Hi!<BR>We will be staying near Bell beach and we are thinking of making a day trip to Grampians---which my friend told me it takes 3 to 3.5 hrs one way to reach there. If we want to return the same day, the travelling time will be close to 7 hrs. Is it still worth it? There are children going along so long walk in the park is not possible, we will stick mainly to sealed road. Need kind advice from anyone.<BR><BR>thanks!<BR>TL

There is a good made road system through the Grampians and you can get to most of the view points easily. There is a visitors centre on the south side of Halls Gap (the town for the Grampians) which can give you maps and suggestions. The area is particularly nice in springtime with the wildflowers, plus you can usually see kangeroos, emus and koalas. <BR>It is a long trip though, particularly with children. If you decide to make an overnight trip, there are several motels, cabins, etc at Halls Gap.<BR>Incidentally if you are staying near Bells Beach, try to get to Anglesea golf course in the late afternoon - there are usually lots and lots of kangeroos on the course.

Hi marg!<BR>Thanks for the info. I was told that to see the waterfall and some other interesting sites require some lond walk, is it true? do you think a 10 yr-old child can manage the long walk?<BR>also, what are the major sites to see? what are the minimum hours that we need to at least see the major sites? if we ned to avoid driving at night then we need to return at around 4 pm, this leave us with only 4-5 hrs to explore.<BR>still worth it?<BR><BR>thanks again,<BR>TL

To be honest, I don't think a day trip to the Grampians would be worth it. You might get to see some wildlife, but I have been to the Grampians 3x, and never saw anything other than birds. Mostly what people go there for is hiking (a great deal of which is strenuous) and/or camping. Don't get me wrong, I really enjoy the Grampians - but not for a 1 day trip.

We started taking our children walking in the Grampians before they started school. Yes - there are lots of long walks but there are also many which are quite short. <BR>I think the waterfall you are thinking of is MacKenzies Falls. There are two ways of viewing it - one involves a longish walk (OK for 10 years)following the flow of the water, the other way is only five minutes walk to the base of the falls.<BR>I'd say you would need a minimum of four hours there to do a brief visit to the visitors' centre for maps etc, then drive to Reid's lookout, Boroke lookout, Lake View lookout etc. To get to these lookouts is only a short walk from the parking areas. Lake View and Boroke give fantastic views over the valley and the surrounding country. There are two short walks from Halls Gap - one to Venus Baths and the other to Clematis Falls (which is only a trickle really but a pleasant walk).<BR>There is an aboriginal centre (near the visitors' centre) which is interesting.<BR>The Halls Gap town has several places where you can get lunch. The bakery used to have (haven't been there for about 18 months) the best vanilla slices anywhere.<BR>There is a small motel right at the southern end of the valley set well back from the road. If you happen to be driving past it in late afternoon, there are usually lots of kangeroos grazing on their lawns. Ask at the visitors' centre where you can see wildlife. We've even seen a koala sitting in the middle of the road in town.<BR>It certainly be better if you can spare enough time to overnight and spend more time there, but if a day is all you have, then I hope you enjoy it. Email me direct if I can give you any other information.