GRAMPIANS MOUNTAINS NATIONAL PARK (18/09/09)
At Port Fairy we left the sea for the time being and headed north inland away from the cold wet coastal weather. Our destination was the Grampians National Park, a range of mountains bordering the desert and as a result considerably warmer and drier than what we had got used to. The drive was spectacular as the temperate seaside climate gradually gave way to arid bush land and dust strewn road sides.
We stopped briefly at a picnic site for a bit of a break and were delighted to find the trees around inhabited by a great number of these extremely vocal Sulphur-Crested Cockatoos.
The cockatoos seemed a little shy and couldn't be coaxed from the trees. However within minutes several Roseate Parakeets had arrived and proved themselves to be considerably bolder.
As long as we made no sudden movements and kept feeding them the parakeets were pretty fearless.
They really are striking birds and can often be heard and seen squawking their way through the sky in large flocks.
Adam had promised Liz lots of Kangaroos and on arrival at our campsite she was not disappointed- this picture was taken about 20 steps from our tent.
Having arrived early from Port Fairy we decided to make the most of the beautiful afternoon and were soon back in the car and on our way to McKenzie Falls. The bright sunshine was making rainbows in the spray further adding to the idyllic setting.
Rough hewn stepping stones crossed the river at the bottom of the falls.
A short distance along the twisting mountain road brought us to this strange mushroom shaped rock on the path to the well known Balconies rock formation.
The Balconies, not really difficult to see how they got their name. For safety reasons you are not allowed on the ledges and they are fenced off. However there was no one around and it was quite tempting...
Boroka Lookout, giving an amazing view of the valley in which we were staying. Our campsite was right next to the lake nestled between the mountains.
Someone in the area obviously has a sense of humour as well as a lot of dedication and a lot of time (presumably of the hammer variety) on their hands. For those older readers this is a reference to the late 80s rap sensation MC Hammer.
As we were driving we had to be extremely careful as the Kangaroos had a habit of jumping out in front of the car. Unfortunately with a brain the size of a pea they don't seem to have picked up on the danger of roads.
Late afternoon in the campsite we went Kangaroo watching again and spotted several mothers with joeys in their pouches.
Dusk is when most of the Kangaroos begin moving around and leave their day time sleeping spots to graze for a few hours.
As a treat, and in recognition of the fact that it had been the first day in several months that we had actually been warm, we got ourselves ice cream.
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