It barely seems possible; 3 months ago I boarded the train to set off on this adventure, two months ago was the first day of the cricket, and one month ago I was leaving Mount Cook in the torrential rain. Anyway, to the present.
Awake with the alarm as usual at 06:00, I was all packed up and away at 09:00. The cup of tea I had this morning was dreadful which I can only think was due to the local water, so first stop was for a coffee before making my way along the road.
First planned stop this morning was at Tower Hill, a national park in the caldera of an extinct volcano. I stopped at the first car park at the trailhead of the Tower Hill Peak Climb. Hiking shoes on in the hope that a walk would clear the mud off the bottoms (it did), I set off up a steep gradient before the steps started and more steep followed. Then a bit of a plateau until steepness once more bought me to the summit of the hill with some great views out to the coast.
I then returned to the car and moved to the main car park; I had to wait for a couple of emus to clear the space I'd selected, but was soon parked up. This park has a load of free roaming animals, and the emus were the first that I met .... I cannot help but to think of Rod Hull for some reason!
I then set off on the 'Journey to the last volcano' loop, which took me deep into the woodlands (I think they call it 'the bush' out here) and around the rim of the caldera of one of the volcanos. Then down finally and back to the car park after about 75 minutes.
I was greeted back to the car park by the emus once more, and decided a bit more exploration was in order. I spotted a sign for the 'Lava Tongue Boardwalk' which took me on a loop around a reed filled lake. This was a nice but unremarkable walk, made memorable by the Koala that was in the pathside tree ..... I spotted the people taking photos rather than the Koala! I'm not that observant!
Back to the car park, and not 20 metres from my car was another Koala asleep in a tree, so photos had to be taken! This was a bit more like it; who needs to visit Sydney Zoo when you can find them living free and in their natural environment?
By now, it was midday, so I decided to move on, and visit Port Fairy just a few miles up the coast. I had a bit of a wander around the town before deciding that it was time to make the two hour journey to The Grampians just after 13:00. Onto the road, and once again I felt that I was the only person travelling today, the roads were so empty. There was only the occasional car passing the other way, and nothing at all on my side of the road.
That was until I arrived in The Grampians National Park. The mountains had appeared over the horizon, and as I took a right turn into the National Park the open grasslands changed to a deep forest hugging the road. There were very few viewpoints as I drove along, but I did spot a picnic site in time to turn in and get some pictures.
Out of the picnic area, and I caught up with a caravan making it's way towards Halls Gap; we had passed a few dead kangaroos on the side of the road, so slowing down was a great idea anyway, and I found myself constantly scanning the forest either side of the road for movement; I really didn't want one jumping out in front of me!
Along the road once more, I passed through the centre of Halls Gap before turning right and finding my accommodation and getting checked in.
I'm meeting up with my cousin again this evening; she and her husband are at a campsite close to my motel, so I'm shortly on my way over there for a barbeque ..... and I've been promised kangaroos (to look at, not to chuck on the barbie!), so hopefully I'll have some photos of them for tomorrow.
Tower Hill this morning was an unexpected pleasure; I'd gone there not really expecting anything, and thoroughly enjoyed my time there and the walks I did. Driving into the Grampians this afternoon was fantastic as well; it's when I come to places like this that I'm reminded just how much I love the mountains.
Comments
Post a Comment