the accommodation options in a town, as well as prices, reviews, suggestions and photos of the locations. If you travel - get onto this pronto. You will save money if that's a priority, as well as discover hidden gems off the beaten track, we've stumbled across some beauties!

So, what hidden gem did we find in the Grampians? Grampian Old Man Emu Stay, a farmstay on the outskirts of Halls Gap. With large allocated unpowered camp sites, equipped with individual fire pits, this was a great spot to use as our base as we explored the area. Old Man Emu lived up to its name, as we spotted plenty of emus on the property, as well as deer, sheep, rabbits and kangaroos. As we were out collecting firewood, we also stumbled across the BIGGEST mushrooms we have ever seen in our lives! They were out of this world! Google 'phlebopus marginatus' or salmon gum bolete - you will not believe it!

The Grampians really took us by surprise. We weren't expecting the sheer rock faces which towered above us as we meandered our way up the mountain range towards our first hike of the trip to see Splitters Falls. The walk itself was fairly challenging for the kids, but they managed with minimal complaints and a lot of snacks! We really could have stayed here for a couple of weeks- just to tick off each bushwalk offered in the National Park. The breathtaking views, rugged wilderness, local wildlife and wildflowers form the fabric of an unforgettable landscape. 

On a particularly we day we travelled out to the neighbouring town of Stawell, where we dropped into the local library (a great rainy day activity whne travelling with kids), the local pool and grabbed some lunch. On our return to town we drove to the outskirts of Halls Gap fashion, the views and landscape were extraordinary and we had to convince ourselves that we hadn't just stepped into a scene of Jurassic Park! If we were to have stayed in the area longer, the Halls Gap Zoo came highly recommeded as a great family activty. 

As the weather continued to sour, we decided to head off towards to South Australia. In hindsight we were lucky to have avoided the major weather event which quickly took over much of Victoria. So until next time, we farewelled the majestic Grampians and hightailed it to our next destination; the Limestone Coast, South Australia.