On our way from Melbourne to Adelaide, we decided to visit the Grampians National Park. Neither of us had ever heard of this park before, so we were in for a big surprise.

We started out at the Visitor Centre in Halls Gap to get a basic idea of the park. There are basically two “big” roads crossing the park, with various smaller roads that end at lookouts and bush trails.

From Halls Gap we drove to the Wonderland area, apparently the most popular starting point for visitors. It is an area containing the most wondrous rock formations. The formation called the Grand Canyon turned out to be quite a bit smaller than its American counterpart, but it provided a great hiking path.

After Wonderland, we drove on towards Boroka Lookout. At this point you are on the edge of the mountain range that makes up the National Park, and you get the luxury of seeing all the way to the natural horizon. The view reinforces how flat Australia can be.

Next to the Boroka Lookout carpark we finally found a Kookaburra that was willing to pose for us. It was not willing to laugh for us, but it did show off how fluffy it is.

Next stop: the Balconies – a series of rock outcroppings. And where the Boroka Lookout shows you the outside of the national park, the Balconies show you the inside. Spoiler alert: it’s very similar, with more trees.

While standing at the balconies, a friendly couple offered to make a picture of us. And like so many interactions with Australians, this was followed up with a “where are you from”. In this respect, Australians seem very similar to Americans.

After the Balconies we only had time for one more view since we wanted to be at our motel before sunset – everyone warns you not to drive in the Australian countryside after sunset, because of all the wildlife walking around.

We decided to visit the Mackenzie Waterfalls as our last activity. The falls are actually a chain of waterfalls with lookout points in between.

Visiting the waterfalls turned out to be an even greater choice when we spotted two enormous skinks crossing the road. Internet suggests they were a kind of Blue-tongue Skinks also known as Bobtails.

Finally, on our way out of the park, this red Kangaroo made our day complete.