We decided to go on a family holiday to the Grampians right in the middle of a cold July in Melbourne, to escape the city, get out into nature and have a cozy country getaway with the kids. Well indeed the Grampians delivered! These are my Top 3 Things to do in the Grampians with kids!

Where we stayed

In the Grampians, we opted for a week stay in a cozy cottage in Halls Gap, the beautiful Algona Views. The cottage was perfect for our week stay with 2 kids under 4. I particularly liked this place as it was newly renovated, had a split system for heating (rather than a fireplace to keep my curious toddler safe), had a beautiful spacious deck & backyard to enjoy the views and the wildlife of the area.

You arrive and straight away native wildlife is all around you! There are many very friendly kangaroos roaming around and so many cockatoos! The birds, were indeed a real highlight of the holiday. Every morning after breakfast, we would sit on the deck out the back of the property while sipping our morning coffee, and we had so many birds coming to say hello! It was a real delight for the kids and they had so much fun feeding them some crackers and fruit. I must admit though, they do get greedy and keep coming back for more and are not afraid in tapping you on the shoulder to get their share of food.

Halls Gap Town Centre

The cottage was located a few minutes by car outside of town, where most of the holiday cottages are located. We walked into town on a few occasions, it was about a 25 minute walk to get to the main street along this lovely walkway in the bush land adjacent to the main road.

Halls Gap itself is a small little town and the main strip of shops on Grampians Road has a few little essential stores, a few restaurants/take away shops, a bakery and general store where we could buy everything we needed for our week there.

These are the Top 3 Things to do in the Grampians with Kids

Halls Gap Zoo

My Review:

We loved this country zoo and I must say it really exceeded my expectations, the place is huge! It took us over 3 hours to see it all. You really get a chance to see close up some incredible animals like the red panda and cheetahs, and upon entry you can also purchase feed for $2 for some of the animals and the kids had an absolutely ball feeding the deers, goats and wallabies.

There is also a big playground as you walk in where the kids can have a play.

Handy Tip: Just make sure to bring your lunch and snacks as there is no coffee shop to get any food or hot drinks.

Grampians Adventure Golf

My Review:

This minigolf place was incredible and my 4 year old thoroughly enjoyed it! It’s an 18 hole course set on 2 acres of bushland, with all sorts of crazy ramps, tunnels and little bridges for the balls to go on! It also has a café where you can have brunch or lunch before or after your play. Kids under 4 are free and they happily give a club and balls to the smaller players to have a go at playing. You can easily spend a few hours here. There is also the MOCO Art Gallery connected to it where you can have a look at some beautiful artworks. They also run Canvas & Cocktail classes and painting workshops.

Handy Tip: I don’t recommend this for toddlers younger than 3 yrs old due to the steep stairs, little rivers and open bridges running through the course. My little one wanted to just go around and explore and I was on toddler watch the whole time!

Halls Botanical Gardens & Venus Baths Loop Walk

My Review:

This community run garden is stunning and so different from any garden we have ever been to! It’s immersed in bush land and focuses on showcasing native plants and some really cool art installations which the kids loved exploring. The Botanical Gardens is also the starting point for many walking tracks including the one that leads you to the Venus Baths.

The ‘loop’ will take you around 1 hour there and back, and is just over 2 km. It’s a gorgeous scenic walk that takes you through bush land and rock formations. Once you arrive at the Venus Baths you will see these inviting pools or ‘baths’ of water where in summer it’s very popular for people to cool off (if there is enough water that is – as it can also dry up). Needless to say that being July I didn’t bother testing the water. It was freezing by the look of it, so I just admired the view!

Handy Tip: The track was very easily accessible but going with a pram was a bit of a challenge in a couple of sections of the track as there were some big rocks to go over.

Other great things to do in the Grampians

if you have the time, these are also worth a visit!

• Admire the Grampians view and catch the rainbows at Boroka Lookout
• Learn about the local aboriginal culture and spot kangaroos & emus at Brambruk National Park & Cultural Centre
• Have a scenic picnic in Lake Bellfield

Where to eat in Halls Gap

We enjoy the occasional night off cooking while on holidays (I am sure you do too right 😊) and I highly recommend these two standout places in Halls Gap:

• Flame Brothers: Melt in the mouth smoky meats are the speciality of this place that will literally make you want to go back for more, but for me it was actually the fried buffalo cauliflower that stole the show. How do you even make a vegetable taste so good!
• Spirit of Punjab: The kids (and all the adults of course) loved this place – they have robot cat waiters that come to serve your food! The food was wonderful with authentic flavours and the standout for me was the tandoori chicken, not to spicy, smoked and tasted just perfect!

We absolutely loved our week in the Grampians and can’t wait to go back!