I'm handing this entry over to Matt as this was a trip he found out about and was desperate to do! So, enjoy and I'll see you in Melbourne! Xx
 
The last time I got to write a whole blog to myself it was the Kinabalu mountain climb . You'll probably remember it being filled with lots of moments where Lauraine was really not enjoying herself and then she retired from mountain climbing. Well be prepared for some deja vu! 
As Gareth had now changed his mind about going to Tasmania for 4 days, this had given us a dilemma on what to do as we now had 7 days before he was flying from Melbourne airport to New Zealand. So rather than spend the whole 7 days in Melbourne, we had a look about for other places to go en route or in the area. None of us had heard of the Grampians but I'd picked up a brochure about it whilst doing the Great Ocean Road as it look pretty impressive. After a little read in the Lonely Planet and a phone call to a campsite we were on the way as everyone seemed happy with it. It wasn't really en route but it was kind of near Melbourne (in Australian terms) as it was 3 hours north west of it. This was near enough as we could just cut straight across from where we were anyway. Just as we had made this decision and were about to set off a decent sized twister appeared right in front of us . It was pretty surreal as it worked its way across the car park sucking up all the dust.
 
We had managed to get a spot in the Lakeside Tourist Village which was brilliant as it was our first choice site as it had such a good location and all the facilities. We arrived around 8pm which meant our little detour had turned a 6 hour drive from Yass to Melbourne into a 10 hour drive to here so we were all very relieved to finally get out of the van, get set up and get dinner on the go. This was fine until it got dark and the cooking area just got swarmed with bugs and insects that were flying to the lights. We quickly got finished and headed to bed as we were all shattered anyway. 
 
In the morning we were up fairly early and it was a beautiful day as forecast, this was because today was expected to be a very hot day and with the highest bush fire risk since 2007 when they had such bad fires it actually got called Black Saturday. So don't even ask why we had the bright idea of driving into the middle of nowhere when the whole area could burn down with the flick of a match . But we did, much to the bemusement of Andrea (Simon's mum!) and then Lauraine's mum. Nevertheless we were here!
 
Once up we headed down the road to the Information Centre where we managed to pick up a map of the walking trails and things to see. We also got advice on the best ones to do. We were told a trail to The Pinnacle was the best and this was what I had seen on the brochure. This was a 2 hour 30 min walk there and back if you went through the Grand Canyon on the way. With it already being 10am, we all agreed to get on with it quickly so we would be done before it hit the midday heat. We quickly drove to the start point and got ready but in typical us fashion we managed to kill an hour somehow, so it would now be 11 when we got started. It was already seriously hot as we set off so we took 4 litres of water with us. Possibly 2 to drink and 2 to put the fires out!! =) 
 
As we started walking, quickly we were treated with brilliant views and amazing rock formations as we walked deep down through the Grand Canyon. To our benefit we were slightly shaded from the heat and the sun here as the rocks were so high around us . This took about 30 minutes but then we had to climb out and into the real heat. The trail terrain seemed to constantly change: climbing up rocks, walking up steps, walking up steep slopes or down narrow passage ways so it was quite fun. It was rated a medium to difficult walk but mainly because of the heat and because all we had done over the last 3 weeks is eat, drink or sit in the van it was being made harder, as none of us were exactly prepared for it. Lauraine was finding it more difficult than myself and Gareth. To the point she had already reminded me that she had retired from mountain climbs and now wasn't talking to me very much at all. She would of quite happily turned back and waited in the car park for 2 hours. To be fair, Lauraine's really not very good in heat where as I'm fine even if it is in the 40s so it was the heat that was really hitting her. After several cooling off breaks hiding in the shade we finally managed to egg her on to the top, it had taken us about an hour and a half so we were all very hot and sweaty by now but once we saw the view point it was worth every step . The view was the most incredible one I think we've seen. With a small walk way out on to the rock ledge that sticks out you could see all over for miles, it really was breathtaking. Me and Gareth spent a while taking it in and taking lots of pictures but Lauraine was very quickly hidden under a rock in the shade and on the brink of a melt down. She had a big rest and drank lots but with it being now 12:30 and the air being so hot there wasn't too much she could do about it. 
 
After spending about half an hour at The Pinnacle, we decided to head back down. As we found out in Kinabalu, getting back down isn't always as easy as you might hope but nevertheless we were certainly making sure we were getting down quicker than we got up with Lauraine leading the charge. Normally you only see Lauraine move this quick if there's a Zinger Tower burger involved but she was going for it. We soon made it half way down and all stopped for a break when we reached the cooling area, this is a natural formation in some of the rocks creating a bit of a tunnel so they shelter you from the sun but create a cool breeze . This was so nice as even I was really feeling the heat by now, so we stayed for 10 or 15 minutes. We then set about finishing off the trek. Just to cheer Lauraine up her knee then started hurting again but in usual fashion she gritted her teeth and stormed on. We soon arrived back at the van and to say it was boiling in there was an understatement. After letting the air out we quickly got the air con on and dived in for cover. This was such a relief for all of us as the heat was getting ridiculous. Lauraine had literally flopped into the back as if she'd been tranquillised. She was very red and complaining of a headache. With a bit of persuasion she started to drink lots of water. She had done amazingly well but she's just not quite cut out for these little trips. 
 
Whilst Lauraine was dying we decided to drive to the Boroka lookout and have some lunch. This was about 15 minutes drive away but the joys of this was that there was no walking involved as you drove right up to the view point. This was another amazing view of pretty much the same area just at a different angle as we were on a different mountain . Nonetheless, it was still impressive. Lauraine had decided she had given up for the day and wasn't doing any more walks, so to save her missing out we decided to save some until tomorrow as they were easy ones that she'd be able to do. Whilst we were in the area we drove to the Reed lookout which also had a 20 min walk to a view of the Balconies. Even though it was only a 20 minute walk on flat land Lauraine quickly declined as she was feeling quite unwell, I think she may of been struggling with a bit of heat stroke, so she stayed with the air con. From both the viewpoints you could see for miles again over a different mountain range, large forest areas and big lakes. The Balconies was just a ledge of rock that was sticking out like a balcony (of course). It wasn't that impressive but was worth a picture or two. 
 
We quickly returned to Lauraine and headed back for camp as there was a swimming pool. As we both dropped into the pool it was such a nice cool feeling and an escape from the intense heat. This pretty much brought Lauraine back to life giving her the cool off she really needed . We then met a lovely couple from Manchester and chatted for ages about our stories and theirs as they now live in Melbourne with their 2 kids. We then decided to make tea before dark so we could relax properly after and to avoid the bug swarms. As we returned from the kitchen we noticed behind where we were pitched there was 2 police cars and lots of people. Being nosey I asked a couple near us, who were sat watching, what was going on. It turned out that around sunset people had heard cries for help coming from the surrounding woods. There's a big mountain after the trees so assuming people were stuck they had all gone searching. But it turned out to be 2 drunk lads messing about but now the search party hadn't returned. To add to the evening's entertainment, after all the commotion had calmed we went to bed and about an hour or so later we heard an almighty cracking noise. I thought it was someone setting off big fireworks which made us get a bit panicky because of the high bush fire risk. Quickly looking out of the van we saw there were all sorts of people looking around with torches . It turned out to be a massive branch had cracked and fell off a big tree somewhere. We both breathed a sigh of relief but even that can still start fires so people were off searching for a while again!
 
The next morning we were up early again and it was nice and warm again but not quite as hot as yesterday. I was going to go on a 4 hour rock climbing lesson today but it turned out I was the only person on the trip so they wouldn't run it with less than 2 people. This then gave us the whole day free once more. After spending a while feeding the cockatoos which lived around the site, I discovered next to the camp was a huge field with loads of kangaroos, emus and rabbits in and there was no fence between their field and ours. This explained why there was lots of fresh poo all over the place every morning as we must secretly get invaded at night time. Once ready, we headed straight off for Mackenzie Falls. 
 
Mackenzie Falls is a couple of separate water falls, one with a small walk and the other with about a 40 min walk there and back . Lauraine wasn't very keen to do the bigger walk of the 2 to avoid a repeat of yesterday but she agreed to the small walk. We quickly did that and got photos of a quite surprisingly fast flowing waterfall considering there was no water anywhere and it hadn't rained for ages. We then got a look down at Mackenzie Falls, it turned out the walk was to the bottom of the falls so it was all down steps. Now we could actually see what we were going to walk to and that it was simply down a load of steps Lauraine decided it looked fairly harmless so she said she wanted to come with us. The steps were quite narrow and steep at times but it was all fairly easy. This was the most impressive waterfall of the two. 
 
Once at the bottom, there's a little pool and a stream which would make it a lovely swimming spot but you're not allowed to as this is a water supply to a nearby town or something so it has to be kept clean. At the start of the stream there's some large boulders that make stepping stones so everyone can cross to get better pictures from the other side . We all hopped across then I decided to get Gareth to take a picture of me and Lauraine stood on the boulders in front of the falls. As I stood waiting for Lauraine to get to me, just at the moment I looked round I saw her slip and in slow motion topple into the water! Pretty much everything apart from her head went under the water as she suddenly yelped, "The camera!!" (Yep the same, very expensive, top of the range camera her parents gave her for her birthday!) By the time she'd stuck her hand out of the water I managed to grab her arm and pull her out. Although she was soaked right through, she seemed alright and all she could think about was the camera and her phone which was in her pocket. Luckily it was only fresh water and with me being so nearby they were only under the water for a matter of seconds. We got out of the way as lots of people were looking at us by now and Gareth & I quickly took both the camera and her phone to pieces and laid them in the sun. They were both pretty wet right through so we were really trying to stay positive about them . Now she'd sat down and the shock had worn off, she realised she'd actually banged her ankle, leg, knee and hand on the rock on the way down so she had lots of scrapes, bumps and grazes. These weren't too much of a problem but she'd hurt her ankle and knee a fair bit and it was now was really painful to walk. Which isn't good when the whole way back is up steep steps. After struggling at first she quickly turned into the iron woman as she stomped her way up the steps refusing to even stop for a rest as I could clearly see how upset she was but she was fighting tears off with so many people about. In a miraculous time we were back at the van where I quickly got her a change of clothes and she finally let out all her built up tears. I felt so sorry for her but I was so proud she just stormed all the way in such pain. She clearly does know how to be a tough little cookie when she wants to!
 
With fresh clothes and plasters on we tried to cheer her up with an ice cream (which she refused) so we headed to the Brambuk Cultural Centre as her and Gareth had wanted a look around . I'm not too interested in this kind of thing so after making sure Lauraine would be alright I set off on another trek. There was a big 2- 2 and a half hour one which I fancied which gives you an amazing view from the other side on the valley and back on the places we had been already. But despite her telling me to go, I knew Lauraine was feeling quite down in the dumps so I kept to a short 40 minute trek to Turret Falls so I would be back for when they were finished. It turned out this wasn't a very exciting trek as all I could think of was how sad Lauraine was worrying about her camera and the falls at the end of the walk didn't have much water on it as it was the wrong time of year. Nevertheless the exercise was nice as I was feeling the need to do some again as its been so long. I returned in time to sun myself outside and cool off whilst waiting for them as they had been finding the centre very interesting, apparently they had watched a couple of short DVDs: one about the aboriginal dream time creation story for the area and the other a more scientific look at the formation of the rocks as well as walking round an informative display about the people of this area. 
 
After a quick look round the souvenir shops, we headed back for tea and to make use of the free wifi. As Lauraine and I sat uploading pictures and booking our opera tickets, the campsite dog decided to come and say hello. There's 2 dogs which live on the camp and they seem to just roam free as they're always running about with the kids, looking around people's tents or chasing the birds. We headed to bed at a sensible time after the last two restless nights so we could get up at 6am and be on the road for 7 to head to Melbourne.
 
This is a lovely, picturesque place to come and so peaceful so we did enjoy our stay here but as you can imagine if you ask Lauraine about the treks you'll get a different response as luck just wasn't with her these last few days. But we'd recommend The Grampians to anyone!