Grampians Walks
Guide Book
Grampians Walks Guidebook Review
In late 2021 the 160 km Grampians Peak Trail (GPT) officially opened bringing to Victoria another great long distance hiking trail. Being such a new trail there is still limited guidance available. Unless you are very familiar with the Grampians region, some help in the form of a guidebook such as this one, will help make your experience so much easier in both the planning and execution of this walk. Whether you want to walk the whole trail or just want to do the odd section here and there, Grampians Walks provides the info you need.
The Grampians Walks guidebook, by authors Monica and Phil Coleman, is designed to be used in two main ways. It will ‘…show you how you can walk every step of the GPT as a series of day walks’ as well as providing the required detail ‘For those that prefer to carry everything and camp out …’. While the focus is on the Grampians Peak Trail, this book discusses a total of 86 walks, many of which use sections of the larger GPT. The book caters for both beginners and families, and include walks as short as 10 minutes all the way up to more demanding walks that take the better part of a day. For hikers who are doing the longer Grampians Peak Trail, each of the maps indicates which sections of trail belong to this long walk and how the shorter walks interconnect. Some of the shorter walks are totally disconnected from the GPT altogether, others are entirely on the GPT and then there are some that have common sections before turning back to the start to form short loops.
Like many hiking guidebooks the format of this book is well considered and is in the usual small format that has now become standard across much of the world. This means the book will will fit into your pack without taking up too much room. However, the book does ‘feel’ heavy and at 433 grams it is.
The layout of this book will be familiar to many keen hikers given it follows a format that has become commonplace on the Australian market. Sections include an easy to scan table of walks to help you identify the length, difficulty and area, walk overviews that include key information, directions and maps, and a lovely gallery of the more common flowering plants and animals you are likely to come across on the trail. There is a dedicated chapter for those who want to do the entire trip providing additional information on trail distance as well as logistical information. One section that I particularly like is the How to use the Walks Pages which discusses the symbols used in the key. The price of this book sits at AUD $40 RRP which is in the typical range for this type of guidebook.
One other thing I liked about this book and it may sound a bit quirky, is that I found it easy to open up and lay flat without having to sit something heavy on the page to keep it open or to crack the spine (I don’t crack the spine of my books). I know this its a weird thing to like but being able to sit a book on a table or a rock without having to hold it open in the process is very helpful.
As someone not local to the Grampians area I have a rough idea of the temperature ranges and weather conditions but would like this information included – if you are planning on doing a thru hike, this is critical information.
Over the past three years, I have been trying to spend more time hiking in Victoria without much luck this area and the GPT is on my ‘to do list’. This book is a great resource to help in the planning and execution of your Grampians adventures and is well worth adding to your hiking library.
Chapter Headings
Grampians Walks
Chapters
- The Grampians
- Walks Index
- How to use the Walks Pages
- Safety
- Looking after the Environment
- The Grampians Peaks Trail (GPT) Intro
- GPT Day Walks
- GPT hiking from Camp to Camp
- My Stapylton Area
- Mt Difficult Range
- Halls Gap & the Wonderland Range
- Mt William Range
- Serra Range
- McKenzie River Area
- Victoria Range
- Victoria Valley
- Wildflowers
- Wildfire
- Climb the Grampians Peaks
- Indigenous Place Names
- Useful Contacts
- Index:
Acknowledgements
We Like
- Well laid out and easy to understand guidebook
- Good compact size
- Suits those looking to do the full Grampians Peaks Trail as well as those who just want a taster of the trail or other shorter hikes within the area
- Key aspects of the longer walks are identified by kilometre which is handy when you are on the trail
- This book lays flat without needing a heavy object or cracking the spine
We Don't Like
- A small section on temperatures and weather conditions through the year would be beneficial
- A tad heavy at 433 grams for a small book
Buy One
You can purchase Grampians Walks from the authors here
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Investment
AUD $40.00 RRP
Grampians Walks cover images
Example of the walks list in Grampians Walks
Walk example also showing key points along the trail in Grampians Walks
Map example 1 Grampians Walks
Disclaimer
This review was done with product provided by the authors