2018 Western Australia
Mitch and I have been enjoying road trips together for a long time! Such a long time - over 34 years!!!
Our first was a 12 week camping trip around the west of Australia, with his mum and her parents! We had our 2 man tent and a fold up cot for Mitch, Stan and Suzanne had an old Pop top caravan, we travelled with them. Mitch was 5 months old when we headed west on 1st June, 1992!
One of the best adventures ever - Flinders Ranges, Coober Pedy, Uluru, Mataranka, Katherine Gorge, Darwin/Berri Springs, Kakadu, Wyndham, Kununurra, Purnululu National Park, Geikie Gorge, Derby, Broome, Coral Bay, Monkey Mia, Murchison River, Kalbarri, Perth, Dwellingup, Cape Naturaliste, Cape Leeuwin, Gloucester Tree, Valley of the Giants, Stirling Ranges, Esperance, Kalgoorlie, Nullabour, Murphy’s Haystacks, back to Flinders Ranges for a few days R&R, then home. 😁 No Google Maps, no Facebook or Instagram … NO INTERNET! Just a rough idea of where we wanted to go - camping off-grid for a few days, a night or 2 at a caravan park for showers and laundry. And a sense of adventure!
Uluru
Mitch's grandmother is a wonderful cook and their van had a small oven - scones, cakes, roasts. We also cooked on the open fire.
His grandfather - full of adventure and can-do attitude - made for a few eye catching moments and a wonderful adventure.
The bar was set very high in 1992!
When Mitch was 9 we headed north for our own 'BIG' camping road trip. Bunya National Park, QLD, via the New England Hwy, Roma, Carnarvon Gorge, Rockhampton, Gympie, Rainbow Beach, catching up with my mate QLD Dave in Brisbane, with a day at Dreamworld. Then back home via the coast.
Carnarvon Gorge … BIG Breakfast!
Some more recent road trips have taken us to The Daintree (2009, The Warrumbungles and Mt Kaputar (2012), Uluru (2013), Kosciusko (2014), Great Ocean Road via Cape Conran and Phillip Island (2016), Tassy w/ the family(2016), Uluru/Flinders/Grampians (2017), Western Australia (flying over first! 2018), Snowy Mountains (2018), New Zealand (2019), Tasmania (2021), Karinjini W.A (2022), NZ (2023), Wilsons Prom (2023), Vic High Country (2024), Tasmania (2024).
We love our road trips - always a great catchup, sharing our love for Nature and Photography, Hiking, Coffee, Banana Bread, Dark Chocolate, Cider and Toasted Sandwiches. Road trips provide a greater sense of freedom to explore, with adventure! Strengthening our connection - hours in the car (and camping) in conversation, and these days listening to podcasts and music.
Anyway, back on topic … A Road trip to The Grampians.
For me this one started with a drive down the Hume Highway to Melbourne - roughly 8hrs with a few stops for fuel and food.
I've done the drive a few times now, and always try and make my first stop at Jugiong for a coffee and a Rueben Toasty at the always busy Long Track Pantry. I guess it's a bit of tradition now for me. The place is always buzzing with fellow travellers. I grab a spot outside, off to the side, under the old grape vine trellis. Taking time to enjoy my time here. Gangs of sparrows taking opportunities to forage for leftover crumbs; families chatting with excitement about where they've been or where they're going!
Mitch had invited me down to spend a couple of nights in Melbourne, then a couple of nights at The Grampians - sounded great! We saw a movie that turned out to be surprisingly enjoyable - "Project Hail Mary". A walk around the Melbourne CBD and the Royal Botanic Gardens Victoria. The "Grampians Plan" was to do a sunrise hike up Mt Abrupt and find a vantage point to take in the sunrise looking north to Signal Peak. We were not really sure in what condition the bushland would be - the summer of 2024-2025 saw bush fires rip through 80% of the park.
I'd been to My Abrupt once before in 2017, with Mitch, camping deep inside The Grampians. That sunrise shoot involved a 4am start, 70min drive south to the southern end of the Grampians. Then it was a 90min hike in the dark to the summit, along an unfamiliar path. An icy wind making us “feel alive” !
This weekend, the effort this was going to be a little less - a shorter drive from Dunkeld, and not all the way to the summit.
2017 from the summit
Our first day was spent exploring the eastern side of The Grampians, various lookouts, taking in the wonderful markets at Halls Gap, where I had the opportunity to smell a fragrant candle titled "Unicorn Farts" -surprisingly pleasant! The drive home was through the "middle" via Victoria Valley. Some amazing old gum trees with the backdrop of the eastern Grampians.
Up early next day, a short 10 minute drive to the Mt Abrupt trailhead. A slow drive though, so many kangaroos out roadside! I think we hiked for around an hour, making our way up the climb. Slowly the pre-dawn light was highlighting some of the great bushland around us, including the amazing Grass Trees! Stunning, ancient plants!
Mitch found the view point he remembered from his last trip.
A great vantage point, just down from the summit, looking north towards Signal Peak. The breeze was starting to pick up, time to get our shots! The sunrise turned out to be nice - not quite as spectacular as 2017, but some colour was definitely appreciated!
A quick protein bar for the ascent, and we were soon back at Dunkeld for well deserved hot breakfast and coffee! Then exploring some more backroads - more beautiful old gum trees, grassy paddocks, a few emus - a really nice what to end this Grampians adventure!