February 27

Halls Gap

I emerged from my room at 09.00 to find a couple of cockatoos on the roof of my car. Fearing that they might have the same taste for windscreen rubbers and gaskets as Kea, I shooed them away. I then realised that they were probably drinking the water that had condensed on the car overnight. At the opposite end of the car park a kangaroo was lolloping around being photographed by another couple. Why does your long lens not work properly wythen you need it! I took a couple of photos and will expand them on the computer.
	Drinking or wrecking?
A very perky chap (or chapess)	Very common over here

I drove back through the village and a few kilometres up the road I had come in on yesterday, before turning onto a side road and finishing in Sundial Car Park, about five kilometres off the main road. I parked amongst several other vehicles and set off into the thick bush.

The path was a mix of sand, rocks, steps and flat slabs of rock. In the wet it would have been lethal but I doubt that it has rained here for weeks. The route was marked with little yellow arrows, which had vanished in one or two places. I then had to rely on listening out for other people, dead reckoning and good guesswork.

I finally made it to the top where there was quite a gathering. Some were on the platform photographing their friends perched on a rocky outcrop. Oh God! Just standing on the platform made me feel queezy.     Left: Far too near the edge!

En route, I spotted some small (tiny) birdies and a few lizards. I only managed to photograph the latter.

A sunny spot for a lizard	Down the hill again

I made it back to the car park after about an hour and 40 minutes, having covered just over four kilometres. The sun was heating up but there was a cooling breeze which made it all very pleasant.

I sat on a picnic bench, had a rest, wrote my diary and drank some much needed water.

Another 20 kilometres or so back towards Horsham took me to the turn off for McKenzie Falls. I found  large car park with lots of other vehicles already in occupation. The signs pointed me towards The Falls Lookout at 920 metres or The Falls at 600 metres. I decided that the latter was closer. This was not, of course, the whole story. The path to The Falls Lookout was wheelchair accessible. The path to The Falls was much shorter but down a steep pathway followed by about 250 steps. Hard work in both directions!
	From the top looking down
A long way down	The McKenzie Falls
Lots of people looking at them
The McKenzie Falls	A long way up again

I made it to the bottom and took lots of photos of the falls and of the people looking at them. The best photos of the falls would have been looking directly into the sun. Typical. I'm sure some of them will work.

I made it back up the steps and the steep pathway, which were both hard work, and located the car again. The drive back to Halls Gap took about 20 minutes and I dived into The Halls Gap Tavern for a beer. The place seemed to be under refurbishment and they had bottles only, which were even more expensive than the ones at my motel. No wonder I was the only customer! Right: Halls Gap Tavern. Not great!

The café opposite sold me a small ploughman's lunch at a high price. The coffee was quite good but I wanted it after my lunch, not with it. Halls Gap is pretty but it is a real tourist trap. Don't come here for the food, the beer or the service!

I drove about one kilometre out of the centre to the Brambuk Centre. Two fine new buildings, one housing the National Park centre and café and one housing the Aboriginal Centre.

The latter, photography banned of course, detailed the iniquities inflicted on the original inhabitants by the European settlers. It has to be said that disaster was inevitable the minute that the Europeans arrived in Australia. The two cultures were so wildly different that there could never have been a meeting of minds.

I returned to the café and, finding nothing much healthy on offer, succumbed to a bun (a tart to be precise) and a bottle of iced lemon tea. I should probably take an extra diabetes pill tonight to compensate.

Outside, it was very hot. They had forecast 35 degrees and it might actually have been hotter. I will check the car thermometer.

After a rest, I left my room at 16.30, by which time the thermometer read 36. So much for a walk in the cooler air.

There is a two and a half kilometre circular walk starting at the Brambuk Centre, which seemed gentle enough.

I started off through the scrub, got lost and then found the path. I also found kangaroos in the stream and Emus sheltering under a tree. If my long lens had been working properly, I could have managed better photos. I was keeping a wary eye open for snakes but saw nothing.

I started through the scrub	Kangaroos hid in the bush ...
... and emus hid under a tree
I neared the end of the trail	Lots of rough ground

The walk was quiet and relaxing, mainly through thick trees but occasionally over open fields. It was hot but the path was reasonably shaded so not unpleasant.

I completed the circuit in about 40 minutes, returned to the car and drove back to the motel for a rest.

At 18.30, suitably washed and changed, I marched round to the restaurant to find a notice saying that it was closed. The manager said that the chef was sick so that he had to close.

The Kookaburra Pub in the village was busy. I had a good fish special, which I couldn't photograph as it was far too dark. I also had to restrict myself to a small bottle of light beer because of the strict drink drive laws over here.

I returned safely to the motel and did my usual chores.