Category: Latest Activities News

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

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

August 8th 2025 Update from Joe Terry Grampians Ark Coordinator

Following on from the Fire presentation we were lucky enough to meet and hear from Joe Terry. Twenty members and non-members attended.
Grampians Ark Project is led by Coordinator Joe Terry has been in this role since June 2024 having taken over from Kailee Savoia. Joe is assisted by two rangers.
Currently:
860 continuous bait stations and 160 seasonal bait stations
Deploy 15,000 1080 baits per year
Bait take of 3% average
Equates to 450 foxes controlled per year, but this is an estimate
125 foxes shot or trapped this financial year
1500 soft jaw (aim foxes) and cage trapping (aim cats) nights per year
Over 10,000 camera traps night per year – over 1 million images
75 Candid pest ejectors deployed at any one time
Ground and aerial shooting program targeting herbivores and predators
Community baiting program involving 38 neighbour properties – in the Victoria Valley
Then the 2024-2025 … Read the rest

Sallow Wattle removal day

Sallow wattle (Acacia longifolia spp longifolia), is an invasive out of place native plant shading out the park’s unique vegetation.

On Sunday 10th August, 10 members tackled sallow wattle at Gar Trailhead and had a satisfying and successful morning. We pulled out and removed many patches of resprouting wattles from an area that Parks have recently slashed.
It is looking great.
More work may need to be done but this is a start.
We wanted to get in before it seeds in November.
Thankyou to all involved.… Read the rest

Wildlife talk by Neil Macumber

What a great afternoon. Thankyou Neil!
Thirty-four members and non-members attended this interesting slide presentation.
Neil showed us his favourite birds, reptiles, frogs and mammals in the Grampians.
One of his favourite birds is the Gang Gang cockatoo.
“When we came to the Grampians area it was great to see and hear Gang Gangs regularly as we certainly did not see them in suburban Carnegie. They are a lovely small cockatoo (32 to 36cm in length) with a creaky outdoor “Dunny Door” type call. Because of habitat fragmentation and continued clearing, global warming, bushfires and fuel reduction burning they are listed as ‘Endangered’.

Image courtesy of Neil Macumber… Read the rest

Dr John White May 2025

9th May 2025. A long-term study aids understanding of the likely impact of climate change on Gariwerd’s small mammals

Associate Professor John White presented to 32 attendees recently on “How will little critters cope with Climate Change?’ The Grampians fire, climate and biodiversity project.

Climate Changes means fires, drought and floods and this project aims to look at how ecosystems are going to respond.

Over the past 20 years the Grampians has experienced hypervariable climatic conditions, including four mega fires since 2005.  Major fires are now more frequent, more intense, and more devastating. Floods are becoming more frequent and severe with major damage from the 2010/2011 flood.

Photo Credit Leigh Douglas

Deakin University has established 36 survey sites and conducted extensive small mammal surveys since 2008.  These surveys have tracked numbers of feral (house mouse and black rat) and native species. Native rodents include the heath mouse and swamp rat, … Read the rest

Clean up Australia Day 2025 Meeting report

Sunday 2nd March Pines Plantation campground.

The day went well. The weather did us proud, nice morning. A dozen members participated and although the camp ground looked pretty clean at first glance we collected up a good eight bags of rubbish and some extraneous items over a bit more than one and half hours, which we thought was good hunting, so we didn’t do the quarry. Park Ranger Nick called by just after I arrived to set up and thankfully he offered to call past in the afternoon and collect the rubbish if we left it behind the toilets. Thanks Nick and thankyou to all our volunteers.

Another successful team effort.

… Read the rest

Friends of Grampians Gariwerd