Several years ago a friend packed a batch of premixed cosmopolitans on his first multiday hike. It took until the first night to realise that the warm, syrupy liquid wasn’t quite as refreshing as he’d hoped in the tropical heat of north Queensland, but if he’d been on the Grampians Peaks Trail (GPT) in western Victoria, it might have been a different story.
The second night of the brand new 13-day trail is spent at a campsite named Gar, which hugs the lip of an escarpment above a thickly forested bowl, ringed in tiers by jagged mountains that rise up like the walls of a colosseum. Tent platforms are democratically arranged along the cliff edge so that everyone has a view to the west, while the vegetation between the tents and the sheer rock wall behind provides a welcome sense of privacy.
Nearby sits an elegant shelter of steel clad in blackened timber with west-facing floor-to-ceiling windows and a solar-powered USB charging station, while the wooden deckchairs bolted into the rock are a nice extra touch (even without a cocktail in hand). Sitting in one as the sun turns into a giant fireball and a golden haze hovers over the valley below, it’s impossible to deny that Gar is one of Australia’s most picturesque campsites, though over the next week and a half I’ll find a few other contenders further down the track.
Opened in November 2021 after several years of construction, the 160km GPT passes through open forest and flower-studded grassland, ascends quartz-capped mountain peaks and skirts shimmering lakes as it crosses the Grampians (Gariwerd) national park from north to south. The trail is divided into three sections of four to five days each, and because it connects existing tracks with 100km of newly built trail, it opens up parts of the park that have previously been all but inaccessible to walkers.
Within metres of taking my first step on day one, I’ve worked up a sweat as I climb the steep, exposed slope of cruelly named Flat Rock. It’s hot work, especially in the full sun, but the payoff arrives quickly. From the open space at the top of this initial ascent, I can see the pancake-flat plains of the Wimmera stretching out into oblivion – neatly arrayed olive groves and viciously straight fence lines contrasting markedly with the gnarled formations that still tower over me in the other direction. Nobody could accuse this hike of hiding its true nature; whether you tackle a few hours or the full 160km, you’ll encounter plenty of steep climbs and spectacular lookouts.
Rugged peaks of cracked rubble rise above a wall of vivid orange sandstone and throughout the northern section of the walk there are unexpected echoes of Purnululu’s beehive domes. As I progress farther, views to the south reveal a sharp spine of peaks thrusting up from the surrounding plains, each looking like a wave arrested on the point of breaking.
Days of between eight and 16km might sound like a breeze for seasoned multiday hikers, but ungroomed paths and significant elevation changes conspire to make walking times significantly longer than expected. By the time I walk into Halls Gap at the end of day four (the only night not spent at a campsite) I feel like I’ve thoroughly earned a warm shower and a cold drink.
In the days on either side of the town, I encounter several walkers tackling short sections of the GPT but they thin out significantly as I continue south. It means I have the entire landscape to myself for days at a time as I scale rocky ridges, climbing up innumerable stone steps and across broad slabs that absorb and radiate the sun’s heat.
The hike’s exposed nature means the GPT is definitely not a summer walk – autumn and spring are the best times to tackle it, with the latter bringing an abundance of wildflowers. A third of Victoria’s plant species – almost 1,000 in all – are found within the region, and when I reach the Duwul campsite at the end of day seven, my tent platform is surrounded by yellow and maroon native peas, shy curls of flame grevillea and delicate lilac orchids blooming beneath rough barked gums, wreathed in a halo of crimson flowers.
For days afterwards the way ahead is fringed by splashes of red, white and pink as the trail skirts the easternmost edge of the Grampians, through sections of grade 5 track suitable only for experienced and well-equipped bushwalkers. It means walking the entirety of the trail is a serious undertaking and of the first 2,000 campsite bookings, only eight hikers planned to tackle the full 13 days.
On some of the tougher sections I wonder whether I’m being foolhardy by joining their ranks but the joys of hiking in this quintessentially Australian landscape come regularly to the fore. By the final night of the hike I can see the southernmost slopes of the Grampians and the small town of Dunkeld reflected in the window of the Mud-Dadjug shelter. Over a makeshift dinner of leftovers, I enjoy a front-row seat as the setting sun adds a honeyed glow to everything it touches, while the town lights flicker on beneath a lilac and apricot sky. Above them looms the dark blue mass of Mt Sturgeon, a reminder that even on the final stretch, I can expect some challenging climbs and spectacular lookouts.
Shorter Options
If a 13-day hike is a step too far, there are many more approachable alternatives, especially in the park’s northern section.
Day hike: From Halls Gap, ascend past burbling cascades and waterfalls, through bushland rich in wildlife to a deep cleft in the rock before emerging at The Pinnacle for fabulous views of the town and surrounding landscape.
Overnight: The first day of the GPT follows the rich orange rock of Taipan Wall past seasonal creeks and waterfalls to the Barigar campsite, which sits in a sheltered valley and looks east towards a striking escarpment. In the morning, it’s a 4km walk to the Gar trailhead.
Multiday: Take in some of the highlights of the trail on the four-day northern section, which includes two of the most striking campsites at Gar and Werdug, before walking into Halls Gap. Guided walks also tackle this stage.
The writer was a guest of Visit Victoria and the Grampians Peaks Walking Company
