We get up early for church, but there are no early services except for the Presbyterian Church, which is full of old people and looks like it might not be very exciting. It's hard to guess where to go - can anyone recommend any denominations to try? We decide to drive on and try and find a service tonight. It's raining again, but lightly. We're going North, to The Grampians (yes, it's named after Scotland). Its about a 2 hour drive on a straight road, which is a little uneventful. We find a sign to a crater, which is an old volcano. This amazing sight has a tiny sign, dirt track, and cows grazing in it.

[First view of the Grampians]

[The long and winding road]

It's a quicker drive than on the windy coastal road, and we stop halfway to swap drivers. As I get in the drivers seat, something immediately catches my eye and I ask Iain where the fuel is. Oops, he forgot. We are running on empty. Suddenly the car realises this and switches into reserve. We have no idea how far this will take us, it's Sunday, and we haven't seen a filling station for over an hour. I am not exaggerating when I say I was praying silently and cursing loudly.

The Lord had forgiven us for not going to church, and miraculously the town we thought was half an hour away was only two minutes, and

[Galahs mating [censored]]

[Post-coital bliss.]

had an open filling station - hallelujah! We stop at the visitors' centre, get maps and an idea of places to go. The Grampians is, I guess, around the size of Merseyside. Mountains we saw from a distance, which loomed nearer after what seemed an age, were dramatic sharp skyline. This is Aboriginal land. It's less steep, harsh and heathery than Scotland, but the same colour grey, with the same treacherous roads. We see our first "emus" warning sign. Great, another well camouflaged animal to avoid hitting, as it bounds over the road.

We have sandwiches in Halls Gap, the only settlement in the Grampians. We watch birds flirting in pairs, and spot a pair of

[Iain found another tree.]

[The Jaws of Death]

parrots mating! Seems to be breeding season already - apparently this has been another mild winter, the sixth in a row. We drive on to the "eco" hostel, environmentally sustainable. I am very tired, and sleep for an hour, whilst Iain sorts through photos on the camera - we already have over 200, and they need uploading, but we can't find the right software to do it.

We go out to see some scenery, drive past the "elephants hide" rock, which is an appropriate name, and to the Balconies, a rock formation of piled flat stones. After a 1km walk through the forest, we find the Jaws of Death, an imposing crocodile-style rock, with a fantastic panoramic view.

[Panorama]

[Near McKenzie Falls]

Another drive to McKenzie Falls, which Iain walks down, and I view another waterfall from the top. Beautiful and powerful, the falls are bewitching. I have a veggie pasty, and a bird (forget the type) tries to kill me to get my food. It has several attempts before I run away.

[The Falls]

We see kangaroos by the roadside for the first time, and unfortunately a dead one too. These things make a mess of cars, and they tend to bounce out of nowhere, especially at night, so we haven't been driving in the dark. We get a takeaway pizza, and head back to the hostel. The place is full of Oz Experience travellers, and hence is more sociable than most places have been. Since we're in our own room, and have been asleep early each night, we've missed out on the social aspect. We make a friend, however, when we give away half our pizza as we're full.

[Slightly modified road sign]

Again, we're asleep by 9pm. We're getting too old for this travelling thing. Actually, 80% of the backpackers we meet are several years younger than us, so we do feel quite ancient. At the same time we're proud we're not past it.

Tomorrow we have a huge drive ahead of us; 500km (300m) to Adelaide. I think the road is straight almost all the way there; look forward to another exciting installment!