Things To Do In And Around Melbourne #5 :: Grampians

Dominique Vangheel lives in Melbourne and loves it. His site I Love Melbourne is dedicated to Melbourne and Victoria and features the best things to do in and around Melbourne and Melbourne accommodation tips.
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Melbourne is the capital of Victoria, Australia. Melbourne offers great shopping and dining and Victoria has got a beautiful countryside and coast line combining beautiful national and state parks with quiet little towns and some larger regional centres. The Grampians is a national park and a mountain range in Victoria, located three to four hours from Melbourne and a must-visit for you if you are into nature and hiking.

The Grampians are an incredibly beautiful mountain range. The Grampians got named by Sir Thomas Mitchell, General Surveyor of New South Wales in 1936. Many people also refer to it as Gariwerd, the Aboriginal name, out of respect for the indigenous Australians.


How to get to the Grampians from Melbourne?

The Grampians are about a three to four hour drive away from Melbourne. You drive towards Ballarat and can then either take the Western Highway (A8) from Ballarat to Ararat or the Glenelg Highway (B160) from Ballarat to Dunkeld to get to the Grampians. If you have got the time I would definitely take the opportunity to have a look around in Ballarat along the way as it is a town with a great history.


What can you do in the Grampians?

First of all, the Grampians are great for the bush walker. Depending on your fitness and ability you can pick the right walk for you. The tourist office in Halls Gap can give you some guidelines as to the difficulty of the tracks and can also tell you which tracks are accessible and which are not. It is always good to check in with them as bushfires and other natural events may have caused the bushrangers to close certain tracks.
With the Grampians being such a lovely National Park there is of course so much more to do for the nature lover. You could do some fishing or go climbing or bird watching... it is all possible in the Grampians.
You can also just have a great drive around and visit some of the tourist attractions such as the Balconies and MacKenzie Falls.


MacKenzie Falls

The MacKenzie Falls are a simple must-see. If you have ever seen a picture of waterfalls in Australia, it is very likely you have seen a picture of MacKenzie Falls. From a car park a set of stairs lead you to the foot of the falls. It is a bit of a hike down (although back up is tougher of course), but so much worth the effort. It is a sight you will want to keep on looking at for quite some time. There is nothing like good old Mother Nature to make you feel very humble by looking at and experiencing the MacKenzie Falls from close by.


Halls Gap

Within the Grampians, at the foot of the Wonderland Ranges, is the holiday town Halls Gap. Here is where you will find the tourist office, a few shops and cafes and a lot of holiday accommodation. There are holiday houses, hotels, motels and a caravan park to suit every type of traveller. During holidays and long weekends there is a surge of visitors to Halls Gap. Many of them are Melburnians who take the opportunity to take a short holiday outside of busy Melbourne, whilst still being comfortably close to home.

All in all, the Grampians are a great spot to spend your holiday or part of your visit to Australia. It is one of the many possibilities to experience the beauty of nature around Melbourne and in Australia.

Article Tags: Around Melbourne, Mackenzie Falls

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