Wonderland walk - Halls Gap

From the Great Ocean Road we headed north, to the Grampians. We decided to base ourselves in Halls Gap, a tiny village. And with a great campsite too; clean amenities, good camp kitchen, living area with fire place.

On the meadow adjacent to the campsite live emus and kangaroos.

I spy an emu eye

Now the Grampians are known for their grand views and hiking trails. After talking to the tourist info we opted for the Wonderland Loop, a medium to hard track, 9.6km, about 4-5 hours. Qualified for 'fit and energetic walkers'.... I've never thought of myself as that, but let's give it a shot. We set off at 10am. 

Nice bit of defined track

The first stretch from Halls Gap to the Wonderland carpark was relatively easy, but uphill at times. The track was mostly next to little creeks. It did surprise us that we sometimes had some trouble identifying the track. It's the first time that has happened since we're in the country. It did feel like genuine bush walking, since the track was not always obvious.  But that would get worse later on...

Up, up we went!

From the carpark we chose to do the route through 'The Grand Canyon'. That was a slightly exaggerated name, but impressive nonetheless. And where the steep ascent really began. 

'Grand Canyon', can you see the stepping stones?

We continued on the route to the Pinnacle. Most of the route was over rock flats and through little canyons. At the top of the plateau we had some trouble with the route, but after a few minutes we saw a little yellow arrow.

See the yellow arrow? And the carpark?

Some 2.5 hours into the walk we arrived at the top, with a great view. But very, very windy. We found sheltered spot where we ate our lunch, before we started our decent. We walked down on the eastern route, next to the cliffs. It's just funny how the upper cliff was completely fenced off, but you're can easily slip off 10 meters further... 

View over Halls Gap from the Pinnacle

The walk down took another hour and a half and wasn't very spectacular. It was a spectacular number of stairs though! My knees didn't like that one bit... But we made it! 

On our way down

When we walked back into Halls Gap at 14:30 a mob of kangaroos were lazily grazing, and very photogenic at it. After we had coffee and cake in the café, we drove back to the campsite. 

Kangaroo. Or wallaby?

To ease our tired muscles we had a soak in the hot outdoor pool. What a treat at 38'C while the day's temperature was only 5-10'C! We watched the resident flock of cockatoos while we bathed. 

Yellow crested cockatoo

P.S. We stil love the comments, but we'd love them even more if you added your name ;-)