- Address: Victoria, Australia, 235 km west of Melbourne;
- Official page: parkweb.vic.gov.au;
- Phone: +61 3 5361 4000;
- Founded: in 1984;
- Area: 1.67 thousand km².
Grampians is a national park located in Victoria, 235 km west of Melbourne . It has a length of about 80 km, at the widest point reaches 40 km, the total area of the park is 1672.2 km ². Grampians Park is known far beyond Australia because of the stunning mountain scenery and the vast number of rock paintings of the indigenous inhabitants of the mainland.
History of the Grampians Park
The age of the Grampians is about 400 million years. Long ago the Australian aborigines called them Gariwerd, but on a whim of fate beyond the mountains the name Grampiansky Mountains was fixed. This nostalgic name was given to the mountain range by the Inspector General of New South Wales, a Scot, Sir Thomas Mitchell, in honor of the Grampian Mountains in his distant homeland. Grampian Mountains National Park was opened in 1984, after 7 years - renamed the Grampians National Park. Memorable in the history of the park was January 2006, when there was a big fire that destroyed huge areas of vegetation. On December 15, 2006, Grampians is listed on the National Australian Heritage List.
Grampians National Park today
The Grampians mountain range, consisting mainly of sandstone, has rather steep slopes in the east, especially in the northern part of the ridge, near Polaya Gora. The most popular excursion part of the park is the Wonderland near the town of Hall-Gap. Rapid mountain rivers, the famous waterfall Mackenzie, delightful landscapes will not leave indifferent even the most sophisticated tourists. In the park there are many walking routes and mountaineering trails, there are several viewing platforms, from which a spectacular panorama opens. The best time to visit the park - winter and spring, in other seasons in the mountains can be very hot and dry. In addition, only in the spring you can see one of the wonders of the Grampian Mountains - wonderful wildflowers, carpet-strewn slopes. The highest mountain of William (1167 m above sea level) is popular among hang glider pilots. It is the unique weather phenomenon that manifests itself on it, "Grampians Wave" is a large-scale air wave that allows reaching a height of more than 8500 m. Rock paintings in the caves of the park are of great interest, including images of people, animals and birds, silhouettes and human hands. Unfortunately, the number of drawings with the beginning of European colonization decreased. The most famous caves are "Camp Emu feet", "Cave Ruk", "Cave fish", "Flat rock".
In addition to natural beauty and rock paintings, Grampians is famous for its rich animal world. In these parts, they will not be surprised to see kangaroos grazing under the windows of the cottage or to large white cockatoo, taking food directly from their hands.
How to get there?
The closest town to the park is Halls-Gap, the largest tourist service center in the Grampians area. The path from Melbourne to the park by car takes about 3 and a half hours.
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