Hattah-Kulkyne National Park and other Melbourne, Australia Off The Beaten Path Tips

The Murray-Darling river is the longest river in Australia, and part of the Murray runs through the northern border of Victoria. We spent 4 days camping by the sandy beach of the Murray in Hattah-Kulkyne. Hattah is supposedly a great place for bird watching, with its 200 bird species and the endangered Malleefowl, however, for some unknown reason, we didn't see any bird at all! Were we too noisy and scared them away? Doubt so, as the shy red and Western grey kangaroos were hopping everywhere, temping my friends to hunt them down for barbie.Yes, living in the wild, only in the great Australian outback. :)

Bring your fishing rod, leave your troubles and worries behind and come stay by the Murray for a few days. It's teaming with life. I am not a proponent of fishing for fun, in fact, I'm against it, it's a cruel "sport". However, I've nothing against fishing for food, problem is, the Murray carps (they're huge!) taste like mud! Caught some yabbies with my friend's home-made net, but they were too small so we released them.

There is no clean water supply in the park outside the camping area, even at the campsites water supply is limited, so if you are the sort of person accustom to city life, I would advice you either not to visit the Hattah or to bring your own water, lots of it. We drank the water from the Murray, after boiling of course, attempt to filter it with self-made water filter didn't work, it's still muddy, that's the Murray, but none of us fall sick.

If you want to swim in the Murray, be very careful, it looks calm on the surface, but it almost swept my friend away.

Did I mention the nightsky? The whole sky was dotted with stars, thousands and thousands of stars. Don't even bother counting them.

The Mallee is a very dry area, despite the river flowing through it, and can get very hot during summer, so please observe the fire ban. Bushfire is part of bush life, some seeds cannot geminate without bushfire, but we would prefer not to have any fire. It has costs us too much.

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2 simple words: THE BEST.

Better known as the Prom by the locals, it was once a land bridge connecting Tasmania to this big island. The Aboriginals may have used the Prom to reach Taz during the ice age.

What can I say about the Prom? It's simply too beautiful to be put into words. Love walking on Squeky beach, covered with pure white quartz sand, it was once called "singing sand" because of the sound made when you walk on it.

I've always been fascinated by the myriad of life in the rockpools formed by granite boulders at many of the beaches. Bring your snorkel or scuba gears along, the Prom is surrounded by wonderful underwater world forming the marine national park, but please do not remove anything from the water.

If you are game enough, take the overnight hike to one of them many outstation campsites accessible only by foot, or hike to the lighthouse right at the tip of the Prom and if you are lucky enough, you'll see a whale or two like I did. :)

As the Prom is very popular with the locals, you'll have to make booking for the campsite during peak period (spring and summer).

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Whenever someone mention Lake Eildon I get very excited, because this is the first national park I visited in Victoria (and the 2nd in Australia, the 1st one was the Blue Mountains in New South Wales) when I came here in 1998, and also the first place I saw a wild koala. My friend was driving like a mad man testing out his new 4 wheel drive in the middle of the night when he almost ran over the koala running across the road. Be very careful, don't drive like a mad man/woman eventhough there're no other cars around, there're always the animals. Many koalas (and other animals) were killed by irresponsible drivers, don't end up being one yourself.

If you are going fishing in spring and the lake appears dried up, DO NOT drive your car onto the area! Yes, the mud is cracked and look dry and you'll be in for a big surprise when you realise your car won't budge! Fellow anglers tried to rescue us with their 4 wheel drives but ended up getting stuck themselves. It took a lot of men power (yup, the guys'd to push heehee) to get us outta that mud hole.

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The first European to explore this ranges was a Scot who named it after the mountains in his native Scotland.

When I first went to the Grampians the Balconies was still open to public, but after a few people plunged to their death, either accidentally or purposely (what a way to die) this wonderful place where tourists kill a lot of films had been blocked out. No more "I dare you to sit on the edge" stunt, but if you are one of those people like me who choose/pretend not to see the warning signs and fence, do be very careful, it's very slippery out there on the rock. After eluding the park rangers and crossing the forbidden line 3 times I am still alive, so yes, it's possible. Good luck.

Everyone will tell you it's impossible to get around without a car, not true. The first time I went to the Grampians with 60kg of camping gears we took the train and bus. Tiring but challenging. Check out the V/line website for more info.

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Website: http://www.vlinepassenger.com.au

Don't miss this lovely park! It's along the Great Ocean Road. Love the Erskine Fall and the creek. It was a bit too cold when I was there in winter but I'm sure it's lovely in summer. :)

It's a pity we only get to spend a short time there. Dominik, my boyfriend, is too impatient (as usual) and wanted to get to Port Campbell (yes yes blame it on him).

How to Get There

Access is via the Great Ocean Road, Deans Marsh-Lorne Road, Bambra Road or Erskine Road (Melway ref: 511 B11, C10).

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