Mount Ngumadj (Mount McIver)

Stiff legs so decided to do the self-guided driving tour of the central Grampians. We never reached the 21C with temperatures staying around 13C. Out of the sun and in the southerly wind (off the Antarctic) it was chilly.

Boroka Lookout
Reed Lookout
The Balconies
Mackenzie Falls Lookout and falls walk
Zurmsteins

The first three are simply lookouts that are reached after a short walk from a car park. At The Balconies we spent some time talking to a couple from Holland who were hoping to fly back on Saturday but still lots of uncertainty. There was also someone who was taking drone footage to give people shut at home, a virtual tour of the Grampians. I guess there will be a boom in social media content attempting to find solutions for people in lockdown.

Mackenzie Falls Lookout and falls walk was one of the better falls we have been to, at least there was water there. The falls walk descends 110m, 280 steps, to the bottom of the falls, signs make certain that you realise how challenging this will be, but the walk was worth it.

Zurmsteins was a strange place. It was the family home of Walter Zumstein and his wife Jean and became one of Australia's first holiday retreats. They moved in after WWI. Walter was a professional beekeeper and they decided to supplement their modest income by establishing a small 'tourist retreat. They dug a swimming pool by hand, it took 5 rears! The earth removed from the pool was used to build three pisé, or rammed earth cottages for holiday makers. The couple left their home to the country so that people could continue to camp there. It was shut in 1994 amid fear that the crowded site was polluting the river.

Today we saw wild deer, the first we’ve seen since we have been here, so thrilled.

Not sure what the next few days will hold for us. Flights are being cancelled, rescheduled and then cancelled. We now don’t have flights home 😡Læs mere