Wednesday, 29 April 2026
Temp: 12-21°C
Distance 10.52km
Up 631m Down 220m
Time 5:32 hrs Moving time 3:20 hrs
Shelter – Semi-open

After a lovely dinner we should have slept well but the ominous weather forecast for Saturday and Sunday had us making plans in our head all night. Before going off to sleep I researched what shelters are at the camps to come. It appears that tonight has a semi open shelter, then the next five nights are open air with just wind breaks. This will include the rainy Saturday and Sunday nights, so that had us rethinking a few things. The last two nights have enclosed shelters so we are hoping the bad weather blows out a few more days. Fingers crossed. I made a few adjustments to my pack besides adding 4.5 days food, I changed my ultra light rain jacket to a longer more robust one (Kathmandu NX2.5), I have also taken on the tent footprint and pegs and added two purple garbage bags. I weighed in at 13kg with 2 litres of water. This was 1.4kg heavier than it started 5 days ago. I decided to ditch 500ml water and used my hiking poles (350g) instead of carrying them in my bag. I am not quite sure where the extra weight came from but I will have to look in to it as 13kg is too heavy for me.

Today we are hiking from Halls Gap to Bugiga camp via Venus Baths, Splitters Falls, Stoney Falls, Grand Canyon, Echo Rock, Silent Street and the Pinnacles. It was a very tough first few hours on rocky trail and rock faces, up enormous slopes, through tiny gaps, up many many stairs until we reached the Pinnacles. We passed and chatted with many people as the section of the trail to the Pinnacles is a popular day walk. We stopped at the Pinnacles for lunch and enjoyed further chats before we finally left as we still had 2-3 hours to go and we both felt a little ordinary after lunch. Creaking knees and a bit uncoordinated. Just 4km to go, one foot in front of the other. Thankfully the trail changed back to mostly dirt trail although it did continue up some more before the final downward hill to camp. We arrived quite early for us at just 3.30pm.

We were the only people here at a lovely tent pad site with an open ended shelter. It was a lovely spot in the gully. It was the start of the central section of the park which was impacted by the 2024/2025 summer fires. The undergrowth was very minimal and many of the trees had either fallen or were very blackened by the fire. The grass trees were just regrowing and we didn’t see as many flowers today. We set up camp and were joined by one other hiker just before we enjoyed dinner as the sun set. Off to bed early tonight as we are both exhausted.

National Park Notes
Day 5: (C1) Halls Gap to Bugiga Hike-in Campground
Food: Breakfast at Halls Gap, Lunch, Dinner
Start: Halls Gap Trailhead (caravan park) 
Distance: 8.9km  
Grade: 4
Key elevation points: Halls Gap 230m, The Pinnacle, 715m, Bugiga Hike-in Campground 625m
Elevation: 760m up, 340m down
Names and meanings: Bugiga = ‘Bukika’: Unknown – refers to Mount Rosea (Bugiga-mirgani = ‘Bukika-mirkani’).
Highlights: Stony Creek, Grand Canyon, The Pinnacle.See fascinating sandstone gorges and gnarly, weathered rock formations in the Wonderland Range. Near Venus Baths are views of Elephants Hide and, in the background, Chautauqua Peak.
The sculpted rock shapes in the Grand Canyon and Silent Street will intrigue you before you exit up and out towards the Pinnacle Lookout, passing the Cool Chamber and Bridal Veil Falls on the way. Hike from the rocky ridges down through forest towards Sundial Carpark, through to Devils Gap and on towards Lakeview Lookout and past Sundial Carpark. Arrive at the stunning Bugiga Hike-in Campground, looking up towards the rugged cliff-line of Mt Rosea.
Important safety information:
– Serviced water tanks at Sundial Carpark and Bugiga Hike-in Campground

Tuesday, 28 April 2026
Temp: Low 10-20°C
Distance 14.86km
Up 209m Down 695m
Time 6:19 hrs Moving time 4:16 hrs
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner at Halls Gap

A good night’s sleep, warm and comfortable with windy conditions during the night. It’s always great to wake up to a dry tent. The campsite had a couple of tour group huts and a camp fire pit but it was locked. We packed up and had a lovely leisurely morning chatting with Chloe and Tiffen. Chloe suggested the Western Province of the Solomon Islands for canoe adventures. It is pristine and amazing. Needless to say our 9am departure time ended up being 10am. Oh well! As we always say it is always about the journey and meeting new people along the way.

Today’s hike is 13.5km with a suggested time of 6.5hrs. Let’s see how we go!
The day started with beautiful views of Lake Wartook in the west and walking along the ridgeline with views on either side of the ridge. Three lakes on one side and one on the other. We took the side track to the lake Wartook lookout where we saw two lakes (Lonsdale and Fyans Lakes). It was very rocky for the first 2 hours with many steps mostly going up. Once again there were the most amazing rock formations that I often found a shape of something ie. a dinosaur or turtle or today’s one I remember was Pluto the cartoon character. There were also lots of flowers and scenic views to photograph so we didn’t get very far. Only 6km in the first 2.5 hours.

We stopped for lunch on a ridgeline with a beautiful view of the plains, another mountain range and three lakes. From north to south they were called Lake Lonsdale, Lake Fyans and Lake Bellfield. After lunch the trail changed and was much better on our legs. It was mostly downhill along single trail with a few ups in there to keep us on our toes. Thankfully the trail was also mostly dirt/sand with a few sections of rocks and many staircases. There were a few rocky sections as well but not continuous like the previous three days. We saw a couple of pretty faced wallabies on the trail, some fungi and some more flowers. As a huge bonus, when we reached the junction to Halls Gap and Chatauqua Peak we were very lucky to see the Gang Gang Cockatoo, which David has never seen before so he was pretty excited. We saw both the male and female (apparently they are monogamous for life, they were both grey in colour but the male has a bright red head and the female has a muted red almost salmon chest. It was amazing to watch the birds so close.

We then climbed to the top of Chatauqua Peak which was a bit of a tricky rock scramble. This overlooked the town of Halls Gap and Lake Bellfield. We then continued down the trail where we took the short side track to the dry Clematis Falls and then we were on the homeward straight. Only 2kms to the trail end at Halls Gap and another 1km back to the car at the Visitors Centre.

That is the first third and northern section of the trail done and dusted.
Day 1 – 13.95km 5:58 hrs Down 514 Up 528
Day 2 – 11.99km 5:38 hrs Down 133m Up 605
Day 3 – 16.79km 8:08 hrs Down 515m Up 565
Day 4 – 14.86km 6:19 hrs Down 695m Up 209
Totals – 57.59km 26:03 hrs on the trail Down 1,857m Up 1,907

Stay tonight is in the comfort of the Kookaburra Lodge Motel with a well earned shower and bed, with a beautiful dinner at Flame Brothers Cafe Restaurant & Bar.

National Parks Notes
Day 4: (N4) Werdug Hike-in Campground – Halls Gap (own arrangements)
Start: Werdug Hike-in Campground
Distance: 13.0km
Grade: 4
Key elevation points: Werdug Hke-in Campground 750m Lake Wartook lookout, Halls Gap 230m
Elevation: 240m up, 750m down
Names and meanings: Werdug = ‘Werdook’: his shoulder, a reference to the shoulder of a mythical ancestor.
Highlights: Sweeping views, rocky gardens and a descent through tall wet forest and winter/spring wildflowers.
Lake Wartook Lookout (829m) is one of the highest points in the Mt Difficult Range. Climb to Lake Wartook Lookout, before meandering across the escarpment passing rocky gardens and descending steep stone steps. They herald the first major vegetation transition as you leave the dry, open rocky northern area and move down through the wetter eastern slopes. Listen for birdlife in this area as you hike through tall forest and an open understorey with ferns, grasses, wattles and tea trees. Chautauqua Peak gives views over the town before the final descent past Clematis Falls (seasonal rains) and through the Botanic Gardens on the approach into Halls Gap.
You need to book your own accommodation (off-trail) for this night. Halls Gap offers a variety of accommodation for walkers, for further information go to [Visit Grampians](https://www.visitgrampians.com.au/stay/grampians-peaks-trail-day-4).
Important safety information:
– Rainwater tank at Werdug Hike-in Campground. 
– Fill with extra water at Werdug Hike-in Campground as there are no serviced water tanks along the trail until you get to Halls Gap.

Monday, 27 April 2026
Temp; Low 11-18°C
Distance 16.79km
Up 565m Down 515m
Time 8:05 hrs Moving time 5:13 hrs
Bandaid FB right big toe
Enclosed shelter at Werdug
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

Today we hiked from Gar to Werdug. 14km with about 500m ascent. I had thought about getting up in the dark and climbing to Gar summit for sunrise but wasn’t sure of the difficulty level and David wasn’t keen unless he was awake when I left. I had a bad night’s sleep and therefore didn’t wake in time. When I got up the fog or cloud was very low in the valley. It was beautiful. We decided to add in the Gar summit (or otherwise known as Mt Difficult) on the way today. This added an extra 2.6km in distance and 99m elevation, making for an extra big day. I started out at 9.25am whilst David finished a few things, as I am a little slower and he wasn’t sure if he was going to do the summit trail or not. After 300m you turn off the main trail and head 1.3km up to the summit. I passed Tom along the way, who said the last little bit was very steep and he crab crawled on all fours back down. Along the way it was the usual rock ledges, rocky paths and then a very steep ascent. It was worth the climb though, 360° views of the Grampians mountain range, the plains in the distance and the beautiful view of Lake Wartook. The lake was the most amazing blue with green and rust brown edges. It was magnificent. I got to enjoy the view whilst I waited for David to arrive. Lucky me, 35 mins of beauty.

We then descended and I only had to crab crawl a little way. Then back to the main trail. By this time it was 11am and we still had 14km to go. It was a long day. We walked around Lake Wartook from a distance and tonight ended up on the other side of the lake. It was once again difficult rocky terrain, angled slopes, loose rocks, rocky steps and boulder hopping with the occasional short lived sand base. The sand paths seemed to last five seconds. It was a lot of up and down today. We enjoyed lunch with a beautiful view of Lake Wartook. After lunch we still had 10km to go. Ouch! We set off at about 1.30 for the afternoons challenge. Whilst walking we enjoyed some beautiful views of the escarpment, some amazing plains in the distance and more views of the lake, as we made it around to the other side. We had another quick stop for running repairs (a bandaid to my right big toe), as it was getting a bit warm which is the first sign of a new blister forming. This offered relief which was great. We continued on and on and on and up and down and up, and up and up some more. With only 2 km to go we stopped to refuel with a snack and filter some water from the tank as we had both drunk 2 litres today. The last 500m, I was a little slow. We arrived at camp about 5.30pm, 8 hours after we left this morning. We chose our tent pad and then joined the others at the little glamping huts (no guests here tonight) and watched the sunset from their verandah.

I learnt some more about the girls. They are both 27 and studied political science at university. Tiffen is from Brittany and is now a political diplomat in Azerbaijan (a little country between Russia and Iran), so a very interesting place to be at the moment. Chloe is from Normandy and is a foreign aid worker, based in Melbourne but she travels to the Solomon Islands and Tonga helping them navigate the effects of climate change. We also talked with Bernie and Andrew about their next adventures as they are having a year off work. Then everyone hit the sack early as we were all exhausted. Time for me to go to sleep too.

National Parks Notes
Day 3: (N3) Gar Hike-in Campground – Werdug Hike-in Campground
Start: Gar hike in campground 
Distance: 14.0km 
Grade: 4
Key elevation points: Gar Hike-in Campground 700m, Werdug Hike-in Campground 750m
Elevation: 690m up, 650m down
Names and meanings: Gar = pointed mountain. Werdug = ‘Werdook’: his shoulder, a reference to the shoulder of a mythical ancestor.
Highlights: Mt Difficult (Gar) summit, open rock slabs, elevated ridgeline views from the backslopes of the Mt Difficult Range.
A day hiking around the horseshoe shaped mountain range encircling the Lake Wartook basin below. The trail rises and falls over highpoints, dipping through saddles and crossing bare rocky slabs on its way to Long Gully Creek. Werdug Hike-in Campground is perched on a high knoll with clear day views down into Lake Wartook and across to the western Mt Difficult Range.
Important safety information:
– Rainwater tanks at Gar and Werdug Hike-in Campgrounds
– Serviced water tank at Mt Difficult Rd Crossing (North) shortly before Werdug Hike-in Campground 

Sunday, 26 April 2026
Temp – Low of 11-21°C
Distance 11.99km
Up 605m Down 133m
Time 5:38 hrs Moving time 3:39 hrs
Enclosed shelter at Gar
Food: Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner

It was a very balmy night last night and only reached as low as 13°. We had a leisurely morning just packing up, enjoying a chat and breakfast. We finally left camp this morning at about 10am.

Today was a big climbing day, 720m up over 11km, it is a big up day. The terrain was varied again, but a lot of rocky walking on angles again, some amazing well hand made steps that went up, up and up some more. There were some beautiful sheer rock cliffs that after rain would have been lovely waterfalls. There was also some beautiful green bushland. As always the intricacies of nature blows my mind. The fine details of all the seed pods are amazing. There were scenic views aplenty, these were actually continuous views for a lot of the day. We were on the trail for 5 hours today and I feel as though I handled it a lot more comfortably today.

We arrived at camp about 3pm and were gobsmacked at the sheer beauty of the location. It was on the edge of a cliff ridge with each camp having its own private entrance that walked straight out to the most amazing view. It is incredible that they haven’t put a safety rail for OH&S purposes, but we are grateful they haven’t. The camp shelter had a great setup again. We had a few less people tonight. Andrew and Bernie from Brisbane, Chloe and Tiffen from France, Tom and Leah (2 ICU nurses) from Melbourne and 3 young men.

We setup camp and then enjoyed the beautiful sunset view of the escarpment before heading in for a social dinner in the shelter. Many stories were told and shared by others of previous or upcoming hiking adventures, as the group slowly gets more comfortable together. It is really quite interesting how everyone eventually starts to share there stories, from where they have been to what there packs weigh, to life in general. It is a lot cooler tonight, we are at 700m above sea level.

National Parks Notes
Day 2: (N2) Barigar Hike-in Campground – Gar Hike-in Campground
Start: Barigar campground 
Distance: 11.3km 
Grade:4
Key elevation points: Barigar 230m. Mt Difficult (Gar), 806m, Gar Hike-in Campground 700m
Elevation: 700m up, 230m down
Names and meanings: Barigar = ‘Parigar’: mountain stream. Gar = pointed mountain, Bar = river, hence mountain stream.
Highlights: Seasonal waterfalls (after rain), a heath covered plateau, Mt Difficult (Gar) mountain summits.
Hike uphill from Barigar passing through grassy woodland. A final switchback up rock steps brings you to a ridgeline with extensive views of the Mt Difficult Range, and an easy descent to Roses Gap Road. Spring wildflowers, Yellow Box eucalypts and Grampians Thryptomene feature on the lower slopes. A steady hike follows Dead Bullock Creek up the imposing Mt Difficult Range escarpment. Enjoy stunning waterfalls after rain. The trail gets harder as it steepens, zig-zagging upwards on steep rocky steps, close to cliff edges and below massive rock walls before reaching the Gar Hike-in Campground. Gar = ‘big mountain’, is the highest on the western side of the Range.
Important safety information:
– Rainwater tanks at Barigar and Gar Hike-in Campgrounds
– Serviced water tank at Gar Trailhead (Roses Gap Rd) 

Saturday, 25 April 2026
Temp 29/13°C
Distance 13.95km
Up 528m Down 514m
Time 5:59 hrs Moving time 4:06 hrs
Bandaid FB left upper arm – rub from phone pouch
Enclosed shelter at Barigar.
Food: Breakfast at Hall Gap, Lunch, Dinner

Today was the start of a new adventure. The Grampians Peaks Trail. 160km with about 8000m elevation to traverse over 13 days. After a little more organising we met the Grampians Peaks Walking Co at the Halls Gap Visitor Centre at 9am to be driven on their bus to Mt Zero trailhead. This was about 50 min drive through scenic fire trail roads. We had a full bus – a family of 5 from Melbourne doing a 3 day walk. Another couple (Andrew & Bernie) doing the whole trail end to end in 10 days, and 2 girls from France (Tifenn & Chloe) doing 4 days. Our driver Kayla was a young girl who worked with the Co in the hiking season (autumn and spring) and usually went travelling in the winter. This winter she is doing 9 days on the GR20 in Corsica and 13 days in France on the Tour Mont Blanc. We had a great chat about hikes we have both done and the time passed by quickly.

After sending out our messages we finally started the hike about 10.40am. Today’s distance is about 12km with elevation of about 600m which started immediately, straight up a rocky slope platform. Up, up and up some more. We continued for about an hour following the yellow markers enjoying the most spectacular views until we came to the Mt Stapylton side track. We took off our heavy packs and started the climb to the summit. This started out quite easy until we came to a lookout which we thought was the summit. It was a spectacular view. We then realised it wasn’t the summit, so we continued on, following the red arrows which became more of a scramble and then some climbing. As we haven’t been doing much scrambling/climbing of late, I hadn’t grown my rock scrambling legs yet, so I reached my limit about half way up , so I sat and enjoyed the view whilst David climbed to the top. This gave him 360′ views of the area. I was a bit sad I didn’t go to the top but I will look at his photos later. We then headed back to our bags, had a quick snack, 5 mins rest and started on the main trail again. We still had about 10km to go and it was already 12.20pm. The rest of the trail didn’t disappoint with some amazing views. When it wasn’t single trail going through bushland similar to home with a few little flowers, it was walking up and down rocky plateaus which were often on a camber of anything from from 10-45° and most often very angular. This was a little taxing on your body. We kept walking until about 2.30pm when we stopped in a little clearing for our gourmet lunch of a peanut butter wrap, small bag of chips, a snickers and a hydralyte. After a short break we were on our way again. We continued on for another 2 hours and walked another 7.5km. The last hour was long. Our first day had been about 6 hours with a 12kg pack for me and 14kg for David, so a tough day at the office.

We arrived at the camp at about 4.30pm, the camp had fantastic facilities (enclosed shelter with tables and benches, stainless steel cooking bench and locked rodent proof cupboard for food bags, 2 drop toilets and 2 water tanks) . We found our tent pad (no. 3) and set up our tent. It was the first time we have set the tent up on a wooden suspended tent pad but we were happy it was relatively easy. I set up everything inside whilst DB filtered some water for dinner and tomorrow. We then headed to the enclosed shelter to cook our delicious dehydrated dinner. We met Bernie and Andrew who at the speed end to end hikers who have just completed 39 days hiking the Alpine trail. There were also 5 mums from. Ballarat who had joined forces to get away from life’s stresses and do single overnight hikes together. We also met Lucas and his daughter Frankie who was 6 and 3/4. She had walked in from Gar trailhead which was about 6km. Amazing effort fopr someone so youngf. She carried a backpack with some of her gear. I started with soup and then a honey soy chicken with some new added vegetables this time. They definitely improved the taste. Day 1 of 13 done and dusted and we went pretty well. We are in bed and off to sleep at 9am. Yeehah!

National Parks Notes
Day 1: (N1) Mt Zero – Barigar Hike-in Campground
Start: at Mt Zero Picnic Area.  
Distance: 12.1km 
Grade: 4
Key elevation points: Mt Zero Carpark 250m, Mt Stapylton 518m, Barigar Hike-in Campground 230m
Elevation: 600m up, 610m down
Names and meanings Barigar = ‘Parigar’: mountain stream. Gar = pointed mountain, Bar = river, hence mountain stream.
Highlights: Ridgeline hiking, Taipan Wall, Mt Stapylton viewpoint and seasonal rockpools and waterfall.
A day of ridgeline hiking around and under boulders and crossing open rocky slabs. Expect views of Stapylton Amphitheatre, Mt Stapylton (Gunigalg) and the magnificent orange wave of Taipan Wall. Watch for the aptly-named Bird Rock and early season spring wildflowers. Hike through low forest and dense shrub to Golton Creek and on to Coppermine Track. From here climb to exposed rocky battlements then hike downhill towards a high wind-blown cave and creek crossings over open rock slabs dominated by boulders with small seasonal rockpools. Look ahead to the dramatic Mt Difficult Range. A steep descent to a scenic seasonal waterfall (after rain) heralds your arrival at Barigar Hike-in Campground.
Important safety information:
– Serviced water tanks at Mt Zero Trailhead and Coppermine Track Crossing
– Rainwater tank at Barigar Hike-in Campground 

Friday 24th April 2026
Today we headed off on the last leg towards Halls Gap for the start of our adventure.

We were on the road about 9am and travelled through beautiful countryside. The roads were varied, from single lane to two way with bigger highways a little of the way. We passed through many little towns with the old pub and we stopped for morning tea at St Arnaud. Wow! This doesn’t happen very often. A cuppa, a biscuit, some yoga and a walk through the botanical gardens. It was a lovely little break. We then headed to Halls Gap through Stawell, the place of the Stawell Gift sprint race.

We arrived at Halls Gap about 1.30pm, checked in to the Kookoaburra Motor Lodge and unpacked. We then headed to the Grampians Peak Walking Co to drop off our food drops, get some last minute instructions and we were organised, sort of.

We went back home to the motel to do some more organising and shuiffling. A few more decisions.

We headed to Roccalto Pizza for dinner. It was very yummy! Then a bit more reading for me and some last minute organising for DB.

I had a bad nights sleep but I had so much go around and around in my head.

Thursday 23rd April 2026
Today we are on our way for our next adventure. The Grampians Peak Trail – a long hike of 161km from Mt Zero to Dunkeld carrying all our gear on our backs. Traversing difficult terrain, up and down over 8000m elevation. My starting weight is about 11.6km including 4 days food and 2 litres of water. thankfully as the days progress we eat some food which lightens my load by about 330g per day. Thank goodness for eating. Unfortunately the rest of the load stays the same.

After a couple of days of organisation we head off, leaving a little later than expected at 10.20am. Ther forst couple of hours driving was hectic and David was wshing he was driving in Europe with the attentive, courteous drivers yet again. After the initial chaos it was an uneventful day. We changed drivers with quick pitstops for a bathroom break and a stretch but relatively quickly were on the road again. We arrived at Shepparton, VIC at about 7pm and enjoyed a nice dinner at Pho Viet Restuarant before heading to our bed for the night at the Peppermill Inn. Only 316km to go tomorrow. Time for a good sleep and hopefully we will be on our way early.

For our record – the hike came with a few organisational expenses including:-
– Transfers from Halls Gap to the start of the hike at Mt Zero in the north
– Return transfer from the hikes end of Dunkeld in the south back to our car at  Halls Gap
– $192 each
– Food drops at Halls Gap $0 and Jimmy’s Creek Rd $90 for $25 for 2nd container
– Total $115
– 11 nights camping in the National Park $53.30 per camp
– $586.30
– Plus accommodation at Halls Gap on night 4 as the camp ground was full due to the public holiday and the last night at Dunkeld before transferring back to Halls Gap.