9/6/2022 – Thursday – 218km

Back into the Grampians this morning for a look at the places we did not have time for yesterday. The scenery is stunning, huge rock cliff faces & deep rocky valleys filled with trees. We turn off & climb Mount Victory Road before turning onto the appropriately named Mount Difficult Road & climb more up into the clouds. The drive through the forest is stunning, the trunks of the trees stand out as a fire has been through recently & the understory has not had time to recover. Boroka Lookout is supposed to have a stunning view over the surrounding countryside, we are clouded in, all we see is white mist & a very long drop from the cliff top viewing platforms we are standing on. It is also raining & cold at 5C degrees.

Onward & off to see Mackenzie Falls & Broken Falls on the Wartook Road through more spectacular scenery. The walk from the carpark is only around 700 metres to the viewing platform & the photos do not do justice to the view, the falls are very pretty & tumble a long way over a number of different drops into the deep gorge below. The walk to the bottom of the falls we decide against, there are warnings of people dying or getting seriously injured either on the way down or back up. Only for the very fit, young & adventurous. We should have visited this place 10 years ago, we were fitter then.

We then follow the Mackenzie Valley down, more stunning scenery & we pass the Zumsteins Picnic Area, it must be very popular in summer as it is very large, only two cars there today, the weather is fairly miserable. We reach flat land again & the forest gives way to open pastures full of sheep, crops & sun shine.

The city of Horsham is around 40km away so we decide to drive there for a look, we have never been there before & the roads are flat & straight so the drive does not take too long. We find the main street & a parking spot then look for a place for lunch, it is nearly 2pm (once again we miss the lunch time). A baker shop seems to be busy so we go in & order a few pies & a coffee, then eat inside, I don’t want to share this pie with any kookaburra (ha, ha). The pies are good, tasting even better than the Halls Gap pies. Lunch over we drive past the silo art site & take some photos then back to the Grampians.

As the Grampian Ranges come into view they just rise up out of the plains, with the western sun shining on the flanks they look spectacularly beautiful. This is such a different view than when we were driving away from them (naturally). We climb back up the Mackenzie River valley then decide to drive out to the Boroka Lookout again (Ron the forever optimist), the sun is mostly shining now & it is not raining. All looks good until we get to the lookout, everything is still white & we leave disappointed that we missed the view, however, the drive is still wonderful. Back to the camp & I take a walk out to the large grassed area near the creek, it is full of kangaroos feeding & take no notice of me as I walk amongst them. I walk back past the camp kitchen & am amazed, it is the best I have seen yet, complete with a lounge area with wood fire & leather couches. Most of the caravan parks have been really good but this one tops them all. Time for a shower then out to dinner at the Flame Brothers Restaurant. Great service, friendly waiter from Spain (as we had a 6 o’clock booking we were almost the only ones so we had a lovely chat with the young waiter about the places we should visit in Spain & his experiences traveling around Australia & how much he likes it here), great food,  nice & warm from the fire. We have full bellies when we leave. Another great day.