Camping in the Grampians

Spring has definitely sprung! The weather is getting better and better, although there still are some cool and rainy days. This past weekend was the perfect time to go camping in the Grampians, which is what Cath, Alix, Kay (a former colleague of Cath’s at DENR), and I did. 

Before I met up with them on Friday I had a live radio interview with Stan Thomson of the ABC Southeast SA station. This was the first interview in which I had to go into the station. It’s just like you would imagine it: the “On Air” sign in red, the table with the microphones, and the interviewer sitting across from the interviewee, both wearing headphones. It was a fun experience! You can listen to the interview at the website below (the interview was on October 12 and my part starts about 2/3 of the way in that segment):

Radio interview with Stan Thomson at ABC Southeast SA 

We headed out on Friday afternoon for the Grampians National Park in Victoria after a yummy lunch at one of Mt. Gambier’s cafes and a quick stop at the bottle shop for some liquid refreshments for the weekend. Speaking of which, if you’ve never had Rekorderlig cider (alcoholic of course), you MUST try it. There are several different flavors, including Apple and Blackcurrant, Mango, and Strawberry and Lime, which tastes just like drinking a strawberry. So delicious!

Our drive took about 2 hours and took us through agricultural and forestry lands and then into more densely-forested areas. After setting up our campsite in the Boreang Campground (a quiet, secluded spot where we were the only campers), Cath, Alix, and I headed off to a nearby small river/stream to put out 21 crayfish nets for a crayfish survey. This entailed stuffing large chunks of raw liver into little pockets in the nets and then securing the nets under the water. Quite a smelly process.

 

 There they are: the Grampians!

 Our campsite.

By the time we got back to our campsite Kay had the fire and dinner (baked potatoes and baked beans) going. She was happy to see us as she proclaimed, “I’m glad you’re back because I’m getting pissed!” (a.k.a. drunk). Haha. Despite the light drizzle and overcast sky, the evening was great. We had a nice camp setup, with our kitchen area under a retractable awning on Alix’s 4WD and our chairs set up around the fire. It was so serene in the middle of nowhere. After the other two had gone to bed Cath and I took a walk to spotlight for nocturnal animals. We saw a Tawny Frogmouth sitting in a branch about five feet above our head. He just sat and stared and provided a perfect view.

 Alix getting raw liver for the crayfish traps.

After breakfast on Saturday morning we all went to check the crayfish traps in the drizzling rain. We caught some Yabbies (a type of crayfish) and a few Southern Pygmy Perch, but no Spiny Crayfish, which is what we were hoping for. After packing up the traps we headed back to camp to have morning tea before beginning our day out hiking. We had originally planned to do a long hike on Saturday, but because of the weather we decided to do a few shorter ones then and save the long one for Sunday. We first stopped at a beautiful waterfall and then proceeded to Reids Lookout and The Balconies, which provided great views of the surrounding mountains and valleys.

 Southern Pygmy Perch.

 Why hello, my pretty.

 

 At the waterfall with Kay and Cath.

 Spring is the perfect time to go to the Grampians. There are lots of pretty flowers!

 

 The view from Reids Lookout.

 

 

We made a stop in Halls Gap, one of the little tourist town in the park, for lunch and a bit of shopping. In one of the stores there were some beautiful stone rings, but unfortunately none of them fit my skinny fingers. One day I will find a ring that actually fits! In another store there was some American candy, so of course I bought a pack of Reese’s Peanut Butter Cups and some Reese’s Pieces: a little taste of home.

Our next stop was Mt. William, which DEFINITELY felt like a mountain as we were climbing up to the top! Boy was it steep and long! I think I walked off the two pieces of birthday cake I’d eaten earlier...The view from the top was well worth the effort getting up.

 They weren't lying!

 

A Gang-gang Cockatoo (Callocephalon fimbriatum).

 The colors were absolutely gorgeous!

 The view was a perfect reward for reaching the top.

 Haha, in Australia!

 

 The gang at the top of Mt. William.

 Me in a bubble!

 

More beautiful colors. 

On the drive back to camp I nearly fell asleep from exhaustion, but we had one more place to check out: Paddy’s Castle, a rock outcrop that did look like a castle. After soaking up the sun for a few minutes there, we headed back and made dinner. Unlike the night before, we had company on Saturday night. It was an older couple who played some typical Australian music, as well as American country. The sky was crystal clear and the country music took my mind back to my time in Texas with Liz, Lauren, Dan, and Juan Jose. Such good memories. For dessert Alix made damper, a traditional Australian camping food. It’s just flour and milk, and then whatever else you decide to add. Alix put in some apples and it turned out great! For our evening entertainment we played with Alix’s nice camera and took some fun fire-writing pictures. They turned out pretty good! We also made s’mores, or at least as close as we could get to them without Hershey’s chocolate and graham crackers. Instead we used Cadbury chocolate and Belvita snack biscuits/cookies. Although not quite the same, they still turned out sickeningly sweet and delicious!

 

Almost sunset at Paddy's Castle.

  My first experience with damper. Very yum!

 Fire fire burning bright. 

Sunday turned out to be the perfect day for a longish hike. It was in the upper 70s and sunny. Perfect! We packed up camp and then drove to our hiking spot: the Lake Bellfield and Sundial Peak walk. The vegetation and dryness of the place reminded me a lot of Texas and the American Southwest, and some parts of the walk reminded me of South Carolina. It was a breathtaking place. Our hike took about two hours roundtrip. Of course a hike isn’t complete without a treat at the end, so we stopped back in Halls Gap for ice cream at a place that prided itself as being the “Home of the Homemade Waffle Cone.” The server piled my ice cream high and I almost couldn’t finish it all despite how amazing it was!

 This part reminded me of Texas/the American Southwest.

 

 

 

 Our lunch spot. What a view!

 This part reminded me of South Carolina. I think it had a lot to do with the boardwalk. 

 

Our last stop of the trip was another waterfall. The river it ran into flooded several years ago and you could see the large amount of debris that had been moved downriver, including the little pedestrian bridge. 

 

You can see the washed-out bridge downstream.

 

  Water breaking over the waterfall's edge.

  Alix and me. 

We arrived back in Mt. Gambier in the evening, and I stayed with Cath that night. I of course took advantage of Cath’s TV and cable, since I only get three channels in the bunkhouse. Ahh television.

I’m really glad I got to see the Grampians before I leave Australia. While they are no Rockies, they are certainly beautiful and amazing. To anyone who’s in Victoria, I highly recommend you take a little trip there!

Now for an update on the visa shenanigans: Earlier in October I was granted a Bridging Visa C, which made me legal (yay!). However, I was told that I’m not allowed to leave the country on that type of visa, and that if I did I wouldn’t be allowed back into the country in the future. I asked how long the processing time for my visa is, and was told 2-3 months. At that point I was leaving in about three weeks! The immigration people said I could apply for a tourist visa, which I would have done except it costs $290 (or so they told me) which I cannot afford right now. I sent an email to the department explaining my situation and asking for expedited processing of my visa. I received an automated reply saying that they endeavor to answer all emails within five working days, which would have put me at two weeks before my departure date. I didn’t think that gave me enough time, so I called the number I had for the people who actually process the visas. The guy told me he’d give my application to the case officer and she’d email me with a decision by the end of the week. However, when I got home from the Grampians the following Monday I still had not heard anything, so I called them up again on Tuesday. The guy said he’d pass my application onto the case officer, which is what he had told me the week before. It makes me wonder if he would have given her my application if I had not called...On Wednesday I FINALLY heard back from the case officer, who said she had finalized and approved my application. Now I’m all set! Phew, that sure took a lot of hoop-jumping! I’m just glad everything is taken care of so I can go home and have the option of coming back to Australia in the future.