Victoria’s Great Grampians Nature Reserve

The Grampians is a nature reserve located in Victoria, Australia. When I think of Victoria, I think of endless greenery, hikes and farm land. A lot of farm land. I used to think Australia was made up of desert land. Because it’s so vast and there’s a lot of distance between one state and another, I thought there was nothingness in between towns and the city of Melbourne. But I was surprised last year during my Grampians and Great Ocean Road trip.

Here I found sandstone mountains, wildflowers, waterfalls and wallabies. All the Ws!

I travelled to the Grampians from Apollo Bay along the Great Ocean Road. A lot of quiet deserted towns greeted me along the way. We played a game of counting how many people we saw versus cars. This was my friend Kelly’s first time in Australia, so we tried to squeeze in as much of Victoria as possible.

We found a free campsite on the Campermate app, which I recommend downloading beforehand. If you’re seeing the Grampians the best place to stay is Halls Gap. I drove ten minutes from town, down a long winding road until we reached the secluded camp site. My headlights nearly met with a kangaroo too. It’s true, they stand stock still in front of you, in shock or dazed by the headlights. Luckily, I was going at tortoise speed to avoid little stones damaging the car. How are you supposed to keep your car unscathed in Australia? That’s a rhetorical question. You’ll also find plenty of wallabies hanging around the campsite.

Basically, the place you want to be in is Halls Gap. It’s easier to reach all the treks and waterfalls around Halls Gap. The Grampians is vast but the activities I did were nearby. You can grab some food and fresher amenities in one of Halls Gap’s few restaurants and bistros. It’s a quiet area with a quaint walkway boasting of the few shops this town has to offer.

The Pinnacle

Rock features and mini canyons line the ‘path’ to the top of the Pinnacle. There’s a choice of taking the shorter route, but once you’re all in, what’s the harm in taking it. This isn’t a light hike or to take it easy, so make sure you’re prepared to spend the time and wear comfortable footwear. We started from the Wonderland car park.

Make sure you’ve got a big bottle of water on you and journey lighter. As however cold it may seem, you’re near the sun and walking so much can make you break into a sweat. The route you need to follow is marked out in tiny arrows along the way.

We did the Silent Street detour on our trek up to the Pinnacle. It is narrow, stony and beautiful.

The view is well-worth the hike. Spectacular and expansive, this was one of the most deserved sights I’ve ever earned.

Grampians Grand Canyon

You can start the pinnacle hike from this route. It is much more slippery and you’ll need to be on higher alert of your foot placement. It’s a challenging walk and we did this on the way down instead. I’m still not sure whether I prefer going uphill or downhill in life. You’ll be climbing steep steps and going past towering rock walls, which is a sight to behold.

MacKenzie Falls

The joke of the entire trip was about chasing waterfalls. There are a lot of waterfalls in Victoria, in case you ever want to do a bucket list of waterfalls. MacKenzie Falls was an absolute wonder. My favourite waterfall so far and we tortured ourselves by going straight after the Pinnacle hike.

It’s a long way down and the exact same long way up but once again worth the steps on my Fitbit. We sat here for a while, watching the immense waterfall in front of us.

Boroka Lookout

Head to the Boroka Lookout to gain some beautiful vistas of the Wonderland Ranges, Lake Bellfield and the plain to the east of the Grampians. Head there on an easy stroll through the forest, along a sealed track. This is a great walk for those who want to do something lighter. There’s a car park to head to from where you can take this leisurely stroll.

Here’s a list of other things to do if you’re going to be around for longer than I was: