8/6/2022 – Wednesday – 178km

Packed & off before the rain.  On our way north to the Grampian Ranges. Most of the countryside is rolling plains filled with either sheep or cattle grazing on the green pastures, we don’t notice much in the way of crops. Our GPS guides us on the back roads & it is not until we near the town of Dunkeld that the Grampian Ranges come into view, with Mount Sturgeon & neighbour Mount Abrupt looming out of the mist & cloud as the rain clears. After Dunkeld we start climbing the flanks of Mount Abrupt & we are in the Grampian Ranges, what a difference, with masses of trees & huge mountains looming over the road as we twist & turn along the snaking road. We only come across twelve other cars on the journey to Halls Gap, there is not very much traffic on the road at all.

Lake Bellfield comes into view as we approach Halls Gap & the valley opens up & we see some open spaces again near the village. The van park is just below the dam wall so we turn off & book in for a couple of nights & set up camp. There is only 4 caravans including ours but the park is fully booked for the coming long weekend.  It is a beautiful park with heated swimming pool, there are heated ensuite bathrooms, something we really appreciate in this cold weather. Next it is in to Halls Gap, about another 4 kilometres on, for a little bit of shopping.

In Halls Gap township there is a small string of shops so we park & walk along the street, most of the shops are closed so we step into the grocery store & stock up on a few food items. We then walk over to where a small flock of parrots is entertaining some people along the banks of Stony Creek & we discover a few more shops. We look at these & most are open, including a bakery so we call in & get some pies for lunch (lucky for us they only had a few because once again we are late for lunch, it is after 2pm) & sit at the covered tables near the creek bank , it is the same temperature as yesterday but no wind & actually the sun is shining & it is quite pleasant. There are signs on the table to not feed the birds.

I hold my pie in its bag & am just taking a mouthful when – whoosh – a Kookaburra has swooped down and taken about a third of the pie out of my mouth & hand without touching me at all. It scared the daylights out of me. It lands at my feet with its trophy in its beak & is then swarmed by all sorts of other birds, including another Kookaburra, all looking for a free meal. Tereza & I gather up what is left & beat a hasty retreat to another set of benches with better roof cover & finish our pies, all the time under the watchful eye of a Kookaburra sitting on the overhead wires. What a shame Tereza didn’t have the camera ready to have made a video of it.

Next is a drive up into the nearby Wonderland Range. The scenery is breathtaking with one amazing vista after another. We complete the Wonderland Loop drive, stopping at a few carparks on the way to have some short walks to look at the amazing scenery. We conclude with a drive down the one way Silverband Road back to Lake Bellfield where we stop & walk along the length of the dam wall. Fabulous views from here as well & as the sun appears then dips below the mountains we get some amazing views with the light shining off the trees & the damp rocky mountainsides.

A very short drive back to camp, shower (heated private cubicles no less) then cheese & bikkies. Another great day.