got back from the grampians on sunday evening, after spending two and a half days, and two nights there from good friday. went up on a camping trip with roger (an ex-colleague) and some of his mates. of course, i received my new digital slr the day before we left, so i had to test it out, the pictures didn't turn out great, but i learned a bit. we had fun though, it wasn't like wilsons prom where we had to hike everywhere, there were car parks at each of the main hiking tracks, so you could drive there and do a short-ish hike.
stapyton camp ground
we arrived on friday afternoon at halls gap, but it took a further hour or two to get to stapylton camp ground where we were staying, and i was a bit worried seeing how much food roger had brought, but that was cool, he shared some with me. we set up the tents (which, once again, took me ages 
), and then took a quick walk to test out the cameras (roger's got a nikon d80). we waited for the others to arrive (saw a couple of wallabies), then when they finally got in, we took off for mt. zero to try and catch the sunset.
mt. zero
it was only five km away, so only took about ten minutes to get there, with a one km climb to get to the top. we rushed up, but stopped before reaching the top, and missed the sunset, we were late, and it was blocked by the peak (which would've taken a bit longer to get to). got a few pictures though. we almost ran over a wallaby on the way back in the dark.
hollow mountain
after getting back to camp, and having dinner (pasta), which was a little dicy as i had brought an half empty can of gas , so we were already into the second of two cans midway through the first meal. we followed the other guys and headed for a night hike up hollow mountain. it was a little treacherous at times (especially in the dark). i managed to test out the long exposure for thirty seconds shooting the stars and also horsham. as we were leaving the ledge we were sitting at to head into the hollow section, my tripod fell apart, and i had to chase it down a 30 degree decline to fetch some loose sections. we put that back together then moved on, then i smashed the side of my camera against the cave wall while it was swinging around my neck. it made a small dent but the camera proved to be quite hardy (which is a good thing for me 
). there was this really nice section inside the cave, that would've made a really nice photo in daylight (especially early or late), i should've taken a long exposure photo. as we headed back, i rolled my ankle, i walked it off, and haven't felt anything since.
mt. difficult
the next day we went up to climb the highest peak in the park, mt. difficult, over 500m high, it was a 5.8km hike. the camp site didn't have any water, so i was in trouble, with only a 600ml bottle to last me the day. that was bad, as i wasn't able to hydrate myself properly, and had to virtually crawl up the mountain. we got to what we thought was the top, then realised it wasn't, me and roger decided not to continue. scott and his brother adrian went on ahead, then as we wandered back toward the mt. difficult camp site we thought we'd climb this other section. it didn't lead to the summit, but it did have a nice view of surrounding areas. we had to head back down before it got dark, as the way down was even more fraught with danger than the hollow mountain descent.
later, we went into town (horsham), and picked up some supplies, water and beers . even though we didn't pick a site with a camp fire, we had enough torches to set up a table and play some cards. i learnt a new game, presidents and arseholes, hehe, quite an interesting game. we had six or seven players, so it was good, it was fun, but you definitely need to have a few decks of cards, and i'd say at least six people for it to be fun.
mckenzie falls
on our last day, we decided to go and see the biggest falls in the area. it was too bright though, so i couldn't take a good long exposure shot of the running water (no idea where it came from). they weren't spectacular, but they were ok, it would've been good if we had seen it a couple hours later. after that, me and roger headed back to town, while the others stuck around for the last day of easter.
we stopped through ballarat to refuel, and took a couple of pictures. all in all, it was a nice trip, the weather was good (well, warm and sunny, not great for day photos), and the whole trip went well. i definitely slept better than at wilsons prom, with a bit warmer sleeping gear. it was good not to have to carry a big backpack everywhere too, i don't think i'd like to do anything that lasts longer than two nights, as it just starts to get gross , but it's good stuff, good exercise, and best of all, it's fun.
#33 dtra (david tran)
no notes for this item