But definitely DO go chasing waterfalls because you won’t be disappointed!

First stop, after our premature visit to Melbourne, was inland to the widely recommended Grampians National Park.
We arrived at a free campsite at the heart of Grampians – Plantation Campground – 4 hours later and set up Pam for the night. It was a beautiful campsite, overlooking the mountains, with wild Kangaroo just metres away from us whilst we ate dinner and just 15 minutes away from Halls Gap, it was ideal.
Although our trip started badly – Dave threw a gas canister down from the roof and I stupidly caught it with my big toe – we slept well and ventured into Halls Gap the following morning.

 

It was a hectic day driving between all the lookouts but filled with some of the most incredible views and waterfalls.
Reids lookout and The Balconies was our first stop. After a 15 minute walk, we were greeted with a rather windy and chilly view but so worth it. The land stretched out as far as the eye could see.
Unfortunately, you could only look at the Balconies as they had been cordoned off – unless your name is Dave. It wasn’t long before he had disappeared the other side of the cordon and stood dangerously close to the edge. Ever persuasive, he encouraged me to come and enjoy the uninterrupted views from the edge of the cliff (sorry mum and dad!). It truly made you feel on top of the world!
Next, we headed for the Boroka Lookout, just 15km away. Again, the views across the land were insane and it was lovely to see Halls Gap from way above in the clouds. We quickly decided that the Boroka would be the most serene and beautiful place to view the sunrise and made a plan to return the following morning.

 

 

 

Waterfalls were next on the agenda – Silverband and Mackenzie Falls.
Silverband was hidden at the end of a winding, single road followed by a short 5 minute walk into the bush. Although not a roaring waterfall, the peace and quiet experienced sat next to the falls was a welcome relief – you could even walk right up to the base!
Mackenzie Falls on the other hand, was enormous and could be found at the bottom of 260 steep and slippery steps. Again, it was more than worth the near heart attack you received on the walk back up!
We spent a good hour sitting at the base of the falls, with our feet in the water, listening to the roar of the falls, watching everyone pose for photos.
The photos really don’t do such forces of nature any justice. It is views and experiences like Grampians and its waterfalls/scenery that make me feel alive and equally sad that people won’t ever get to experience that too.

 

 

 

 

We headed back to Plantation Campground and settled in for an early night before an even earlier morning – 5am alarm, what even is that anymore??
We woke, groggy and confused and quickly got ourselves packed up before heading out of the campsite. After narrowly avoiding hitting a dozen or so Kangaroos stood aimlessly in the middle of the roads on the way up, we reached Boroka Lookout at 05:35am, just half an hour before the sunrise.
Another chap arrived not long after we did and started firing technical questions at me which was ridiculous as it was 1. 0600am and 2. Im a complete amateur! But he was super friendly and, whilst we enjoyed a cup of tea, we stood amongst equally crazy, like minded people and watched the world wake up.
Blissful. See for yourself – bitterly cold but beautiful:

 

What followed was a day of the Great Ocean Road (sponsored by coffee, coffee and more coffee…) whilst listening to the soundtrack of our entire trip so far:
Slightly Stoopid; Closer to the Sun Album – Honestly, we love it and I’d highly recommend listening to it each time you read this blog. Its a must!
It was also full of heaps of Asian tourists conducting inappropriate photoshoots at every corner, but that’s another story.
First, SHOWER! At a wonderful little campsite in Port Fairy before we spent the whole day exploring the following:
London Bridge
The Arches
Thunder Cave
Loc Ard
Grotto
Martyrs
12 Apostles
To name just a few…

Absolutely beautiful coastline and we were so blessed with beautiful weather too!
Torquay, the home of Australian Surf, was a few hours away however, we decided to head an hour inland for the night before we carried on our Great Ocean Road adventure the following day.

 

 

We arrived at a well hidden and small camp called Beauchamp Falls Reserve early evening and headed straight for the Waterfall that so many on Wikicamps had mentioned. An hour and a half round trip and the subsequent failing of my body later on that evening, were so worth the tropical rainforest we encountered on the walk down to the falls. We were the only ones there so we got comfortable and, again, soaked up the roar and atmosphere of the falls. Lush!
Beauchamp falls was one of the rare campsites that allows you to have fires, so Dave got to work and we enjoyed spending the evening watching the car park slowly fill up with people from all walks of life, even being offered an ice cold beer by the young couple camping next to us – Perfect!!
Not so wonderful at 11pm, when the car park is now 2 cars deep in some places and people are still turning up, but hey… its a free campsite in a beautiful location!

 

 

 

Another early morning as the camp and its inhabitants woke as the sun did, we were off, back along the Great Ocean Road – an hour in the wrong direction. Whoops.
We enjoyed Apollo Bay and lunch in Lorne by the river, before arriving in Torquay at lunchtime and heading straight for the Australian Surf Museum.
We ate paella for dinner a mere half an hour outside Torquay that night, before we a well needed rest and onwards – back past the now familiar Melbourne – to our next destination:
Mornington, Philips Island and our first experience of Australias beach life!