Mount Arapiles
Helen Hiscocks / Tourism Victoria

Highlights

Grampians day drive and balloon flights

From Halls Gap, drive to Boroka Lookout, Reed Lookout and MacKenzie Falls. Take a break for lunch at Zumsteins, a historic site and picnic area home to a large kangaroo population. Return to Halls Gap via Silverband Falls and through the stringybark forests and tree ferns of Delleys Dell. Or if preferred, dawn hot-air balloon flights over the Grampians leave from Stawell.

Mt Arapiles

Mt Arapiles, part of Mount Arapiles–Tooan State Park, is regarded as Australia’s best rockclimbing venue. It attracts interstate and international enthusiasts with its 2000 rockclimbing routes marked out across 365 m of sandstone cliffs. Courses and tours are available.

The olive groves of Laharum

Mount Zero Olives at Laharum is the largest olive plantation in the Southern Hemisphere, with         55 000 trees on 730 ha. The first trees were planted in 1943, after World War II stopped olive oil imports. You can buy oil, vinegar and lentils, and stay overnight.

Wines of Great Western

Grapevines were first planted at Seppelt’s Great Western vineyards in 1865. Today the winery is best known for its red and white sparkling wines, cellared in 1.6 km of National Trust-classified tunnels dug by miners in the late 19th century. Other wineries in the area include Best’s and Garden Gully.

Byaduk Caves

These caves, located in Mount Napier State Park, are part of a giant, 24 km lava flow stretching to Mt Eccles in the south-west, evidence of the volcanic activity that shaped the region’s landscape. The caves, one of which is open, are a wonderland of ropey lava, columns, stalactites and stalagmites.

Hamilton

Hamilton is the commercial hub of the wool-rich Western District. Gracious houses and churches on its tree-lined streets testify to over a century of prosperity. Close to town are historic homesteads in magnificent gardens; these properties are generally open in spring.

Little Desert National Park

During spring, more than 600 varieties of wildflowers and over 40 types of ground orchids flourish in this 132 647–hectare park. With nearly 600 kilometres of tracks, it’s ideal for four-wheel driving, but perhaps the best way to appreciate the colourful spring display is on foot: short self-guided walks are available, and, for keen hikers, there’s the 84-kilometre Desert Discovery Walk. You might also see the massive ground-nests of the distinctive mallee fowl, built during the breeding season (September to April).

Focus On: Aboriginal culture in the Grampians

The Djab Wurrung and Jardwadjali people shared the territory they called Gariwerd for at least 5000 years before European settlement, although some evidence suggests up to 30 000 years of habitation. The Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre near Halls Gap, run by five Koorie communities, is an excellent first stop for information about the region’s indigenous heritage. There is a ceremonial ground for everything from dance performances to boomerang-throwing, while bush tucker-inspired meals are served in the cafe. The region contains 100 recorded rock-art sites, representing more than 80 per cent of all sites in Victoria. A Brambuk-guided tour of some of the sites (most are in Grampians National Park) is probably the most rewarding way to experience the meaning and nature of the art. Notable sites include Gulgurn Manja, featuring over 190 kangaroo, emu and handprint motifs, and Ngamadidj, a site decorated with 16 figures painted in white clay. Bunjil’s Shelter is just outside the park near Stawell, and is the only site in the area where more than one colour is used and a known figure is represented. Bunjil was a creator spirit from the Dreaming, responsible for the people, the land and the law.