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The Grampians National Park
I left Dunkeld at the crack of dawn, listening to the birds that were
eerily greeting the rising sun. I arrived at the entrance to the Grampians
National Park, and slowed down to 30 kph, because the park is reputed to be
rich in wildlife. Within a few kilometres, I saw a wallaby by the side of
road, and watched him hop off into the forest as my car approached. Shortly
thereafter, I stopped the car and watched in awe as one kangaroo after
another hopped across the highway in single file in front of me. Several of
them were huge males, over seven feet tall, and graceful as butterflies as
they effortlessly leaped in huge bounds into the forest on the other side of
the highway. Before I reached Halls Gap, the commercial center of the park,
I had seen five wallabies, a group of emus strutting in a meadow, and more
than a dozen kangaroos.
In Halls Gap I found a map of the trails in the park, and decided to do a day hike up to the Pinnacles. I found the trailhead and wandered into a beautiful canyon of towering sandstone rock formations, interspersed with gum forests. I climbed slowly up the canyon, zigzagging across a streambed, and breathing deeply the fresh mountain air. Eventually I reached an extremely narrow canyon, identified by a signpost as the "Silent Street." I could almost touch both sides of the canyon as I climbed upward, sometimes over rocky steps, sometimes using ladders that had been embedded into the rock.
At the top of the canyon, I came out onto a vast open area and saw the Pinnacles towering above me. They jutted out high above the valley, where Halls Gap looked like a toy village far below. The Pinnacles are a series of craggy, undulating rocks that have tilted almost horizontally, their tips like fingers pointing toward the distant mountains. I climbed to the top of the highest pinnacle and sat enjoying the surrounding mountains and forests, the warm sun, and the cool breezes.
I spent the rest of the morning wandering around the Pinnacles, relaxing in the sun, eating my lunch, and not wanting to leave this beautiful place. Eventually the weekend crowds arrived and the peaceful atmosphere was gone, so I started to think about where to go next. I hiked back down to Halls Gap and found the Brambuk Living Cultural Center, a small but beautiful museum run by the aboriginal Koori people. On display were works of art, traditional clothing, and old tools and cookware.
I got back to the car and pulled out the map, deciding which way I wanted to go next. I knew I wanted to go in the general direction of Adelaide, but there were several different ways of getting there. The most direct way was not necessarily what I was looking for, so I opted for a meandering route through backroads. From Halls Gap, I drove down to the main highway at Stawell, then headed northwest to Dadswell Bridge, home of the Giant Koala Bear, a popular roadside attraction.
After a quick stop for ice cream in the afternoon heat, I continued on to Horsham, Dimboola, and Nhill, noticing the highway becoming more and more empty as I headed west. I took a break along the way at a small park just off the highway, whose main feature was a "Pink Lake." The lake was actually an orangish-pink color, because of carotene deposits that lined the shore. It was a quiet, peaceful place, perfect for a break from driving.
I soon reached the border of South Australia and turned onto an even smaller highway at Bordertown. I was now headed southwest, through vast sheep ranches on a completely empty highway. I reached the coast of the Southern Ocean just before sunset and found a hotel in the little fishing town of Kingston S.E. It was a quiet little town, with the rich aroma of seafood wafting through it. After dinner in the pub hotel, I wandered down to the beach and listened to the waves washing up on the beach.
Next up: The Coorong and Adelaide.
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