Just passing through - South Australia and the Grampians NP

After more than two weeks and more than 12,000 km our time started to run out. Stressed by the upcoming flight to New Zealand on one hand and the heaps of things we still had to see, on the other hand, it was the time to make a tough decision. So we decided to leave South Australia for the next trip and drive it straight through.
We drove quite a lot on a single day through the wilderness of the northern part of South Australia. We passed through the famous and the infamous miners' town Coober Pedi but didn't stop there for more than a picture. The most needed shower, after 3 days, came later when we just stopped in a caravan park for that.

We also stopped at lake Hart, a huge salt lake north to Port Augusta. Remember the bad experience we had in the Salar in Bolivia? (if not read about it here). The 10 minutes we spent in the salt lake were a little like a compansation. The sun was setting and the colors changed quickly, painting the otherwise white salt in pink and blue. It wasn't cold, as well. However it does seem that we have a bad luck with salt lakes since we were driven away after 10 minutes by a fearsome pack of flies.

We slept for free again in a rest area. Our two weeks journey through the outback ended on the following day in Port Augusta. Hungrier than ever for some Internet connection, we looked for an Internet cafe, only to find that the world has gone mad (or back in time) and an hour of Internet costs 12$. We did find, eventually, a crumpy 8$ an hour Internet kiosk that really made us miss South America.
We drove all the way to the Victoria border and on the following day got to the Grampians National Park. The Grampians NP is found in the rather small mountain ridge, that rises from the great planes that surround it.
We got there late, rushing to get to the park service office before they close at 5pm. The road was very narrow and winding, crossing the western part of the ridge on the way to the small valley, where the township of Halls Gap sits and serves the loads of tourists visiting the national park.

On the way we stopped in MacKanzie falls. We ran the entire trail to see the falls from the other side and from the base at the bottom. Rushing the track did help us to get on time to the park's service office at 4:45pm. But that wasn't good enough, since the office was already closed. After we finished getting angry at the park service, we found an (expensive, of course) Internet place. While we were sitting there, we met two Israelis and the conversation quickly became an information exchange, in which we gave them all the tips for Queensland and they showed us where we can find lots of koalas on the Great Ocean Road.

We got to the campsite when it began to get dark, and saw few really huge kangaroos, larger than a human. Lilya even didn't want to get out of the car, but a voice coming from the dark laughed and told her that everything is perfectly safe. We got closer to see our protectors and saw 3 couples in their 60's, enjoying a beautiful campfire. At least we thought it was beautiful, because it was so cold outside. Eventually, we stayed there, enjoying some warmth and a good conversation.
In the morning we got a lovely present. Ian and Elizabeth, one of the couples, invited us to their caravan which was full with dolls and other beautiful crafts knitted by Elizabeth herself. They gave us, as a souvenir, an adorable red and yellow Rainbow baby which belonged to a family of 7 colorful babies. We named him Eddie. 

The weather wasn't good that day, but we did climb to the top of the highest mountain in the area, getting nice views on the mountains from one side and the infinite valley on the other side. We also went to see the balconies, which are famous two rock balconies that create the shape of a crocodile mouth. Lilya felt a little cheated, since the lower part of the observation deck was closed, so it was impossible to photograph the famous picture of the balconies with the skies in the background. Instead we took this picture:

We drove south, out of the Grampians, passing on the way a beautiful yellow (probably mustard) field, and slept close to the beginning of the Great Ocean Road. 

Picture Album Galleries

South Australia

Grampians

Tip 1: You will need a permit in order to camp inside the park. You can use the self registration box near the enterance of the Parks Victoria office in the Grampians if you come late, and camp in one of the campsites in the park.