Grampians National Park
- Introduction
- Fact file
- A look at the past
- Aboriginal culture
- Natural features
- Native plants
- Wildlife
- PV 13 1963
- National Park Centre (03) 5356 4381
- Brambuk Cultural Centre (03) 5356 4452
- FOLLOW the Pinnacle Track for breathtaking views from Pinnacle Lookout
- VISIT Billimina shelter, Victoria’s most impressive rock-art site
- CANOE on the calm cool waters of Lake Bellfield, Lake Wartook or Moora Moora Reservoir
- EXPLORE Indigenous culture in the fascinating Brambuk Cultural Centre
- ENJOY the spectacular spring wildflowers
Introduction
The weathered ranges that form the Grampians rise abruptly from the sweeping Wimmera plains, protecting a remarkable landscape of peaks and valleys, high plateaus, lakes, silvery waterfalls and awesome rock formations. This is an ancient landscape where Aboriginal people have lived for at least 22 000 years. To them the mountains are known as Gariwerd. Since its creation as a national park in 1984 this area has become one of the state’s favourite natural attractions, the rugged landscape, eucalypt forests, fern gullies and spectacular wildflowers inviting campers, bushwalkers and rock-climbers to explore its many treasures.
Fact file
Access
From Melbourne via Western Hwy to Ararat or Stawell then Halls Gap; or via Western Hwy then Glenelg Hwy to Dunkeld
Best Season
Spring and autumn
Location
260 km north-west of Melbourne; 25 km west of Stawell; 48 km north-west of Ararat; 5 km north of Dunkeld
Park Information
Size
167 000 ha
Where to Stay
Dunkeld (03) 5577 2558 Halls Gap (03) 5356 4616 Stawell 1800 246 880
A look at the past
From the 1167-metre peak, Mount William, the park’s highest point, visitors can survey the valleys below – just as the first European visitor, Major Mitchell, did in 1836. He thought the ranges so ‘sublime’ that he named them after the mountains in his native Scotland. Graziers followed in Mitchell’s footsteps, and then hundreds of fortune-hunters flocked to nearby Stawell in 1853 when a local shepherd discovered gold. When the gold ran out timber cutters started logging in the foothills of the ranges. The newcomers showed little concern for the environment, felling trees and hunting the kangaroos and emus. The traditional owners of the land, the Jardwadjali and Djabwurung, found themselves dispossessed of their campsites and livelihood. But the rugged nature of the landscape was also its saviour, and it has remained largely unchanged.
Aboriginal culture
Today the national park protects the area’s unique natural features, and the local Aboriginal people, based at Brambuk Cultural Centre, share the administration of the art sites. The centre, nestled low in bushland 2.5 kilometres from Halls Gap, was built to an award-winning design. It celebrates the culture of the Kooris of south-western Victoria and is jointly owned by five regional communities. Talks on traditional culture, guided tours of rock-art sites, exhibitions and displays of traditional dancing, music and cooking provide an insight into the area’s rich Aboriginal heritage. A restaurant offers variations on a range of bush tucker, such as emu kebabs and kangaroo burgers.
Natural features
Four main mountain ranges run north–south to form the Grampians: Victoria, Serra, Mount William and Mount Difficult. Formed by an upsurge of rock some 400 million years ago, the folded sandstone shapes rise sharply in the east and stretch for about 50 kilometres before their sawtooth peaks taper off to meet the western plains. Evocative names such as Wonderland Range, Lady’s Hat, Fallen Giant and Silent Street Gorge reveal the dramatic impact this landscape must have had on the area’s first European explorers. Lake Wartook and Lake Bellfield form the headwaters of the park’s major rivers and streams. Best known is the MacKenzie River, bubbling westward from Lake Wartook to drop spectacularly over the rock terraces of MacKenzie Falls. Beehive, Buandik, Silverband and Turret are a few of the other falls worth visiting (some are seasonal so check before you go to avoid disappointment). Summer in the Grampians can be dry and hot although mist often shrouds the higher ridges. In winter the peaks are windswept and cold and snow falls on Mount William (it sometimes falls on this mountain even in summer).
Native plants
More than 800 native plant species, including around 18 endemic species and some wonderful orchids, can be found here. Spring is the prime time to enjoy the abundant flowerings, with the popular Wildfl ower Exhibition, held in Halls Gap during the fi rst week of October, a must for wildflower enthusiasts and native-plant specialists.Rare and endangered plants such as several bush pea species and the delicate spiral sun orchid are unusual fi nds, but more familiar wattles, banksias, crimson bottlebrush, silver daisies and grevilleas also provide lavish displays of colour when in bloom. A small number of plants carry the Grampians name, including Grampians boronia, fringe-myrtle, grevillea, parrot-pea and thryptomene.At the highest altitudes the rocky, lichen-encrusted crags give way to heath-covered plateaus, with eucalypt forests of messmate and stringybark species spreading across the lower slopes. Dotted among the eucalypts are scattered groups of grasstrees, with their distinctive spikes flowering after rain or fire. On the damp valley floors fern gullies create a lush understorey for swamp gums. Seasonal flooding in the Victoria Valley has encouraged the growth of impressive river red gum forests.
Wildlife
Around a third of Victoria’s animal species reside in the park, ensuring plentiful wildlife-watching opportunities. Eastern and western grey kangaroos – the latter, particularly around Zumstein, can often be seen feeding – but tread softly and you might also spot wallabies, short-beaked echidnas, koalas and potoroos, while after dark possums, gliders, bandicoots and other night-feeders emerge. There are rare mammals including the brush-tailed rock-wallaby and the smoky mouse. The diverse vegetation also provides habitats for 28 reptile species, including geckos, skinks, the common bluetongue lizard and seven species of snakes. The notoriously elusive platypus and the eastern snake-necked turtle inhabit some of the waterways, and the park’s ponds and swamps provide a habitat for native freshwater fish and frogs.Birdlife also flourishes with about 200 species recorded in the park. Ducks, white ibis, herons, cormorants, purple swamphens and spoonbills are a common sight on the lakes, swamps and creeks. In bushland areas you will often see a flash of colour as lorikeets, crimson rosellas and parrots swoop by. The powerful owl – Australia’s largest owl – is found in the forested gullies, and the barn owl in the woodlands; if you are lucky you may even catch a glimpse of the nocturnal insect-eater, the tawny frogmouth. Brilliant scarlet and eastern yellow robins, superb fairy-wrens, treecreepers, wattlebirds and innumerable species of honeyeaters thrive in the woodlands, open forests and heaths, while emus roam the heathlands and most other habitats. Soaring above the ranges are wedge-tailed eagles, peregrine and brown falcons, kestrels and kites.
Featured Activities in the National Park
Introduction
The Grampians offer more to see and do than most other parks in Victoria. Birdwatching, bushwalking (see feature, left), four-wheel driving, camping and caravanning, cycling, horse riding, rock-climbing and abseiling, swimming, canoeing and boating are all available. Check with Parks Victoria for local operators who run tours.
Cycling
Bikes are allowed on all public roads but not on walking tracks. Itineraries of one to three days are possible with well-equipped mountain bikes (contact the National Park Centre near Halls Gap for details, see Fact File).
Fishing
If you have an inland fishing licence (available at Halls Gap) you can fish in any of the lakes, reservoirs, rivers and streams. Lake Wartook is stocked with brown trout, but redfin, golden perch and eels are other typical catches. Fly-fishing is popular in the Thomson and Aberfeldy rivers. Check out bag limits and seasonal closures.
Historic sites
Fourteen kilometres north of Halls Gap are the remains of Heatherlie Quarry. Nestled in the bush are a few roofless sandstone dwellings, rusting engine parts and an overgrown tramway track, which once provided a transport link with Stawell. An Irish stonemason, Francis Watkins, discovered high-quality freestone here in the foothills of Mount Diffi cult in 1861. He established a quarry, which in the 1870s supplied stone for Stawell’s courthouse and town hall. The construction of the tramway to Stawell linked the quarry with the Melbourne rail line and between 1885 and 1890 stone was supplied for the capital’s Parliament House, Town Hall and General Post Office. Within a few years Heatherlie was a settlement of around 100 people, but the 1890s depression resulted in the closure of the quarry in 1893. Today the high-quality stone is occasionally quarried for use in repairs to Melbourne’s public buildings. A signposted walking track leads around the site and is an easy 2.4-kilometre, 1.5-hour ramble.
Horse riding
Horse riding is available along designated tracks. Local companies organise group rides and camping trips.
Rock-climbing and abseiling
The weathered sandstone cliff-faces of the Grampians (and those at nearby Mount Arapiles) attract rock-climbers from around the world. Climbing routes range from the gentle beginner’s grade to the sheer heights of Mount Staplyton, best tackled by experienced and skilled climbers. Mount Rosea is also a challenging area. Hollow Mountain is suitable for all levels, as are the walls of Grand Canyon. Rock-climbing and abseiling courses are available; contact Halls Gap Centre for Activities & Services, Main Street (03) 5356 4556.
Scenic touring
A complex network of around 200 kilometres of roads threads its way through the park. Four-wheel-drive vehicles and trail bikes can be used on public roads, but not off-road. The Grampians Tourist Road runs north–south from Halls Gap to Dunkeld. Mount Victory Road winds through the ranges from Halls Gap to Horsham. The unsealed Mount Zero Road provides great views of the Mount Difficult and Stapylton ranges. If time is short, consider taking in some of the major attractions in a 6-hour tour from Halls Gap, visiting Boroka and Reed lookouts, the Balconies (easy 30-minute, 2-kilometre walk from Reed Lookout carpark); MacKenzie Falls (easy walk to the viewing platform, medium–difficult walk to the base of the falls); Zumstein (take a 10-minute stroll around this historic site with informative signs about the area’s developer, Walter Zumstein); ferny Delleys Dell; and Silverband Falls (an easy 40-minute walk from the carpark).
Watersports
Canoeing is permitted on Lake Bellfield, Lake Wartook and the Moora Moora Reservoir. Power boating is allowed on some lakes around the park, and restricted use is permitted on Lake Bellfield and Lake Wartook; contact Wimmera Valley Water for details on (03) 5362 0200. Swimming is popular at Lake Bellfi eld but is not permitted at Lake Wartook.
Campsites
Bush camping (walk-in camping)
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