Saturday 28 February 2009

Road Trip - The Great Ocean Road - Day 3

I'd mentioned to Alan my dilemma at only having half a day to see The Grampians, and he said it was no problem, as I could see the main stuff and still get to Adelaide in time to drop the car off.

He kindly printed a map off for me, and gave me detailed instructions on the various options, and suggested a route. So that morning, after coffee and toast in town, I set off up the mountain road to try and fit as much as I could in before the long drive to Adelaide.

My first stop was The Pinnacle - a two hour walk - but given the time pressures, I decided to run the trail and made it there and back in an hour. It was an incredible path, and I really enjoyed the trip - just wish I'd had more time (maybe next time :-)

Here's a few pics:



It was slightly American, as they've put steps and hand rails over the exciting bits :-(



The canyon even has a name:



Near the top:



And at the top:



Weird rock formations on the way down:





The next stop was a vantage point, where I met a couple who lived down the road, but had gone to Hall's Gap for the weekend to get engaged. Here's a pic of me, with Hall's Gap in the background.

It was super windy - and yes I do need a haircut:



From there it was off to the Balconies, a view point over the other side of the mountain range:



And finally, the McKenzie Falls. Time was tight at this point, so I only got to do the upper trail - and got this photo:



Having "done" The Grampians, it was off to Horsham, for lunch, which is famous for being Australia's Tidiest Town 2001. It's also been visited by two famous people.

The first was Mark Twain who said of Horsham:

"Horsham sits in a plain which is as level as a floor."

The second famous person was me, who famously said of Horsham:

"Not a bad spot for lunch - a bit quite for me though."

And here's what it looks like - not a bad spot for lunch - a bit quite for me though:



And then I had to drag myself away from Horsham, and head off on the long long road, for the five hour drive to Adelaide, which mostly looked like this:

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