Day 8: The Grampians

I do not think there could be two parents more proud of their children as what Darren and I are tonight!
Darren and I visited the Grampians about 15 years ago and always vowed to come back, but haven't made it until now. So you can imagine how much we have anticipated this part of the trip. One of our favourite walks we did last time was to The Pinnacle. There are 3 different walks you can do to get to the Pinnacle and the one we did last time is considered quite difficult so we decided to do a slightly easier one as we weren't sure how the kids would cope with such a long hike. We needn't have been concerned as they coped with the hour long hike without any issue or complaint. After the Pinnacle hike we continued to lakeview lookout. The kids just loved hiking. They loved exploring and climbing over rocks, and seeing the wonders of nature. Darren and I are so proud of their achievement and thrilled they enjoy doing something that we like doing too!
After lakeview lookout we headed back to Halls Gap for some lunch, which was obviously rewarded with a treat afterwards. Micaela got some rocky road fudge ( which must have been nice because she didn't share ), Ethan had chocolate ice-cream, and Brandon had a cupcake. Brandon then decided to cross the rocks over Stoney creek, he was successful twice but one foot landed in the drink on the third attempt, maybe that will teach him to quit while he's ahead!
After a quick detour back to the van to change Bran's shoes and socks we did a short hike to Clematis Falls. Darren and I then ummed and arhed whether to go to The Balconies or go back to the van to prepare for tomorrow's departure. We decided to do the Balconies hike when at the last minute we decided to do the hike to the Grand Canyon, and were not disappointed. If we had done the hike to the Pinnacle that Darren and I did last time we would have passed through this section then, it made us further realise just how capable our kids are and regretted not doing this hike initially. Oh well, next time! Ethan has already asked to come back here for another holiday and stay a week, I think that is a fabulous idea.
Of course, part of the reason why our stay here has been so perfect is due to the fact we have been blessed with glorious weather.
Tonight, the park put on some activities for the kids. It was quite a good turn out. They themed it "minute to win it" and was a succession of little competitive activities for groups of kids to do. The kids were allocated to either the "red Roos" or "blue emus" and competed against other kids of a similar age. The person to win that heat won a small prize and a point for their team. Our kids were in the blue emus and both Ethan and Brandon won a heat each, which of course upset the gifted child who is not used to failure. Oh well, part of life's lessons. Darren also won when the parents got to participate in a heat. He didn't win a prize, just a point for the team. I failed in my attempt miserably, but I'm used to failure, so no tears from me :-).
Tomorrow we are going to attempt an early departure (again). We might succeed one day and get away before 9.30am. We head to Naracoorte but Dazza is sitting here changing the itinerary so who knows where we will be after that!