One of the main things that I loved about Australia was how incredibly close to nature I was and how intensely gorgeous the nature there was. From the dusty red plains of the Northern Territory to the lush greenery of the Daintree rainforest, from waterfalls to mountain tops I loved every single aspect of Australia´s great outdoors. I have never really considered myself an outsidey type of person, I could not imagine living outside of a big city, I need access to really good coffee and a stable internet connection at all times and yet: being in nature so much during our road trip made me feel so content and happy! There is an intense amount of national parks along the east coast alone. I already told you all about our time in the outback here, but here are four other national parks I absolutely adored: 

Lamington National Park 

This was our first stop of the roadtrip. There are two large national parks in the Hinterland of Brisbane: Spring Brock National Park and Lamington National Park. Lamington is a little harder to access as you have to climb up a very steep and narrow street, but it is really worth it. However I would not recommend the drive up here with an actual caravan if you are not an experienced and confident driver. The Green Mountain Camp Ground here was so serene and quiet and so cheap: it only costs us 9 Dollars per person per night. Only problem: we actually had to camp in designated parking on the camp ground because the van spot we were assigned was too small and steep for us to park in. You have to reserve a spot online, so maybe ask for a larger spot right away. 

There are multiple hikes in walking distance from the camp ground. The hike to the water fall takes about an hour and was so beautiful! You had an amazing view over miles and miles of forests and greenery, you get to play in a waterfall and you walk through lush rainforest. There is also a much longer three hour hike and a rooftop walk. We skipped out on the walk to the sunset view platform, but did love the hikes we did. We also loved the parrots that visited us for breakfast and the restaurant of the little resort where we got to eat potatoe wedges and drink Aperol Spritz. Told you I am not a country girl.

Grampians

Grampians was an additional little goodie we got to enjoy. My boyfriend was supposed to fly home in the beginning of January, but loved Australia so much that he ended up extending his trip for another week. This allowed us to head out to the Grampians, a mountain range just three hours outside of Melbourne. This was a very hike-intense trip with us hiking about seven kilometers each day. Out of all the parks we visited the Grampians was possibly the driest. There´s very little vegetation and the hikes in the mountains are very sun-exposed. The hikes were quite challenging, but the views made it so beyond worth it. We hiked to the Pinnacle Lookout, which I absolutely loved. The hike was very diverse, there was so much to see and the view on top was just stunning. We then did the hike to Mount William on our second day. To be fair the hike to the top was not my favourite, it is mainly a very straight road that goes all the way up. You get rewarded with an awesome view though.

Our final stop before heading back to Melbourne was Mackenzie Falls. It was absolute perfection to dip in the icy waters of the falls after two hot dry days spent just hiking.
Another reason I loved our getaway to the Grampians so much, was the gorgeous Airbnb we stayed in. It was an absolute gem with a gorgeous garden, fresh eggs from the family´s hens, a horse and absolutely lovely hosts. We felt so incredibly welcome here. I really loved the Grampians, it can be perfectly included into your Great Ocean roadtrip if wanted and really should not be missed. 

Blue Mountains National Park 

This national park is just outside Sydney, which is probably why it is so well known. Well just outside in Australian terms: about two hours in a car away. The National Park is actually called Blue Mountains, because of the blue tint the Eucalyptus oil in the air gives you during panoramic views and there are many of them. There are so many different hikes in this park, you could easily spend multiple days here. We only had one day and tried to make the most out of it. We camped at StayKCC which had great powered sides, showers and even a laundry room and is perfectly located for the hikes around Malaita Lookout, Katoomba Falls and the Three Sisters. If you have limited time like ourselves I think this is perfect. 

Wilsons Promontory National Park

This National Park was hands down my absolute favourite of all the ones we visited. It is so easy to miss out on this park and head straight from Sydney towards Melbourne, but you would truly miss out. I am still so gutted we only had one full day here. We started our day with the Hike to the top of Mount Oberon. Not a very exciting hike, again you walk straight up for what feels like a long time. In theory though you get rewarded with an insane panoramic view. Sadly we did not get that lucky and it was super cloudy. This is the main reason I wish we had time to do the hike again the next day. Afterwards we did the Lilly Pilly Gully Nature Walk, which gives you a nice overview of the vegetation here and also includes a little boardwalk. This is a really easy walk so perfect after hiking up a steep mountain for seven kilometers. We then headed to Squeaky Beach. I really enjoyed climbing on the rocks here and seeing the clam colonies on the stones. 

We ended our day with the Prom Wildlife Walk. I actually think it is best to do this at the end of the day since most animals will head out around dusk. We saw cangaroos, wallabies and my personal highlight: two little wombats. There were also emus and it was nice to kind of be guaranteed to see all of these animals in the wild.