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Showing posts with label Pomonal Estate. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Pomonal Estate. Show all posts

Thursday, January 4, 2024

The Grampians (Australia) - Tiny stay, tiny house

The Grampians (Australia)

04 JAN - 07 JAN 2024

The benefits from a having a short break allows all of us to slow down a little and take a breather from the pace of the daily routines to which we’ve come accustomed. You tend to forget how the pace of everyday life and the regiment of routine becomes so ingrained in your psyche until you step into the first moment that you’re truly away from it.  Also, considering Aiden’s newly acquired understanding of what it means to leave home, and the excitement that he exudes in anticipation of discovering a new place or ‘going to another hotel’, or identifying a play opportunity, travelling and the anticipation of it has become far more enjoyable once again. Not that it was ever not enjoyable but those travelling with infants & toddlers know all about the challenges encountered on the way to those temporary periods of ‘freedom’.

Only on reflection do you notice that time operates at a speed to which we never truly become accustomed. Inga & I have in Melbourne now for nearly the past 6 years, where the hell did that go? In that time the destinations that have quite often lured us in their direction and away from the comforts of our abode  have been the Yarra Valley, the Mornington Peninsula and the Great Ocean Road. Certainly other places have been on our radar, such as Rutherglen, Mildura, Gippsland and the Snowy Mountains but we haven’t quite made it to those place as yet. As for the Grampians, certainly there  was one occasion prior to Aiden being born that Inga and I did make our way to their for what was only aa long afternoon stay but admittedly it the idea was very well constructed only really an afterthought, a haphazardly bolted on addition to another cruisey drive along the southern coastline.

On this occasion our escape was planned and we had orientated our Grampians discovery around the booking we had made for a tiny house, accommodation which was situated in the little locale of Dadswell Bridge, about 35kms north of Halls Gap, a quaint little town nestled in the heart of the Grampians.

The idea of tiny houses doesn’t seem to be too dissimilar to the concept of caravans or motor homes but somehow their concept has been elevated to incorporate a new way of living rather than just occupying the space of having a mobile conveyor of the comforts of home. Having watched countless shows on the ‘tiny house movement’ for several years now, the both of us have been fascinated by the designs and concepts that makes its way into the overarching premise of downsizing and embracing minimalist living within compact spaces. The movement itself advocates for a lifestyle choice underpinned by financial freedom, sustainability and a movement away from excess consumption, although sometimes the house you see are really just miniature mansions. In any case, what we identified in the Grampians was just the tonic we needed for our short time away.

For those that are unaware, the Grampians is rugged mountain range located approximately 250kms west of Melbourne, offering stunning scenery and some exceptional wine regions. Also known for its exceptional hiking, the challenge we faced was how invested would we be in getting Aiden to walk up rugged trails for a view as opposed to sitting inside a comfortable winery watching ‘anything he could think of’ on a phone and accompanying his parents through their ‘wine knowledge and discovery tour’.  Whilst time would tell the winner of that option its not a stretch to identify at this early juncture where we landed.

After picking up Inga from work on a Thursday evening we did a short drive to Ballarat and stayed at the lovely Oscars Hotel & Café Bar in the centre of town. A very pleasant stop, we found the staff to be extremely friendly, the rooms lovely and spacious and the common areas to be equally as inviting. I’m not sure why but of all the options for a one-night stay in Ballarat at this time appeared to be excessively priced and Oscars by comparison offered the most value by fair margin. So, well done Oscars all-round.

Oscars Hotel & Cafe - Ballarat - Victoria - Australia

The next day we found ourselves on the road to Dadwells Bridge, which was only an additional 150kms west of Ballarat. Passing through the towns of Beaufort, Buangor and Ararat, we made our first planned and ‘civilised’ stop at the wonderful Grampians estate winery near Great Western.

In our own continued self-discovery of wines, both international and domestic, neither of us had really  at any point encountered wines that had originated in the Grampians. It was only after the fact that we have now become acquainted with the much-celebrated Great Western wine region, characterised by its unique terroir, cool to moderate climate, rich soil and distinctive wines. It certainly came as a surprise to us during our first tasting that both the Shiraz and the sparkling Shiraz were standouts. Both of us more commonly associate Shiraz options as being bold, peppery and high in tannin but the first option at Grampians Estate (and all those that followed), were softer, velvety and slightly fruitier that what we were used to.

A lovely Shiraz - Grampians Estate - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Grampians Estate - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Grampians Estate - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Grampians Estate - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Grampians Estate - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Our time at Grampians Estate was lovely and if an additional drive down the road wasn’t a necessity our long lunch would have become an extended afternoon. The sun was out, it was a beautiful day, and like many wineries that we attended in the region, they were thoughtful enough to supply options to keep children occupied whilst parents were undertaking ‘future reconnaissance’. Whilst Aiden took to the challenge of colouring-in, Inga and I continued to ‘develop our palates’

Approximately 45 mins away from Grampians Estate heading west, we arrived in Dadswells Bridge we made our way to ‘Tiny House 11’ at Grampians Edge.  From what was obviously once a camping and caravan park, the complex had been converted into a tiny house park, which for our small family was the perfect option to be able to stay in a quaint and cozy retreat set amidst the picturesque Grampian landscape.  Whilst the tiny houses are purposefully minimalist, I have to say that what you do get within each space is quite the surprise. It’s more than surprising to see how the needs of a kitchen, bathroom, lounging space and bed are craftily fitted within what is quite a confined space. For us it was perfect.

The rest of the day we spent utilising the facilities, which was mostly orientated about the swimming pool and the lovely recreational room, which had a huge TV, games, pool table and cooking facilities.

Tiny Away - Dadswells Bridge - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Tiny Away - Dadswells Bridge - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Tiny Away - Dadswells Bridge - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Tiny Away - Dadswells Bridge - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia


Our second day in the Grampians proved to be both the litmus test and the true challenge to our ‘steely resolve’ to do a little bit of hiking and check out a view or two in the area. I have to say, both Inga & I had our thoughts aligned to  be doing a walk to the ‘the Balcony’ lookout at some point in the  but when Aiden & I, ‘come a gutser’ whilst trying to cross a local creek in the centre of Halls Gap, our drenched clothes put pay to idea that we’d be doing any walking, which admittedly we more than adapted to by putting our ‘plan B’ option into effect which was to investigate more of those pesky local wineries.

Through the course of the afternoon, we made two distinct steps into the world of the Grampians wine region, the first being at Pomonal Estate & the second at Fallen Giants Vineyard.

It was at about the mid-point of our first tasting at Pomonal that it started to dawn on us as to how special the Shiraz was in this region. You know when you feel as though you’ve made an astonishing ‘discovery’ on your own accord and gain that sense of internal pride that you’ve managed to figure out a clue all to yourself (only for it to be pointed out that the whole world had already beaten you to the punch), well yeah, that’s how our discovery of Grampians Shiraz played out. I’d equate it to something akin to that one time when I ‘discovered’  the extraordinary quality and ubiquity of Malbec & Steak in Buenos Aires (whoa, speed racer alert to Captain Obvious).

Still, no matter how far back in the pack we’ve been with regards to the knowledge we’ve had for this region, which effectively has been nothing, on this day we were more than charmed by the sophistication and elegance of the wines we’d been offered. Perhaps the Grampians isn’t exactly the hidden gem of Australian wine regions, which was certainly the narrative we were started to create in our minds, but the fact that it was unknown to us is what made this little excursion such the welcome treat. Additionally, the bonus that we found at the wineries we attended was their thoughtfulness as to thinking about the ‘little companions’ the get dragged along to these boring places. Pomonal Estate had sporting equipment on their lawn for any visitor to use, which Aiden & I certainly did, playing cricket to Inga’s eternal abhorrence, and Fall Giants had both indoor and outdoor options, which we all made use of. Once again, to all Grampians wineries that we visited, well done! You should be congratulated!


Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Pomonal Estate - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

Fallen Giants Winery - Halls Gap - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

After another lovely afternoon in the Grampians, we headed back to our tiny abode, had ourselves a great BBQ feast, accompanied by some fantastic liquid support, and even managed to get an evening fire going which allowed us to introduce Aiden to the ‘fire toasted’ marshmallow concept. Surprisingly not a hit on the first occasion but I think he’ll have time to warm up to the idea.

Tiny Away - Dadswells Bridge - The Grampians - Victoria - Australia

On our final day we headed out of Dadswells Bridge just after 10am at started the 250km journey back home, doing a short drive to Great Western and stopping in at the renowned Seppelt Winery. Boasting a rich viticulture history dating back to 1851, we once again learned what this region is famous for, producing some premium cool-climate wines, highlighted by a few glorious Shiraz and Sparking Shiraz bottles. Once again, a fabulous place, that has a couple of additional surprising experience in terms of their underground tunnel tours (which we unfortunately didn’t have time to do). The tunnels below Seppelt were initially created in about 1868, having been hand-dug by local gold miners to store their wines in what they considered to be optimal conditions. Over the proceeding 60+ years, successive owners expanded the maze-like tunnels to an impressive 3kms, which established an enormous underground cellaring system, the largest in Australia, having the capacity to store in the vicinity of 3 million bottles of wine at a constant temperature of 16 degrees.

Seppelt Winery - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

Seppelt Winery - Great Western - Victoria - Australia

After a great tasting session and a bit of a kick around of the footy with Aiden on Seppelt’s vineyard lawn, we drove only a short distance to the Great Western hotel for some lunch and a last glass of Shiraz before heading for home.

Whilst we didn’t spend a long time away, this short vacation was effectively for us the expresso shot of travelling …compact, intense and guaranteed to leave us both energised and buzzing for more equally enjoyable experiences, hopefully in the very near future.