So it has taken almost three months to work out how to put this post together. Halls Gap (and the Grampians in its entirety) is an amazing place. If you enjoy spending time outdoors it's something of an endless playground. Seeing it through the eyes of children limits your range somewhat (no multi-day treks yet) but makes it a truly brilliant place to visit. Part 1 takes us back to a simpler time. Before Covid and before the Australian Bushfires. It was September 2019, that makes it Spring in Australia. It was still cold and prone to raining on and off.

So grab a coffee, let's settle in.

Walks

In town or around the Grampians. Long walks or short walks. Whatever you're in the mood for there's plenty to see. With two families and 5 kids to keep track of, in 2019 we kept it simple: most walks revolved around driving and then taking a short walk to our destination, MacKenzie Falls, Sliverband Falls, Boroka Lookout, Lake Bellfield and the Reed Lookout Fire Tower are all places that come to mind. Nice short walks for the kids, and lots to look at. A perfect combination.

There was also plenty to see walking (and riding) around town. The walking tracks around the Brambuk cultural centre were some of the kids' favourites around the town. Halls Gap is also flat enough to make it a fantastic place for young bike riders. Bike rides into town to grab a sneaky ice-cream? Yes Please!

Wildlife

No, I'm not talking about the kids although at times, I think the description fits. Halls Gap and the Grampians is just teeming with native wildlife. If you're like me and love being up close with animals it actually makes the prospect of going home somewhat heart-breaking. We were fortunate enough to be staying in an AirBNB that was frequently visited by kangaroos and cockatoos (clearly some sneaky feeding by the previous tenants). This allowed the kids to have some face-to-face time with the wildlife every morning while the parents had a chance to prep for the day, something of a winning combination. At one point my daughter managed to hand-feed a magpie with a small quantity of oats, I still hear about that magpie to this day.

Geocaching

Geocaching is still to be its own entire entry. For those who are unaware of what Geocaching is and want immediate answers head over to the official website. In short it's something of a global treasure hunt. People hide "caches" and people playing the game find them. It's great fun with kids. The Grampians is littered with caches, many of them are situated near and around the various lookouts and walking tracks.

Crack of Dawn

If you're willing to wake your kids up before sunrise, then go see a sunrise!!

The photos don't do it justice. To be completely honest the experience was a little lost on the kids. This was for the parents. And wow what an experience. We decided to visit the Reed Lookout Fire Tower for our sunrise experience. This boiled down to two factors:

1. Somewhere with the right views (although this could be most lookouts around the Grampians)
2. Somewhere we could get to reasonably quickly first thing in the morning, because hey extra travel time = kids waking up earlier