Towards the Grampians National Park

While photographing the Rupanyup silo, a man also taking photos mentioned an enjoyable side trip to the small rural town of Murtoa.

It involved a 15 km detour from our planned route, but we are glad we made it.

The Murtoa 'Stick Shed' is a nationally heritage-listed icon. We arrived just after 10 am and joined a tour with over a dozen other visitors.

The 'Stick Shed' was built as a grain store in 1941, designed to meet grain storage needs during the World War II wheat glut when exports were restricted.

The shed is constructed from 560 unmilled poles, or 'sticks' (56 rows of 10), which support the corrugated iron roof and have a concrete floor.

The shed measures 270 metres long, 60 metres wide, and 20 metres high.

 

From here, we took a minor road towards Stawell before heading south-west towards Pomonal. We spent the next two evenings camping at the Old Man Emu, 7 km from Halls Gap.

On our first day, we travelled to Mackenzie Falls in the Grampians National Park and then descended to the base of the falls to take some photos. My phone app measured the climb back to the car park as the equivalent of ascending 23 storeys.  

From here, we headed to Reed Lookout and the Balconies.

It was just a short drive to Boroka Lookout, offering views down the valley towards Halls Gap and Lake Bellfield in the distance.

A well-earned lunch at one of the local cafés after our morning's exercise...

The following morning began early as we drove to the car park before starting the Pinnacles walk. The round-trip distance is 5.5 km, with an elevation change of 280 metres, and the track is graded as medium to hard. It took us a solid hour to reach the summit, including stops for rest and photos.

Although it took us forty minutes to get back to the car park, we thought the descent was harder on our legs. The phone app measured the climb to the Pinnacles as the equivalent of climbing 70 floors, and it certainly felt like that to us.