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16-Mar-2015 9:08:07 PM
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Hi Guys,
I'm looking to head down to the Grampians over the Easter holidays with my girlfriend. Unfortunately, I have since heard much of the Grampians is closed due to the fires and, just to put salt in the wound, Stapylton campground has been closed due to asbestos contamination.
My first question is what is the next best campground to stay at? Meeting other climbers would be awesome so where have they migrated to since Stapylton campground was closed down?
Second, I was looking to climb at these locations:
Hollow Mountain Cave
Kindergarten
Ground Control Cave
Andersens
Are these bouldering locations still open?
Finally, what are the roads like in the area? I have a Hyundai i30 and am not sure if it will be suitable.
Thanks very much for the help!
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16-Mar-2015 9:36:08 PM
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Good news : Your Hyundai i30 will be fine.
Bad news : Of the places you mention I think only ground control is open. However Trackside, Epsilon, between the sheeps etc are open. Also everything in the Vic range and around Halls Gap.
I don't know what the best camping options are these days but everything will be busy at Easter.
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17-Mar-2015 10:22:26 AM
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Plantation Campground is probably your best bet, but as Kieran noted everywhere will be busy.
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17-Mar-2015 10:36:24 PM
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Thanks mate. Once you have a park pass you're just able to camp anywhere without paying right?
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17-Mar-2015 11:15:07 PM
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What is a park pass?
Most campsites are now extraordinarily expensive and now need to be booked online. You can thank the bureaucracy or parks victioria for that.
The plantation campground is free because it is a not part of the national park.
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19-Mar-2015 12:36:39 PM
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On 17/03/2015 patto wrote:
> You can thank the bureaucracy or parks victioria for that.
Actually you can thank successive state governments ripping significant funding out of PV to the point where collection could only be done online and specifically the previous government's ideology of trying to ensure a return on their investment.
PV is the victim here.
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19-Mar-2015 4:18:17 PM
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On 19/03/2015 FatBoy wrote:
>PV is the victim here.
I don't buy that. PV hasn't listened to their users or their boots on the ground workers. There were other options and charging campers while ignoring day users is not a sensible route to take.
Charging a few climbers and campers exorbitant fees is a drop in the ocean compared to the costs involved in running parks.
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24-Mar-2015 9:43:44 PM
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Thanks very much for the help guys. I guess we might just stay at Plantation Campground over the long weekend. I think it looks to be the best bet!
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24-Mar-2015 10:25:44 PM
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On 24/03/2015 aztecx wrote:
>Thanks very much for the help guys. I guess we might just stay at Plantation
>Campground over the long weekend. I think it looks to be the best bet!
Just a word of warning - that campground has a tenancy to be full of beer swilling 4WD bogans over Easter. If it was me, I would find a nice quiet hidden bush spot.
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26-Mar-2015 11:09:07 PM
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Thanks for the advice. We're planning on getting there at about noon on easter Friday. I guess our goal will be to find somewhere to camp at that isn't overrun by dead beats :D
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