Mt. Williams, Grampians

My car is currently getting some modifications, but the guy I'm doing it with (or more likely who is doing it for me) is currently hard at work himself. Bucky helped me with installing an LED light bar on my nudge bar on the front and is now working on a roof cage to store some stuff of mine on the long journeys. As he is currently knee deep in work himself (lamb marking) I went to Mt. Williams in the Grampians mountain range for a night. Red had told me that there is a car park close to the summit, so it would be possible for me to sleep in the back of the car without problems again.

Before leaving I got the back left tire fixed, as it had a slow leak in it and I didn't want to do long distances with it in that condition. Cost me 20$, so next to nothing, thankfully.

After getting that fixed it was of to the Grampians national park. A 125km drive to Mt. Williams in total I passed through Hamilton and got followed by a truck most of the way to Dunkeld, the town that lies on the outskirts of the Grampian national park. Luckily school holidays had been last week and most families were not taking a holiday now. The Grampians, so I have heard, are one of the major holiday destinations for city people from Melbourne. It shows with all the campsites out in the middle of the park. They seem to appear every two kilometres or so. I passed a few motor bikers, but they all seemed to be retired. So the only people in the park are retired people and backpackers. Driving through the park I was getting closer and closer to Halls Gap, a town situated in in the middle eastern part of the Grampians, and was getting a bit worried I had overshot my turn off. I just knew to head along the C216 to Halls Gap and Mt. Williams would be somewhere right. After braking for two kangaroos and slowing down for an ichidna, I found my turn and climbed up Mt. Williams. Dodged another ichidna on the way and reached the Mt. Williams car park with a bit of time to spare for the sun to set. To reach the top it was another 1,8km, but all was sealed road. That being due to a flight control mast at the top of the mountain. The wind was picking up walking to the top, but I got some steady pictures and didn't find any snakes (luckily). I don't know how far I was from the nearest civilisation, but being bitten by a snake because I trod on one is the last thing I want. Especially due to me being the only one on the mountain. The rest of the night was spent in the same manner. Reached the top and got some good sunset pictures before settling down behind a monument rock for protection from the wind. Watched the last rays of day disappear and the milky way come out. Got a few pictures and then packed up my bag and walked back to the car. On the way back I spotted two other smaller star clusters, similar to the milky way (I knew their name last night) but didn't get a picture. Going downhill I had as many lights out as I could. The tar was still warm and, as mentioned before, don't want to meet a snake. Reached the car, unrolled my sleeping bag and blow up mattress and settled in for a warmer knight than in Mt. Gambier. A owl in a near by tree scared the crap out of me, but they tend to do that. 

Woke up twice in the night, but that was to be expected. First time I was to warm and the second time I had dislocated my shoulder again. Getting extremely annoying, my shoulder.

Sprinted up in the morning again for a few sunrise pictures and then it was back to Reds for some breakfast. Met a wallaby and another ichidna on the way back, plus the few cars in the morning.

Back at Reds I was starving (I had actually taken a can of soup with me, but forgotten the cooker) and shoved down a breakfast before having a short nap. Red was out cutting hay and I picked him up for lunch. He asked me if I wanted to have a go and I thought “Why not? Big machine, should be fun.” So we changed a few times and in the evening it's of to Buckys again, to hopefully get the last few bits on the roof cage done.
Made a video of the Mt. William which can be found on YouTube.

Oh, before I forget. Saw a fu***ng Tiger Snake the other day. Damn they look vicious, near to one meter long, a head like a cobra, yellow and black... You get the picture. Luckily there was a car door between it and me.