The Grampians mountain ranges include national and state parks, forests, open plains, rugged rock outcroppings and lots of wildlife. We drove to a little community at the south end, Halls Gap, where we visited Brambuk, the Aboriginal Cultural Center. It was a good place to start our visit. Our walks there offered woodland and open space trails where we saw corellas by the hundreds, cheeky hordes of little variegated fairy-wrens, a horde of emu, and several colonies of lounging kangaroo.
We stayed the night in Halls Gap and the next morning, with the map from an Aboriginal guide, we set out on our own on an hour's drive up into the mountains and plains looking for two shallow cave shelters that for centuries were the meeting and ceremonial places for the local language group.
This shelter is called Cave of Ghosts
Flat Rock were the shelter is covered with children's hand prints.
Banksia in bloom.
We were tired at the end of the afternoon but very happy to have made the trip. We then headed back towrd Geelong, making a side trip to our very favorite vineyard, Blakes Estate. It is a very small vineyard started 10 years age by Roger Blake and his wife. He is a retired geologist and, therefore, knows his soils. His pinot noir wines are excellent and we always find room in our luggage to take some home. A weekend with flowers, wildlife, art and wine.....not bad.
No comments:
Post a Comment