So I was once again tagging along my cousin, for dinner. It's some Szechuan food which actually involves a lot of MSG and chili and chili oil, not exactly healthy in my opinion, but then the place was full of students, so it has to be good, I suppose.
But having a fish dish practically drowning in a pot of chili oil is a bit orzing.
Must be the kick of having burnt your tastebuds, that's appealing? D: I lasted by eating more rice and trying not to drink water until I finish. I hate that bloat-y feeling you get when drinking too much water, since once you start drinking, it somewhat taste even hotter. Xd
Not the point, but anyway, in the midst of torturing my tastebuds, a friend turned to me and asked if I was joining them to the Grampians for camping. To which another friend supplied more info, and mentioned that my cousin wasn't going(he had something else on), but I was welcome to join. (I actually agreed without even knowing where or what the Grampians were or who else was going....hahaha XD)
It was weird but interesting to tag along, because in the process, I meet a lot of different people, mostly connected through friends of friends, of that sort. All of them seemed like really nice people. I'm probably the baby, or I did feel like one. they were mostly young adults, Asian and now working in Melbourne.
Weird, in the sense, that I barely knew these people. One of them happens to be a close friend of my cousin's, so it explains how my aunt probably allowed me to go along.
On the day itself, I found out that only 3 of the 6 who were going, were actually camping, the other 3 had only popped in for a day trip. Like ehhhhhhhhh? Maji de?
Out of the three of us, the 2 girls, (which include mini me) were totally newbie campers, so the one lone guy, L had to prepare and teach us everything. XD
Grampians National Park
(click on links to read more or simply see the pictures)
Day one started late, but we managed to reached there in the end. It was like a 3 hours drive. O.O But the scenery was lovely, it's like plain blue skies and brown/green land, ever flowing. Having been around mostly Melbourne and the suburbs, I truly understand how large Victoria was. (Melbourne is a city in the state of Victoria). That must be where all the farming takes place, because I saw a lot of cows, horses and flocks of sheep (yes..sheep >.>) grazing throughout our drive there.
Apparently, the Grampians is like a circle of mountains, so the only way to enter is through this gap in the mountains, ie, the Halls Gap. So mostly, Halls Gap becomes like the base for the Grampians, because the bulk of shops and restaurants were on that area. It's like a small community, where you can find cabins and caravans, and all the luxury accommodations there. For tourists, the information center was open for any queries as well.
Did I say camping? yes we really did the actual camping with a tent. XD
I find it really amazing that even with proper camping, they'll provide certain camping grounds, so you're encouraged to stay within that area and not go around wrecking the nature. Proper camping sites are carefully marked on the map and has toilets. Toilets that does not come with a flush, but hey there's enough toilet paper, and a big tank of rainwater to wash your hands. Not quite the convenience we're used to, but then again, it's adequate for proper hygiene, so I'm not complaining. Not until, I realised there's no showers! O.O And we were going to be there for 3 days and 2 nights.
Our chosen camping ground took about 15 minutes to get to from Halls Gap, and you'd think it's isolated, but hey, that was a long weekend, (it was Anzac Day that Friday, so there was a lot of campers as well. So the 6 of us pitched the tent and hopped off to the trails.
Now, what do we do there besides camping? Hiking of course.
Hiking is a form of walking, undertaken with the specific purpose of exploring and enjoying the scenery (from wiki)
The brochures have several marked trails, those are carefully maintained, with proper steps and marked arrows. It's categorised into easy, medium and hard, depending on the geographical location and duration of the trails. Besides that, there's also trails which you can get from online, which are not marked, mostly for the more adventurous. So, you're basically allowed to venture ALL over the National Park.
Awesome nyaaaaaaaaa?
So like I said, we started out late, and with the other 3 only there for the day, we decided to take it easy on day one and pick short and simple ones to go for, before it gets pitch black.
Stop number ONE: McKenzie Falls (the one hour one)
Stop number TWO: Reed Lookout/The Balconies
McKenzie Falls
Reed Lookout/The Balconies
On the way up the Reed Lookout (spot the mini meeeee?)
Btw, I learnt an important tip, climbing upwards first and then downwards should be the way to go. Not like with the Falls, where we had to go downs before climbing back up really kills your thighs. orz
To be continued....soon?
*crawls into hole and hides*
PS:
Oh, did I mention it? You guys pressured me to update. XD And when I was complaining to Ann, she replied for me. XD
I quote
'.......at least put up "sheepy is busy hiding in a hole stalking JE boys. she stuffed the opening as well. which could only mean one thing. have a nice day!"'
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