The Grampians to Melbourne

We decided to check out some more of the Grampians before heading off to Melbourne today. So we picked a few short hikes to do that would give us a taste of the place and headed out. Our first stop was McKenzie Falls (left.) On our way back up from the falls, we saw a Kookaburra sitting in a tree. This is the bird of the famous Australian nursery rhyme and song "Kookaburra sits in the old gum tree." After snapping a few photos of this guy, we headed to our next point, the Boroka Lookout where we were able to get a view of the Balconies rock formation. Finally, we hopped out at the Reed Lookout to get a view of the valley.

Before leaving Halls Gap, we decided to check out Brambuk, the National Park Cultural Centre. The building itself was amazing, designed to represent the wings of the cockatoo. It was filled with Koorie (an Aboriginal tribe) symbols and run by the Koorie communities. The centre tells the history of the people and the land. We spent some time wandering around here before getting some lunch and heading out.


Once we had driven out of the Grampians, we hit the M8 (which is their version of a major highway), so we had a fairly quick trip to Melbourne. We arrived, checked in to our hotel and scrambled to return our rental car before closing. Once we arrived back to our room, we were ready for the feeding-frenzy to begin! Our first meal was at Bar Lourinha, a Spanish/Portuguese tapas bar. Sorry, no pictures this time, but it was divine!