The Grampians

Colleen says “We are in Victoria now and what a difference in climate and scenery. As you cross the border it’s as if it’s a different country, fertile farms, big huge trees, lots of English trees planted in the towns like Oaks, Beech, and Elms. It is nice and cool and we are loving it. We stopped at a little town called Dunkeld which is in the foot of the Grampian Range of mountains. Even though it is just the Southern end they tower above us like a brooding Table Mountain covered in mist over the top. The little park is small, shaded, friendly and has thousands of birds, incl some I have not seen before. Flocks of Musk Lorikeets, King Parrots and Eastern Rosellas (all types of colourful parrots) and lots of kangaroos. We took a drive into the valley of the Grampians, Halls Gap, and did some of the spectacular lookouts and waterfalls (McKenzie Falls) in the area. Today we went into the little town of Hamilton, and saw their well designed Botanical Gardens and Art Gallery. I must say for a small town the Art Gallery is really a tourist attraction. Started by a generous bequest by a local farming family who were avid collectors of fine art, it is now a showpiece. Not only does it have original Mc Cubbin, Hans Heyson and the like, but notable overseas painters as well. There is also a huge collection of Paul Sandby who is considered a “father” of modern watercolour, and whose collection other than this is in Windsor Castle. We also drove to an extinct volcano called Mt Rouse which is in the Volcano valley where there are a few volcanoes from the Australian Volcanic era, and from the top one could see not only the other extinct/dormant volcanoes, but a wonderful view of the whole area.