We woke late after our night out in Port Fairy. As a result we didn't leave the campsite until about 11am, and began our journey inland to the Grampians National Park. The journey was quite straightforward to Dunkeld, the town at the southern gateway to the national park. There we stopped at the tourist information centre to pick up some maps and touring routes. Many of the roads through the park were shut off due to severe flood damage from last year. Luckily the route we wanted to take through to Halls Gap was still open. We were advised not to drive more than 80km/hr and keep a watchful eye out for kangaroos and wallabies that can be seen throughout the day and have a tendency to jump out in front of the car.

After a 20 minute drive out of town into the bush we stopped at a picnic spot and found ourselves surrounded by gum trees in a quiet wilderness. The weather was overcast but hot and humid and had all the whisperings of a storm coming on. We enjoyed the calm and serenity and got a brew on the go in the campervan. I was keeping a keen eye out for a kookaburra - we had still not even seen one in the whole time we had been in Oz!

As we continued our journey we didn't see any kangaroos...just dead ones on the road side...not quite what I'd hoped! The scenery was a dramatic change from the coastline, and a welcome one at that - as this felt like proper Australia - red coloured sandy ground and gum trees everywhere - and ahead of us a stunning horizon of the volcanic rocky peaks of the Grampians. By the time we reached Halls Gap it was about 3pm and we still had a full itinerary ahead of us. We checked into the caravan park at Halls Gap first (Scott was alarmed to see a sign in the toilet block warning parents not to let their children on the rocky outcrops as venomous snakes had been spotted!) before heading uphill on a winding road towards a number of famous lookouts and short walks. The first was Boroka lookout giving us superb views over the Mount William Range and the second Reeds Lookout where we took a 2km walk to a rocky outcrop known as the Balconies. The paths were well marked and easy under foot constructed with bright orange sand. This created a superb backdrop for our first kangaroo sighting! It was a female and incredibly tame, letting us come to within about 5-10m of it. I caught it on video hopping down the sandy path - what a great sight. Perfect - so that was in the bag - now we just had to see a kookaburra. On the road to our last stop the sky darkened and the rain began - we hoped it wasn't setting in for the remainder of the day. Luckily as we arrived in the Mackenzie Falls carpark the downpour was easing off making our second 2km walk all the more pleasant. The smells of the forest were gorgeous after the recent rainfall. We saw loads of funny shaped kangaroo tail trees - so called because they grow a long stalk which then dries and looks like a tail. The falls lookout was attractive but couldn't rival that seen at Milford Sound in New Zealand I'm afraid. As we got back to the carpark we were met by 2 little wallabies and then at last a kookaburra flew by and rested on a nearby branch. I couldn't help but sing the song I knew as a kid, 'Kookaburra sits in the Old Gum Tree, Merry Merry King of the Bushes He, Laugh, Laugh, Kookaburra Laugh, Kookaburra gay your life must be.'

It was 7pm by the time we got back to camp and I headed off to the outdoor pool for an evening dip (sounds better than it was as the pool as full of suncream from the kids in the day and I could hardly see my hand in front of my face!), while Scott busied himself on the computer. Dinner was pasta - a classic camping dish- and then we settled down for the night contemplating the long drive the following day in the direction of Adelaide.