Grampians
DAY 1
Saturday 5 September Sydney to Jerilderie
The Grampians is a spectacular rocky mountain formation in the Western District of Victoria, and an area popular with hikers, campers, rock- climbers and more recently Range Rover Club members! The meeting point for most of the participants on this trip was the roadhouse at Pheasant’s Nest with the ‘single men’ meeting us at Wagga Wagga. With magnificent weather and light traffic conditions, the scene was set for a perfect road-trip and the radio banter was underway immediately. The designated morning-tea stop at Bookham was perfectly located and perfectly timed and after a snack and a stretch we were underway again.
Travelling along the freeway we passed many junk yards full of rusting old cars and farm implements and pondered what collectible treasures might be hidden there. A beautifully restored classic car travelling along the freeway some distance in front of us started a round of speculation as to what it might be. With few distinctive features to go on, the trip leaders could eventually make out the numbers 4/44 on the boot-lid. This was all it took for Kevin to immediately identify the car as a Wolseley and explain that it had 4 cylinders and 44hp! From this it emerged that both Jim and I had owned Wolseleys in earlier days, hich led to some reminiscing about their unique attributes!
Day 2
Sunday 6 September Jerilderie to the Grampians
At 9am we departed the Jerilderie Motor Inn where some of us had had a restful night’s sleep and others had been kept awake until the early hours by the music from the B&S Ball being held at the nearby racecourse. As we were filling up at the BP station a bit earlier, there had been a continuing parade of B& S revellers getting ready to make their way home with many looking a little worse for wear. From Jerilderie we drove southwest through some lovely farming country to Deniliquin where we had morning tea at a local park.
In Wagga Wagga we met up with the ‘single men’, and the Botanical Gardens (featuring beds full of luminous poppies) became the welcome lunch stop. On the road again with our 9-car strong convoy we drove past spectacular fields of canola in bloom and other unknown crops. A local farmer passing through our convoy joined in on our radio conversations with some interesting insights into rural life. He said the ‘hardworking farmer’ image is an urban myth, with long spells of not 
much to do: he was having flying lessons to break the boredom! The ‘verandah town’ of Lockhart became the next stop, and a brief walk around town revealed an iconic Australian country town locked in history and a popular set location for many Australian ads and films. The unrestored café is still as it was 50 or more years ago. Our final destination for the day was Jerilderie, and arriving there at about 4.00pm left us plenty of time to walk around town and soak in the town’s dramatic associations with Ned Kelly. By good timing and charm, Bruce talked the owner of a beautifully and authentically restored historic home into showing us around. The house was originally a Bank of NSW building, and Bruce offered to provide the owner with some historic photos of the bank for his collection. Dinner at the nearby pub provided a welcome finale to a long day and even the pounding beat from the B&S Ball couldn’t keep any of us awake for long!
We then continued on to Barham where we crossed the Murray River into Victoria and on to Mt Wycheproof, which has the distinction of being home to the smallest registered mountain in Victoria. After a quick look at the view from the top we had lunch in a lovely park in Wycheproof. On the road again, we stopped at the little Lawler cemetery where Mary Duncan (Bruce’s grandmother) is buried.
Bruce’s grandparents lived and
farmed in this
area.
After a stop
in Horsham to buy some fruit (which we hadn’t been able to bring into the fruit fly area) we continued on to the Happy Wanderer Holiday Resort, which was to be our base for four nights while we explored the Grampians. This was a great spot as we were not in the main campground but had a bush camping area to ourselves, about half a kilometre away, at the
rear of the property.
Light rain was falling as we quickly set up our tents and tarpaulins. Once this was done the rain stopped and Ron, Eric and Bruce made a great campfire (as they did each and every evening we camped) for cooking and warmth as the evening was cool. We had an enjoyable evening around the campfire, with many jokes being told and lots of laughter. It was then off to bed as tomorrow was to be our first day of exploration in the Grampians.
Day 3
Monday , 7 September
The Grampians
Our campsite was in a very pleasant, isolated position, among trees and with essentials
such as toilets, an undercover area and a very short drive to the showers (some of us had a ‘cool’ experience before the owner turned on the heater). With the recent rain in the area the ground consisted of soft sand, boggy ground for most of the campsite but this didn’t interfere with our enjoyment of the place (just created a little more close neighbourliness) and didn’t stop our nightly campfires. During the day we experienced all seasons in one; through overcast skies, rain, drizzle, icy wind blasts, clear-blue skies and lovely radiating sunshine. Our plan in these mystical Grampians was to visit Halls Gap, Boroka and Reids Lookouts, The Balconies and McKenzie Falls. As we travelled we continued to be amazed by the proliferation of stunning spring wildflowers everywhere. On the way to Boroka Lookout we passed an amazing rock formation known as ‘The Elephants Hide’ and that was exactly what it looked like. Boroka Lookout was a total whiteout with light drizzle added so in true RRC style we lined up on the lookout for a group photo. Bruce Duncan, who had been there 4 or 5 times before, regaled us with a vivid description of what
we couldn’t see.
At Reids Lookout John Deans claimed the wind chill factor to be close to -10°C (no one argued) and no one volunteered to wait to see if the mist lifted.
Lunch followed a short walk to view the beautiful McKenzie Falls. Blue skies above warranted a returned visit to Reids Lookout with a 1km walk in the sunshine to view The Balconies. However, within minutes of arriving at the Balconies that changed again followed by a long wet walk back to the cars. Then onto Halls Gap for ice creams, Devonshire teas, Nick Knack shop and the sun! On the way back to camp the Mt Difficult Range was now clearly visible towering above us. A great camp fire, entertainment, camp ovens and for a short while starry, starry skies ended a great day.
DAY 4
Tuesday , 8 September
Mount Arapiles /Tooan State Park ; Little
Desert NP and Nhill
We awoke to a dry cold morning after wild
weather the night before when heavy rain and strong winds buffeted the tent and flapped the tarpaulins covering our tents. However, the rain
had stopped when we prepared and ate breakfast and readied ourselves for our 8.30 a.m. start.
As soon as we turned right out of the camping ground we could see clear blue skies ahead so it promised to be a great day for touring. We 
were on our way to Mt Arapiles, part of Tooan State Park. Mt. Arapiles is world-renowned, and one of the best climbing areas in Australia. Our
first view of the mountain was quite impressive with its sharp craggy peaks jutting skyward. After our morning tea break we had a short climb up steps cut into the rock to Mitre Peak where wewere met with spectacular views of Mitre Rock, Mitre Dam and yellow and green paddocks of Canola stretching to the “thriving” town of Mitre! After leaving Arapiles on our way to the Little Desert NP our
convoy drove through Gymbowen, which is reputed to be the smallest town in Australia. I actually think we missed it entirely!!!
The Little Desert NP consists of 32,000 hectares and during
WWII it was used for bombing practice. You could almost
be forgiven in thinking that we were driving through a Central
Australian desert rather than Victoria! The sand and salt bush
went on for kilometre after kilometre! We enjoyed a very
pleasant lunch beside Broughton’s Waterhole which appeared
like an oasis within the desert national park.
Our last stop before heading back to camp was in the town of
Nhill where John and Tracey had organized a most interesting
trip to the headquarters of Westprint Outback Maps. We were greeted by the management and invited to have afternoon
tea/coffee/biscuits in the room set aside for visiting groups
such as ours, where, whilst sipping our coffee, we listened
to an interesting story by John Decker of early settlers in the
district. We also had the opportunity to buy some of the very
informative books/maps on Outback Australia.
After another enjoyable day of touring, we headed back to
camp and relaxed around the campfire, before retiring about
10p.m.
Day 5
Wednesday 9 September The Grampians
A free day! What shall we do? So many places to go so a good
look at Eric’s 
map of the area is needed. Eric, Ron and I (The
Three Amigos) have decided to poke around the area on some
lesser known tracks. Others in the groups have decided to visit
Great Western winery and see if they can taste a few wines.
And some have decided to go to Stawell and see the area
where the Stawell Gift is run every Easter.
Most left early to head out for their varied and assorted
destinations. We had a second cup of coffee and took our time
moving off. Today we decided to travel in Ron’s Discovery 3.
I was navigator for the morning shift and Eric was to take
over after lunch. Whilst I had the map Eric had a number of
reports as to the availability of each track. When I announced
we would turn right onto Asses Ears Track Eric would read out
what the track was like and what we might see.
We did turn right on to Asses Ears Track and headed up and
up and up. Some parts were very steep and we climbed rightup near the tops of the ranges. The views were spectacular.
The track wound around along a ridge top with views to both sides. We could see the various parts of the Grampians at
close quarters that we had seen from the distance. Lovely
clean bushland and a clear blue sky above.
As we started down we came to a small clearing which we agreed was worth exploring. The rocks were huge and we
climbed to the edge of the escarpment. Absolutely unimpeded
view. Mind you, if you fell over the edge you would only have
about 9 seconds to learn how to fly!
This spot is really worth a visit. We continued with the track
now 
heading down. Narrow rock gorges, trees and a few small
waterfalls. We reached the bottom and continued along yetanother track that tookus to a small creek with a few beautiful cleared areas that would be perfect picnic spots.
The various tracks we took lead us south withour overall aim
to locate the main road south of Halls Gap township. A few
small water crossings and then we parked to walk along side
a ferny creek. Thick moss covered the logs and rocks and the babble of the waters accompanied us on our short walk.
Back to the car and on to Halls Gap where we went to the
information centre. They have so much material about the area
one could find days and days of adventure.
Our stomachs declared the next adventure was to be lunch.
Sitting al fresco in the sun overlooking a grassed area with a small creek and lots of birds we enjoyed freshly prepared hot
food with steaming coffee – excellent.After lunch we resumed our exploration of the area wending our way back to our camp site. We were last away and first back but tonight we planned a camp oven roast so needed to
rev up the fire.
A few good logs and by the time the rest of the travellers straggled in the fire was ready for anything! The group gathered around the fire and all told lies about what they had done for
the day. We heard about the wine tasting and the various places visited. Everybody had had a top day and after dinner
and a bit more sitting around the fire everybody drifted off to
their tents and started to knock out a few ZZZZZZZZZZZZs!!!
Day 6
Thursday 10 September Grampians to Ballarat
After a slightly quieter campfire the night before, possibly
indicating we’d miss this great little campground, the day
dawned nice and clear. As usual, well at least for the last few
days, the camp stirred to life at around 6:00am with some
group laughter - not high up in the trees by the neighbourly
kooka’s, but from the Three Amigo’s (Eric, Bruce & Ronald)...
what a shy, retiring team that lot are !?! J&T had given us our
marching orders the night before - up, beds made, packed, lined up ready to go at 8:30 sharp !
Well your fearless correspondent got busy, packed, dustedwent and paid his lease fees (pri
ncely sum of $12/night - bargain !) and got in and had a hot shower. Then settled
back for a quick cuppa, check out the wallaby family, flocks
of cockatoos etc, all before 8:30. Well, and this is a world scoop - I gotta say this quietly in case it gets back...would ya
believe J&T fronted the departure lounge at 8:50 ?!? Yes !!
Geez, how pleased was I to be there and experience that little
gem !! Anyhow....
We all gave our usual club thanks to the very obliging owner of
the campgrounds and cabins, threw a few more sticks for his beaut ol’ dog, and we were off.
Oh, but the way, for those with GPS ‘bent’, the campgroundcan be found at 037.01’ 29.1” S, 142 20’ 38.7E flying along at around 248M above sea level. We took the road directly across the Grampians, skirted Halls
Gap township again (what a fabulous little village), and headed
for Ararat. Once again, the hot bread shop/cafe, this time in
downtown Ararat, was thrown into a spin by a marching army
of nomads waving handfuls of hard-earned’s at the frazzled
staff, trying to keep up with demands for immediate supply of
delicacies and brewed caffeine hits.
Staying on the Western Highway, we continued our sojourn towards the east...well slightly southerly to a pure easterly direction, wending our way via Buangor, Trawalla, and Miner’s Rest - mine was getting a bit numb too by now, so it was needing a rest by now too, I can tell ya ! Anyhow, we were soon into the metropolis of Ballarat, and after some false turns and calls, we all somehow managed to make our way to Sovereign Hill Lodge. For the uninitiated, the Lodge is a fabulous motel complex, comprising several weather board look buildings, designed to appear like the old Government buildings that over viewed the Sovereign Hill gold mining area. And, after four days camping, the luxurious room and a very long hot shower were seriously nice.But as it was still only early afternoon, we were soon heading down to the historic Sovereign Hill village complex - if you stay at the lodge you get an electronic key to the back gate of the historic village. I believe the complex was built about 25 years ago (?), but it is very, very wellmaintained, and it really is a quality place to visit and brush up on your Australian history. It is a working village - not just a token effort, but fully working blacksmiths, forge, candy & candle stores, many other eateries etc. Wandering around you mingle with overseas tourists, school rat packs and people going about their work in period costumes - needless to say, this writer blended quite neatly with the latter.
Any
how, at various times we all partook in the
underground mine tour - anyone over 6 foot, and especially
those with thinning hair, are encouraged to walk bent kneed -
those old mine beams aren’t too forgiving ! It really is well done
with a carriage ride down (similar to the tram at Katoomba) and
a ride in the mine on an old miners train. The guides are very
good and it is very instructional. The occasional musket volley
shot off by the red-coated gendarmerie are seriously loud, and
a couple of rounds of the village in the Cobb & Co stage coach
(fully built on site to authentic specification) suggest the old
coaches actually ride more smoothly than appears possible -
might have to look at upgrading the ol’ Disco with leather strap
springs...Anyhow, not to waste time, we once again headed for the
showers, got ourselves absolutely beautified - the Amigo’s
were spit and polished....well, some variation on that theme
anyway... and we were off to a dinner, beer and tea before
joining about 300 or so for the night show at the Sovereign
Hill diggings. The ‘show’ starts off in the centre of the shanty
town, and then moves onto an area not usually open to the
public for the main part of the show, which basically tells the
story of the Eureka Stockade, plus the lead up to it, and the
aftermath. It is something you should experience - it is a
unique presentation - no actors as such. This place really is a
must see - if you’ve seen some other so called historic villages,
they will without doubt be very poor comparators to this place -
it is a quality, learning experience. So, after another fully packed day of fresh endeavours, it was
head down about 11:00pm, or so. This happy little puppy just
laid down and snored (big time !) for the remaining hour in this
day of report. (Thanks J&T for your excellent planning and organisation once again - you gave us all another fabulous life
experience - top job !).
DAY 7
FRIDAY 11 SEPTEMBER BALLARAT TO ECHUCA
With the temperature in mid single figures and a strong wind
blowing, the convoy left Ballarat travelling through the bottom
end of the Great Dividing Range and the very picturesque
towns of Castlemaine and Daylesford, arriving in Bendigo in
sunshine for morning tea at the city gardens. With two and a
half hours before departure, members did their own thing with
some taking the excellent and informative ‘Vintage Talking Tram
Tour’ of the City while others walked the streets admiring the
Chinese heritage and marvelous old buildings that make up the City.
Following lunch at the pre-arranged meeting place, the convoy
left for Echuca where we farewelled the Gowans who had to be
home early.
Echuca is a quiet town during the week with few
tourists. We had the opportunity t
o spend leisure time along
the tourist area waterfront and wharves where icecreams and
coffees were consumed for afternoon tea. Because of the
inclement weather at our camp base in The Grampians and the
fact that our tents were still wet, the thought was to book into
a motel in town, but to first have a look at the suggested camp
site and if doubtful return to Echuca.
Eric and Bruce became trip leaders and led us into the Moira
State Forest where Eric had previously led his Murray Meander trip. Several sand tracks
were blocked by fallen trees that forced us to
find alternatives to cross the forest to get to
the banks of the Murray River. The weather
had warmed during the afternoon and a
decision was made to forget the motel and to set up camp on River Road among the trees
on the edge of the rapidly flowing muddy
river. Within moments the pyromaniacs had
a camp fire established and we settled down
to a relaxing happy hour then dinner and
storytelling, before ending another perfect day.
Day 8
SATURDAY 12 SEPTEMBER ECHUCA TO WEST WYALONG
A night of camping by the mighty Murray River.
It couldn’t be better. Last night was our final night of camping
as we head to West Wyalong today for our final night in the
Cameo Motel plus our last dinner together at the Matilda
Restaurant.
At least we had a nice dry morning in which to pack up the
tents. It had been a surprisingly warm night.
Bruce and I led the group out from the campsite to the main
road, left turn with Dean’s back in the lead and we were on our
way.
We had spent the night in NSW but now we were back in
Victoria as we headed towards Cobram with a left turn toIn the end it was arranged to carry the Dean’s Discovery to
Purnell Motors for repairs thanks to their NRMA membership.
Food was relocated to other fridges and John & Tracey also
relocated to other vehicles. They were to collect a rent-a-car at
West Wyalong. With Bruce navigating (he used to live not far from here) we
headed out of Cobram, across the river to Barooga and on toJerilderie to arrive,late in the
day, at our destination motel
in West Wyalong.
Rooms were organised,
time to freshen up, a short
happy hour and before long
we were at dinner. Dinner
was a three course affair
with three choices for each
course. A fun meal and a
fitting last night to a great
trip.
Day 9
SUNDAY 13 SEPTEMBER WEST WYALONG TO HOME
I was keen to get home early so I could unpack, tidy the car
and be ready for work the next morning. Eric and Bruce had
a similar idea so with John & Tracey’s blessing we agreed to leave early with a convoy of two vehicles.
John and Tracey were to collect their rental car about 9.00 am but we headed out about 6.30am. Nice driving in the early AM
although the sun was low and bright when we started.
An uneventful drive through the various small towns and we
decided to have a break at Carcoar. A quick visit to the RSL
Museum in the town and a short stroll around the town and
we headed off again. Along Bell’s Line of Road we paused to
transfer all items to the respective vehicles, said our good byes
and continue once more.
Eric and Bruce topped up their fuel near Windsor and I
continued home. It had been an excellent trip visiting an area
that I was not really familiar. The sights and sounds of Ballarat
and Bendigo added another dimension.
I felt sorry for John & Tracey arriving home without their vehicle
but at least the problem occurred when we were on the way
home and not during the trip. Great company, great camping and all the usual Range Rover
Club attributes. Thank you John and Tracey for organising the
trip, making all the arrangements and making sure we all had a
great time.
If they decide to run the trip again, make sure you don’t miss it.
It’s a great trip!!