• Melissa KirkegaardAustralia and New ZealandTraveler
    So many kids having fun in Venus pools2Huntsman Spider outside our door gave us a frightA rare sighting of a Blue Wing Kookaburra which is normally only seen in Northern Australia31The Christmas Bettle really caught my attentionGreat views from Chataqua PeakAustralian King ParrotCrimson Rosella's were eating cherries in a yardMcKenzie falls are beautiful but a venomous brown snake gave us a frightThis very poisonous Brown snake gave everyone on the trail a fright1Watching this sulfur head Cockatoo drink from McKenzie falls was a treatMob of Kangaroos in a field in the evening seemed used to visitors

    Halls Gap

    Jan 16–18 in Australia ⋅ 🌬 16 °C

    Grampians | Halls Gap

    Halls Gap welcomed us in layers. We stretched our travel legs at the Venus Baths, watching kids slide down smooth rocks and families soak their feet in the pools. That night, wild winds tore through the valley, trees came down, and we felt fully in the elements.

    The next day brought everything we could have hoped for: kangaroos grazing at the start of the Chataqua Peak hike, butterflies drifting ahead of us on the trail, lush ferns and eucalyptus forests, and unforgettable birds — rosellas, cockatoos, and the rare gift of a blue-winged kookaburra. McKenzie Falls was powerful and humbling, complete with a respectful standoff with a brown snake.

    By evening, mobs of kangaroos grazed near town, and dinner brought one last surprise — incredible Indian food served by robots, somehow tucked into a national park. Wild, welcoming, surprising, and full of wonder — Halls Gap is a place we’ll carry with us.    Read more