As keen hikers, the grampians were high on our list of places to visit while in Victoria. Being a Scot, I’m a firm lover of their name sake back North so we set aside some time to explore. We are not car people – we had a car but decided it wasn’t for us – so we parted ways and went back to the world of public transport. Is it perfect? No. Does it work for us? In the most part, yes.
Our original plan was for two days in Halls Gap but we switched it up for one night, giving ourselves time for a shorter (2-3 hour hike on the day of arrival) and a longer hike the following day. We went in summer so had long days but wanted to avoid the heat of the day.
Getting to/from Halls Gap
It’s surprisingly simple to get to/ from Halls Gap however you can’t use your myki and instead need to book via the VLine site. It’s very inexpensive, costing the daily fare cap and that’s all for the whole journey.
Depending which day you go will determine your route. If you go on a Monday, Wednesday or Friday, there’s a direct bus from Ararat to Halls Gap. On the other days, you’ll need to switch buses at Stawell but it’s worth noting that the buses are designed to line up with one another so it’s not the mad flap of an inner city bus.
For us, itlooked like this:
- Way out: Train from Southern Cross to Ararat, bus from Ararat to Halls Gap
- Way back: Bus from Halls Gap to Stawell, bus from Stawell to Ararat, train from Ararat to Melbourne Southern Cross
Below is a screenshot of the current timetable however you can get the most recent one here: https://www.vline.com.au/Timetables/Additional-pages/train-coach-timetable-list
Walks to do
The Pinnacle Loop – it’s around 4 hours round trip and I’d recommend going anti-clockwise and starting early to avoid the heat and people https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/victoria/halls-gap-to-pinnacle-track
Chataqua Peak Loop – it’s around a 2.5 hour walk and, again, anti-clockwise is best in my opinion. We headed out around 4.30pm after checking into our accommodation and having a little chill time https://www.alltrails.com/trail/australia/victoria/chatauqua-peak-loop
Other things to do in Halls Gap
- Grampians Wine Cellar – has heaps of the local Grampians and Pyrenees wines and the chap that runs it is lovely. You can sit out with a glass of wine or grab a bottle for takeaway as we did. Prices are very reasonable too.
- Paper, Scissors, Rock Brewery for a beer and a bite if you’re that way inclined
Where to stay
We stayed at the YHA Eco Lodge which is one of the nicest YHAs I’ve personally come across. It had heaps of space and great facilities. There are lots of different accommodation options in the area though.
Top tips
- Book late to make sure you get good weather. Transport isn’t an issue in terms of capacity unless you’re in the real peak season, so you can book a cancellable accommodation then make a call a week or so before the date. Just to add we don’t love doing this in general but when you only have two days you have to prioritise
- We took our food with us from Melbourne so didn’t need to hit any of the shops, and the facilities in the YHA were perfect for cooking, with options to sit outside and eat too. This saves us time (as well as probably money)
- Leave your gear at the accommodation – neither of the walks are too far so unless you have a real need, leave your bags at the accommodation and just make sure you have plenty of liquids and snacks. There’s no water points en route so take plenty of water with you
- Take a windproof – it can be windy up on top, particularly Chataqua, so if it’s a cooler day you will most likely need a windproof layer to take off the chill
