In October 2016 Andrew, Alison and I decided to visit the Grampians in Victoria. We did a two-night circuit along the Major Mitchell Plateau Track. The total distance walked was 28km, with a total elevation climb of 1761m.
We started from the Sheep Hills Car Park on Grampians Road, and not far along had the bridgeless Fyans Creek to cross. We decided to remove our boots for this, rather than spending the rest of the walk with soggy socks. The track ahead was well-formed, taking us through light forest with excellent views out across the ranges. The circuit took us up a bitumen road (Mt William Road) to Mt William Airport where there were a few carloads of tourists.
Fyans Creek The steady incline Looking across to where we were headed Zoomed in shot of the cliff-face
This was a long, hard day. To reach the campsite there was a significant climb, particularly challenging with overnight packs. It was a warm day and sweat was dripping off the thick-blooded Tasmanians.
Eventually we made it to First Wannon Remote Campground, which has a small stream running through it. I distinctly remember this, as Alison had chilled some surprise beverages in it, having arrived before Andrew and I.
On the plateau First Wannon Remote Campground
The next day was thankfully easier than the first! We followed the track with views over the rural land surrounding Ararat to the east, and the jagged Grampians to the west.
It’s an easy walk along the plateau for a while but you’re soon ascending again. We reached a little peak with space to stretch out for lunch, then began the final stretch of track that drops off the ridge and eventually back to Grampians Road.
The scenery is pretty spectacular. There is a nice sense of remoteness, despite the roads and farmland off in the distance.
The way down
We camped at Jimmy Creek Campground for the evening, planning to walk back to the car along a track that runs parallel with Grampians Road. None of us were looking forward to this, as the landscape would pale in to insignificance compared to what we had seen over the last two days.
To our great fortune, some caravan campers at Jimmy Creek offered us a lift back to our car the following morning! It didn’t take long to reach an agreement on that.
Since we had some unplanned extra time we did a couple of short walks, . Below is a collection of cool rock formations from the various areas.
Overall the track conditions through the park were good. Here are a few examples.
The wildlife An example of the climbing required on Major Mitchell Plateau Track
