The Great Southern Touring Route can be divided roughly into three separate regions, each offering diverse experiences but as a whole, offering the very best of what Australia offers. Various connections in themselves can offer excellent holiday opportunities.
Great Ocean Road
> Geelong
> Warrnambool
Grampians
> Villages
Goldfields
> Ballarat
> Spa Country
Connections
> Melbourne
> Adelaide
> Sydney
> New Zealand
GRAMPIANS
Villages
> Towns
> Attractions
> Accommodation
> Restaurants
The road from Dunkeld takes visitors on a spectacular journey through the ranges to Halls Gap, which sits at the foot of the Grampians National Park. Driving tours from here allow visitors to experience the lakes, valleys, waterfalls, history and wildlife of the sprawling national park. In addition to its stunning scenery and extraordinary geological formations, the park is home to almost one third of Victoria’s plants – and a large percentage of its native animals.
The Grampians are of unique cultural significance - 80% of Aboriginal art sites in Victoria occur here. According to archaeologists, Aboriginals have been living in the area for over 10,000 years and they continue their strong association with the area they call Gariwerd -gar meaning nose and werd, which translates as a shoulder. Together, they aptly describe the classic Grampians range profile of steep cliff (nose) facing east, with back slope (shoulder) dipping gently west..