The Grampians General Tour Guide and Travel Information
Over 400 million years ago, in the place we know as Western Victoria, the earth rose up to form a vast island of mountains called the Grampians. It is an island oasis which for millions of years was pounded by the advancing Southern Ocean.
Over the years, wind, rain and water have carved fantastic shapes in the ancient stone, creating the step craggy slopes and rock formations that thrust majestically upwards from the Earth's crust.
A Grampians experience is like no other. These are the "haunted" mountains. A place of dreamtime legends and Koorie rock art, which is rare in Australia. You'll find records of ceremonies painted in red and white on the walls of many rock shelters. More than 100 rock art sites have been documented. And the wildflowers are a spectacle. Many bloom all year round. Some occur nowhere else on Earth.
The Grampians Attractions
Hall's Gap, named after the early pioneer pastoralist who settled in the area in 1843, is the centre of this magnificent array of massive sandstone ranges, spectacular wildflowers, scenic lakes and creeks, and abundant wildlife. With peaks rising to heights of over 1000 metres (3,400ft), the Grampians form the western extremity of the Great Dividing Range in the Southwest of Victoria. The highest, Mount Mitchell, was climbed and named by Major Mitchell in 1836 and he chose to name the ranges the Grampians because they reminded him of the Grampians in his native Scotland.
In 1984 the Grampians were made a national park, giving appropriate recognition to this superb area with its Aboriginal cave paintings and scenic beauty, and activities including bushwalking, rockclimbing, or sailing and rowing on Lake Bellfield, and trout fishing in the lake and Fyans Creek.
The wildlife and wildflowers are abundant and varied, koalas, kangaroos in particular, with echidnas,possums and platypuses also found. From August to November, the more than 1000 species of ferns and flowering plants are at their most colourful with a wildflower exhibition held annually in September/October. A magnificent variety of sights and activities welcomes the traveller to the Grampians.
The Grampians Accommodation Hotels and Motels
Accommodation Type Phone No
Ararat Central Motel Motel 053 524444
Broxmore Holiday House Motel 053 347827
Coorrabin Motor Inn Motel 053 583933
Goldfields Motor Inn Motel 053 582911
Great Western Hotel Motel Motel 053 562270
Stawell Grampians Gate Caravan Park Resort 053 582376
