Articles

The Flumes

The Flumes near Barri Yalug

In the late 1800s, water was needed for the community in Stawell and Halls Gap and for the expanding gold mines at Pleasant Creek.

In 1869, the Stawell Shire Council engaged Government Surveyor C. Bagge to provide a report on the best way to get water. The scheme chosen was the Glenfyan scheme proposed by Borough Engineer John d’Alton in 1872. The plan was to blast a tunnel through Mt William range and supply this with water from a dam on Fyans Creek using Flumes (open aqueducts). The water would then pass through the tunnel to a pipeline (24km long) and onwards to a reservoir on Big Hill in Stawell.
Work commenced in February 1875. The Flumes ran for 10km` to the tunnel. The scheme took more than 6 years to complete finishing in July 1881.

Remnants of the Flumes can still be seen today, … Read the rest

Pimelea pagophila

Pimelea pagophila Grampians Rice Flower

Grampians Rice Flower is endemic to Victoria and is known only from the Mt William range. It is listed as Vulnerable under the EPBC act. It is a shrub and can grow to about a metre high. Leaves are 7-20 mm long and 2-5 mm wide, mid green in colour and glabrous (no hairs). The flowers are in bunches at the end of stems, and the bunches are surrounded by 4, 6 or 8 pale green or sometimes reddish bracts (they look a bit like leaves). The flowers are white and have a floral tube 14-15 mm long these tubes are glabrous on the outside and the inside of the tube has hairs, and they flower in October to November. It is very similar to Pimelea linifolia, the difference being P. linifolia has hairs on the inside and outside of the floral tube and flowers … Read the rest

Grampians Gariwerd Park Victoria Update February 2026

Northern Grampians
Whats OPEN
Hollow Mountain (Wudjub Guyun) walk
Gulgurn Manja and Ngamadjidj Rock Art shelters
Golton Gorge walk
Beehive Falls and Briggs Bluff walks
Zumsteins to Fish Falls walks and on to MacKenzie Falls and back again.

Mt Difficult (Gar) walk and Waterfalls of Gar
Heatherlie Quarry and Zumsteins Picnic Ground

* Note MacKenzie Falls is closed from 9th February 2026 for several months of renovations. Access via Zumsteins. Note limited parking only at Zumsteins during this renovation.
*Mount Zero Carpark/Mura Mura GPT Trailhead is closed for carparking. No day parking available, drop off/pick up only.
Alternatively, day visitors can park at Stapylton Campground to access Stapylton Loop walk, Stapylton Summit walk, Flat Rock area and Mt Zero walk (note this will add additional km’s to each walk).

Central Grampians, Wonderland Range, Mt William Range & Halls Gap
The Chatauqua Peak Loop and a small section of the GPT … Read the rest

Area Chief Ranger November 2025 Update

Grampians Peaks Trail Recovery
After a significant period of track repair works by PV staff, contractors and many wonderful volunteers, the fire impacted sections of the trail reopened in early November for the GPT100 miler event. Following this, it is now open for day walking only.
Hike-in Campgrounds in this area remain closed with infrastructure repair/replacement works (on shelters, elevated walkways, tent platforms, signage, toilets and water tanks) being carried out. These are progressing well, with most locations ahead of schedule (pending tank water quality testing). Plans are in place to reopen all Hike-in Campgrounds in the first quarter of 2026.
Major Projects
Mt Zero (Mura Mura) GPT Trailhead Upgrade
Mount Zero Picnic Area, car park and facilities are closed from Monday 10th November for construction works to upgrade the trailhead. It is expected the work will be completed before Christmas 2025, with ongoing minor works occurring post-Christmas. Parks Victoria … Read the rest

President Report November 2025

A nearly Happy Christmas to you all! What a busy Spring it’s been, not just because of all the “festivities”, meetings, workshops, fairs, walking & running events … that erupt as the weather emerges from winter, but also because of the glorious display of wildflowers in the Grampians-Gariwerd. The orchids especially have been/are magnificent. We were slightly overwhelmed (!) by the masses we saw on our field excursion with Hamilton Field Nats … but very, very happy. A time to relish and remember. The much-wanted rain has made the bush happy too, and there’s even been some sunshine, enough to make the sun orchids bloom.
Baby birds and animals are an added pleasure, except when they’re rabbits.
Some of us take part in the GGBS (Grampians-Gariwerd Bird Survey), which has been especially valuable in burnt areas where the bird population it is taking time to recover. The surveys are always … Read the rest

Parks Victoria Update November 2025

Entire Grampians Peak Trail NOW Open 10th November for Day Walkers!

Parks Victoria, with the help of dedicated volunteers, completed essential maintenance on the Grampians Peak Trail from October 27–31. These works have paved the way for the entire trail to reopen on 10th November —initially for day walkers only.
Campgrounds along the trail are expected to reopen sometime next year, which will be welcome news for overnight walkers keen to camp along the route.

Trail Running Event – GPT 100 (6-9 November 2025)
The GPT 100 long-distance trail running event was held from Thursday 6 November to Sunday 9 November 2025, traversing the entire Grampians (Gariwerd) National Park along the Grampians Peaks Trail. Participants covered the full 162km route from Mt Zero (Mura Mura) in the north to Dunkeld in the south, split across several race formats and stages. Over four days, runners tackled designated trail sections in daylight, … Read the rest

Orchid Adventure Day 11th October

October 11th Saturday: Orchid Adventure with Hamilton Field Naturalists
For those wanting to carpool:
9am : John King will be at the Delleys Bridge carparking area in a White SUV to coordinate Carpooling.

Please note the tracks are not suitable for 2WD.

Meet at 9:00 AM in Halls Gap near Delleys Bridge (car parking area) for those who would like to carpool. We’ll leave by 9:15 AM. Carpooling is recommended due to dirt roads and limited roadside space.

For those travelling direct to meeting place.

10am : Meeting up with Hamilton Field Naturalists: We’ll meet at 10am, near Mirranatwa Gap, at the southern end of Henham track, (orchid reports are good at present), have morning tea and then progress to further spots, to be decided on the day depending on orchids and track closures.

https://goo.gl/maps/YPJt2S3ELnUkoftz8

Bring lunch, a chair and a flask if you would like. Recommended long trousers and … Read the rest

2025 AGM Office Bearers and Committee

AGM new committee and office bearers.

President: Leigh Douglas contact Leigh on email or mobile 0428109361
Vice President: Ross Simpson contact Ross on mobile 0427772682
Secretary: Catherine Carlyle contact Catherine on or mobile 0428399441
Treasurer: Alison Bainbridge contact Alison on email or mobile 0417883445

Committee:
Geoff Stratford, ben Gunn, Judy Nichols, Rod Thompson and John Minchen-King.… Read the rest

2025 AGM Presidents Report

President’s Report
Greetings to you all.
At the beginning of the year, the devastating bushfires in the Grampians-Gariwerd took precedence over all FOGG excursions; instead, we were able to help in individual ways where this was possible. So far this year we have had five indoor presentations by guest speakers, one Clean-up Australia activity at The Pines campground, and one Sallow Wattle attack near Halls Gap. Our guest speakers, as usual, have been keen, interesting, and informative, broadening our understanding and knowledge of our beloved Park.
We are, however, now looking forward to some outdoor field trips: an Orchid Adventure Day with Hamilton Field Nats; Aggie Stephenson from the Glenelg Hopkins Catchment Management Authority will talk to us prior to leading a grassland walk near Dunkeld or Willaura the following day; and in December we are walking up to Gulgurn Manya art site, to be followed by Christmas lunch at … Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd