The Grampians is a national park and a mountain range in Victoria, located three/four hours from Melbourne.

The Grampians are a beautiful creation of Mother Nature.

The mountain range got its name from Sir Thomas Mitchell, General Surveyor of New South Wales in the year 1836.

The mountain range is also called Gariwerd by the indigenous Australians, the Aboriginals.

These ranges run far and wide originating from the east. The Grampians are certainly not to be missed during your visit to Australia. The Grampians will certainly leave you stunned and spellbound with their beauty and magnificence.

How to get there

Well, getting to the Grampians is not at all difficult.
It’s approximately a-three-hour-drive from Melbourne and the drive to the Grampians is worth your while. You can either follow the Glenelg Highway (B160) from Ballarat to Dunkeld or tag along the Western Highway (A8) all the way through Ballarat to Ararat to go into the Grampians from the southern end.
The drive itself is enjoyable enough and gives you a good idea of the beauty of western Victoria.

What can you do ?

Love to be with nature, admire its beauty and love to spend time with yourself or have fun with your friends and family ?
Then the Grampians is the place to be for you !
You can spend lovely time with yourself in the arms of Mother Nature.
You can go out on one of the numerous walks. There are walks available for walkers of every ability. Always check with the tourist office in Halls Gap to make sure the walk of your choice is opened (certain tracks can have been closed off due to recent bushfire demolition for example).
Other possibilities for you to consider : you can go fishing, horse riding, abseiling, climbing, 4WD touring, golfing, water activities and much more.

Check out the video below to witness the beauty of the Grampians.

Mackenzie Falls

When you are in the Grampians, a must-see is the MacKenzie Falls. They are simply a magnificent sight. You can do a longer walk which leads to the falls, but you can also drive to the very nearby car park and descend via the steps.

When you are a bit older, not well=trained or on a hot day you might want to take it easy on the steps. I have done the walk down the stairs once with my daughter in a back-pack on my back on a hot day, and remember having difficulties doing the climb back up to the carpark again.
A few years later when I returned on a chilly day without the extra luggage on the back I found the climb up to be pretty easily doable.

The sight of the MacKenzie Falls really make the effort of climbing up and down the stairs very worthwhile.
Looking up from the bottom of the falls you consider yourself to be pretty small and insignificant compared to the thunderous roaring waterfall.

The following MacKenzie Falls video does an attempt to capture the magnificence of the MacKenzie Falls. Take a few seconds to enjoy it!

Halls Gap

Halls Gap is the holiday town located within the Grampians. It is situated at the Wonderland Range’s foot.
The town is full of holiday houses and other holiday accommodation. It gets very busy during the holidays and long weekends.
Check out some of the Halls Gap accommodation via this link.

If you plan to cook your own food, then be prepared that the supermarket in Halls Gap is a bit more expensively priced than the average supermarket. Quite logical in a tourist town, but something to keep in mind. The town will serve you with the basic needs of the tourist: it has gift stores, cafes, as well as a restaurant.

Be on the look out for great events in this area as well. One example is the Grampians Grape Escape. Definitely worth a visit.

Pomonal

Pomonal, a village located at the Eastern slopes of the Mt. William range, welcomes you to enjoy Australia’s rural beauty. It sits 21 kilometers South-West of Stawell and about 239 kilometer North-West of Melbourne. If you are looking for a quiet weekend retreat or a fine vacation destination in rural Victoria then Pomonal can be the place for you. Its stunning rows of wildflower nurseries on the Wildflower Drive are a sure delight to garden and photo enthusiasts as well as nature lovers. The wildflower farms, orchards and rural charm of Pomonal will help you to relax.

Considering staying in Pomonal? Then check out the Pomonal Accommodation Guide through this link.

Dunkeld Accommodation

Dunkeld is a small rural town, but one of the most picturesque towns in Victoria. Due to the beautiful Grampians with some mountains like Mt Abrupt and Mt Sturgeon nearby, its breathtaking sights have become a classic subject of many Autralian painters. Dunkeld is at the foot of the Grampians, right at the Southern tip of the Grampians National Park. From Melbourne, Dunkeld is accessible via a 259-kilometer drive via the Grenelg Highway. Use this link to find the necessary info to make your stay in Dunkeld and the Grampians a success.

To conclude, you certainly need to visit the Grampians to take a glimpse of the magnificent beauty it has in store for you.

There are some beautiful lookouts and some great walks to be done. The Grampians offer one of many possibilities around Melbourne to feel truly one with nature.

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Grampians
Accommodation: Halls Gap Pomonal Dunkeld
Events: Grampians Grape Escape