grampians national park.

Grampians National Park, or Gariwerd (the Australian Aboriginal name) is a location full of waterfalls, wildlife, and breathtaking lookouts of panoramic views. The park is built around the Grampians, a series of five sandstone mountain ridges. Popular tourist activities include rock-climbing, fishing, and canoeing. The park also has a rich cultural heritage, with various Indigenous rock art sites in shelters throughout the trails. We made a short day trip to do some hiking - even in the rainy winter season, it's a beautiful place to explore.

The rock formations are stunning. And even with low visibility, there are still some gorgeous views from the lookouts.

And, as we found out, the Grampians are a pretty awesome place to go hiking with wallabies and kangaroos. We spotted groups of them bouncing along the trail, observing us closely from behind trees and branches. Here are some pictures of our new friends:

across the street from the parking lot - so many marsupials!

We had such a fun time crossing "hiking with kangaroos" off our reverse bucket-list. We'd love to return again, perhaps when the weather is a bit nicer and the wildflowers are in full bloom.

CK

cape bridgewater.

Located about 20 minutes from Portland is a mini geologic wonderland complete with a petrified forest and blowholes, not to mention Victoria’s highest coastal cliff, from which you have the perfect vantage point to watch seals sun themselves on the rocks.  Cape Bridgewater has it all, and Candice and I made two trips to this beautiful spot to enjoy all these natural wonders (and of course the not so natural wonder of the giant wind farm).  And since I’m still working in Portland, there’s a good chance I’ll be making another trip or two.

As we made our way to Cape Bridgewater for our first visit, we decided to head to the end of the road to the blowholes.  It’s difficult to paint a picture of the area, but it was like walking into another world and I loved it.  The ground we walked upon was covered with hundreds of what looked like mini volcanic craters, and reminded me of something you would see at Yellowstone.

Then as we reached the viewpoint for the blowholes the awesome power of the ocean was on full display, as waves crashed upon the high cliffs, shooting up fountains of water.  It really made me want to jump in and swim.

 

A short walk from the blowholes is the so-called Petrified Forest.  Technically it’s not actually a petrified forest but a series of hollow tubes of limestone that have been eroded by rainfall over millions of years, but then you probably already knew that from the pictures.  Candice also identified some really unique rocks that are made of rope and not actually rocks at all, but looked pretty convincing.  I’m glad to see my geologic expertise is starting to have an impact!

After exploring the forest of rocks for a while, we made our way back towards the main part of town where the seal colony walk begins.  In the little tourist guide from our hotel, the walk was described as an “energetic 2-hour return trip” which translates to mean “2-hours for the physically fit who like to really push themselves.”  It’s an invigorating walk the follows along the coastline and affords beautiful views of the ocean and Bridgewater Bay.  

At the end of our journey we reached the viewing platform and were disappointed as we looked upon the seal colony and saw no seals.  But we spent a little while enjoying the view and hoping to catch a glimpse of a seal when we both noticed one of the rocks move.  Turns out the rock was a seal sun bathing, and we managed to get this close up picture of it!  Candice also spotted two seals swimming in the water nearby, marking a very successful end to our wonderful afternoon.

can you see the seal?

Although Cape Bridgewater doesn’t get much attention because it is overshadowed by the exceptional Great Ocean Road, located only about 2 hours from the cape, I’ve only been to a few other places in the world with so many natural wonders in such a small area.  In a couple hours you can view all of these amazing features, plus if you are really lucky you’ll spot blue whales or southern right whales traveling through the area on their annual migration. 

Hopefully with a little luck, I’ll get to add a blue whale to my list of Australian animals before my trip is finished.

BK

we passed a field of kangaroos on our way back!

mount gambier.

So far, we've had the chance to spend time in two Australian States - Victoria and New South Wales. Ben has also been to Western Australia, when he spent a month working in Perth a few years ago. Recently, we both got to add another state to our list: South Australia!

Ben only gets one day off when he's out working on job sites, and we usually try to spend it exploring nearby attractions. On this particular day, he wanted to see some cool geographical sites, like sinkholes and volcanic craters (which sound absolutely terrifying - but he's a geologist so it goes with the territory, I guess). I wanted to see the newest X-Men movie. Fortunately, Mount Gambier had all these things. We decided to catch the movie first, and planned our drive accordingly. We crossed the border between Victoria and South Australia, revelled in our little milestone, and arrived at the theatre right on schedule. Except, the building was still closed.

Fun fact: there is a 30-minute time difference between Victoria and South Australia.

We decided to spend our extra half hour at the Umpherston Sinkhole. Also known as the Sunken Garden, this location began as a cave formed by the dissolution of limestone, whatever that means. And then it got tired of being a cave, so it collapsed and transformed into a sinkhole. It's super pretty, thanks to a man in the 1880's named James Umpherston, and it has a nice covered socialising area for up to 50 people to hang out. Also, there's a barbecue, because this is Australia.

After exploring the sinkhole, we drove back to the theatre for "X-Men: Days of Future Past." It was pretty great.

After the movie, we continued our tour of Mount Gambier's fascinating sights. Blue Lake is in an extinct volcanic crater. It apparently changes colours throughout the year: a bright cobalt blue in the summer months, turning into a bluish-gray hue in the winter. 

Centenary Tower is at the highest point of the district, and is at the top of a long, steep hill. The tower has a historic photo gallery of the surrounding lakes on display, and is open when its flag is flying - unfortunately, it wasn't open during our time there. The view itself was worth the climb, though.

view from the tower

The Cave Garden is a sinkhole right in the middle of the main city area. It has a beautiful garden, and is the location of an evening sound/light show depicting Indigenous Dreamtime Stories. The Cave Garden also directs storm water run-off from the city, into a waterfall, and down into the underground water system. Beautiful and functional: the ideal sinkhole.

"good luck exploring the infinite abyss."

Next on our sightseeing list was a delightful-sounding place called "Hell's Hole." It's apparently a water-filled sinkhole, so something new. The signs along the road joined forces with our GPS system to make us drive in circles, so we never ended up finding it. What a bummer.

Our last stop was the Piccaninnie Ponds Conservation park, a protected area for wildlife and a recognised "wetland of international importance." There is a walking trail that leads to a viewing platform, overlooking the wetland area. The pond is an ideal spot for snorkelling and cave diving (you need a permit for both), with great underwater visibility for observing aquatic life and limestone formations. 

trailblazing.

viewing platform

We had a great time in Mount Gambier, and it was a wonderful introduction to South Australia. Perhaps we'll be back for more exploring. And pretty sinkholes.

CK