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The Grampians and Western Victoria
View from Mount Rouse, Southern Grampians © Tourism Victoria
Scroll down for details of The Grampians, Western Victoria, Pyrenees Wine Area

The Grampians
Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre, Grampians © Tourism VictoriaThe Grampians National Park www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Grampians) is 260 km west of Melbourne and the main visitor information centre is on the outskirts of Halls Gap. The park is renowned for its marvellous bush walking and spring and autumn are probably the best times to visit, with wildflowers in spring and arguably the most comfortable temperatures in autumn.  Well worth a Visit is Brambuk Aboriginal Cultural Centre (pictured), adjacent to the National Parks Visitor Centre in Halls Gap, and run by Aboriginal communities from western Victoria.
The Grampians are at the very end of the Great Dividing Range, which begins at Cooktown in northern Queensland.
Accommodation in the surrounding area takes the form of motels, bed and breakfasts and also the new breed of smart rural retreats. Apart from Halls Gap, which is just within the park, other towns in the area surrounding the Grampians include:
Ararat Avoca Cavendish Coleraine
Dunkeld Hamilton Horsham  Stawell

Western Victoria
Further west are Casterton, en route to Mount Gambier in South Australia, and Edenhope, en route to Naracoorte in South Australia. The scenery on these inland routes to South Australia is pleasant but unexceptional rolling farmland.
Halttah-Kulkyne National Park scene, Western Victoria © Tourism Victoria The north west of Victoria is the closest that the state comes to true desert and the area has a series of wild parks:

Little Desert National Park www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Little Desert)

Big Desert Wilderness www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Big Desert)

Murray-Sunset National Park www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Murray-Sunset)
and Wyperfeld National Park www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Wyperfield).Beyond these is the major town of Mildura on the Murray River
Hattah-Kulkyne National Park www.parkweb.vic.gov.au (Hattah-Kulkyne), pictured

Pyrenees Wine Area

 Pyrenees Wine Area vista © Tourism Victoria
East of the Grampian Ranges is another segment of the western end of Australia's Great Dividing Range, the Pyrenees.  Like the Yarra Valley, vines were planted here in the 1800s but the area remained pastoral until the 1970s when new wineries were established.   There are now about 20 wineries in the Pyrenees Wine Area, mainly centered around the towns of Moonambel and Avoca - the better known of these include:
Dalwhinnie Wines Mount Avoca Vineyard Redbank Winery 
Summerfield Wines Taltarni Vineyards Warrenmang Vineyard and Resort

The highly scenic Pyrenees area is an under-rated visitor destination and can be visited on a (longish) day trip from Melbourne or as part of a bespoke Self Drive Tour.   The area has a well earned reputation for top quality red wines (particularly shiraz and cabernet sauvignon) and in recent years dry and sparkling white wines have been coming to the fore.  
The Pyrenees Wine area is not too far away from Ballarat and the Victorian Goldfields region
 
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Truly Australia have attempted to give an honest and objective description of the topics covered on this page and have deliberately avoided regurgitating tourist office media releases. The information shown has been compiled from a variety of reputable sources and our own experiences. We check and review this information from time to time, but we assume no responsibility for the absolute accuracy of the details given.