Where
About 250km west of Melbourne (3.5 to 4 hour’s drive). Train and bus services available.
Accommodation
There are 13 campgrounds in beautiful forest settings. All have basic facilities including pit toilets, fireplaces and picnic tables. Sites are unpowered. Drinking water is not provided so take your own. Book early for busy holiday periods.
There is a Youth Hostel in Halls Gap, and a range of other accommodation (B&Bs, guest houses, motels, caravan parks) in Halls Gap, Stawell, Dunkeld and other nearby towns.
About the park
Gariwerd is one of Victoria’s most significant Indigenous heritage areas – visits to the Brambuk Centre near Halls Gap and one or more of the park’s rock art sites are a must. Local Aboriginal communities are closely involved with the management of the park.
After Europeans arrived, the Grampians region became a centre for farming, mining, timber production and water supply, but fortunately most of its native plants and animals survived. Tourism developed in the early 1900s but the national park was not declared until 1984, following a long campaign by local naturalists, the Victorian National Parks Association and other groups.
We published an authoritative text, The Grampians – a Noble Range, in 1987 (now out of print), and a guidebook, Discovering Gariwerd, in 2004. Since 2004 there have been two significant wildfires and a major flood in the park, which have affected some walking track routes and other facilities. But Discovering Gariwerd is still useful in planning your visit, together with current publications and information.
Natural history
The park’s varied habitats include sub-alpine heathland, tall wet forests, dry eucalypt forest, red gum forest and swamp scrub. They support wildlife such as koalas, kangaroos and wallabies, echidnas, possums, gliders, and bats – 35 mammal species in all. There is also a wide range of birds, including the wedge-tailed eagle, symbol of Bunjil the Creator for Indigenous people. Altogether, 195 bird species are recorded, five of which are threatened or vulnerable.
The park is extremely important for nature conservation, with almost 900 native plant species, including 18 that are endemic (found only in the Grampians) and seven that are rare or endangered. Some Grampians species occur nowhere else in Victoria but are found in other states. Park management is strongly focused on protecting habitats and threatened species, and controlling exotic (introduced) species.
Friends groups
Friends of Grampians Gariwerd
Phone: (03) 5361 4000
Friends of Grampians Gariwerd