Early December

Is it just me or has 2015 sped past at an alarming rate of knots for everyone?

December began quite sedately with a birthday celebration surprise. The surprise was all mine with an amazing trip to the Grampians four wheel driving in Dora. Breath taking in more ways than one. We stayed at Halls Gap which was not affected by the 2014 fires but it came very close, stopping or rather being stopped just 5 km away.

I remember sitting in the backyard at our rented accommodation being able to smell the wood smoke and watching the ash gently falling. Well to start with I had no idea it was ash and had to ask Rick, neither did I have any idea just how far the fires were away. It was (in my defence) my first experience of such things, in my past life there was more a danger of flooding than fire. I also remember at the time asking for Debs reassurance we were not about to be engulfed in flames... that all now seems like forever ago.

Anyway back to the Grampians, We managed to get hold of a 4wd map of the area and an up to date rangers report on which roads/tracks were open for driving on, making sure we had water and snacks we were off.

Rick is a brilliant and experienced four wheel driver... and I am still a novice passenger. Just how much of a novice was proven by him stopping on quite a steep hill and me squeaking very loudly as we rolled backwards. I hadn't realised he was going for a second attempt at the hill in a different ratio... good heavens it is not for the feinthearted... but a huge amount of fun. We followed the track, the map having lead us to believe would eventually take us to a bitumen road via a picnic area. After following the track for a good couple of hours we couldn't believe our eyes when we found the picnic area and also discovered 'they' (whoever they are) had barricaded our way with wooden bollards. Not to be thwarted Rick carefully lined Dora up and we made good our escape by driving through a ditch. As the sticker on the back of Dora declares 'You can go fast I can go anywhere'! By the end of the day my legs (and even toes) were aching from all the braking I was apparently doing!!

Halls Gap in the valley

I was totally spoilt by a fantastic three course meal my challenging diet totally and deliciously catered for. The next day after an amazing breakfast and a consultation of the maps and road updates we were off again more exploring. It really is an amazing place to explore and not until you get to the high point do you realise just why Halls Gap was saved and in living memory has never had a fire. It is nestled in a valley and the theory is the up currents of air keep the fire away.  We were constantly amazed at the regeneration of the fauna, and every now and then came across tiny fast moving streams.

Breath taking views

We were lucky enough to find some of the Sacred Aboriginal Sites, hand paintings thousands and thousands of years old. Track and map reading can be a bit of a challenge for me but because of the 'wrong' turn we had to go up The Old Goat Track which was incredible, full of narrow twisty tracks, which opened out every now and then giving us glimpses of the beautiful landscapes.

A sacred Aboriginal Site, very peaceful and beautiful

Ancient hand paintings, mind boggling just how old these are

One of my favourite plants - the Australian Grass Tree. These beautiful plants are very slow growing, the leaves are actually square and fires cause them to send up enormous flower spikes.

The male emu very protective over his 5 youngsters 

Fauna regeneration

The fabulous McKenzie Falls

The tiny wee foot path on the left of photo is one of the 4wd tracks. Lots of fun when you meet another 4x4 or two heading the opposite direction!

We both highly recommend visiting and exploring this very special area. The main tourist areas were busy enough whilst we were there so  its probably best not to visit in the the holiday season.........