Stephen Blyth's Blog

Dry creek beds

Thursday, May 6th, 2004, Australia, Travels, whanau, life

It was a relief today to come across a creek with water flowing. Despite rain over the last few days, I’ve barely seen any moving water in the Grampians National Park about 250 km west of Melbourne. While I passed many boulder strewn creek beds suggesting that water flows, they were dry. The route up to the Pinnacles from Halls Gap alongside Stony Creek was the exception. Verdant ferny groves were a sign of the dramatic changes water can create. Vegetation in other parts of the park is sparse and dully coloured.

The ranges and peaks erupt from the earth. Cracked and fissured rock outcrops tower steeply over wooded plains. Surrounding the handkerchief sized park are settled plans stretching in every direction. It is no wonder the area is such a popular destination.

I clambered and climbed up Hollow Mountain, and looped around and over Mount Staypleton (view from summit pictured). Each is like a massive boulder, with small sandy plains in the troughs. Arched candy-stripe cliffs, rusty orange and gunmetal grey rather than red and white, loomed above me. Dwarfed, I had a sense of being a small speck in an ancient universe. This was intensified by the solitude – the tracks were virtually empty of other walkers.

One of the things that attracted me to Gariweld, as the area is known by the local koori, was the Brambuk Cultural Centre. The Centre is run by five local koori mobs, and contains displays and audiovisual presentation about mythology associated with the area. Along with Aboriginal rock art sites, it is one of the few areas in Victoria where the koori presence is so visible. I was pleased I got to see it.

For the first time in many years I stayed in a dorm at the Halls Gap YHA eco-hostel. One night I stayed up late talking with Moses, a Malaysian now resident in Christchurch, about living life to the full, politics and wilderness. The comradely spirit at the hostel was reassuring, given that I’ll be spending most of the next three weeks in hostels or on eco-tours.

The hostel’s design was very conducive to interaction between hostellers. It was not only the physical space, but the concept of ecological design that gets people talking. We’ve been pondering about the merits of passive solar heating, re-using grey-water to flush the toilets, and the solar panels on the roof. Not only is it a modern, spacious hostel, but one thoughtfully managed. Look no further than the herbs and eggs freely shared with guests.

Anyway, just about time to hit the road.

PS I’ve added several photos to the Australian Travels ’04 section.