Last weekend, a friend and I headed to the Grampians. It's roughly a 3 hour drive from Melbourne, so we realised this wouldn't be a quick getaway. We began exploring various accommodation choices in the area. Since the Grampians are an enormous national park, I thought camping would be ideal initially, but my irrational concern about massive spiders attacking me and her worry about us ending up in a horror film scenario swiftly put paid to that idea. We opted for a hostel instead. Unfortunately, our original hostel cancelled the evening before we were due to arrive, leaving us in a bind to find somewhere else. That's when we discovered Tim's Place.
Frankly, I found it rather peculiar that Tim's Place didn't have an online booking system on their website. You need to do things the traditional way and ring to make a reservation (imagine that—you actually need to speak with another person instead of just pressing a button). After chuckling at how absurd it felt saying "Argh... I have to ring to book instead of using the internet", the irritation disappeared. Given that we'd be checking in quite late, it was genuinely thoughtful of Tim to arrange early access to our accommodation.
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| Photos sourced from http://goo.gl/6xnZd2 |
When we arrived, a charming little sign greeted us at the entrance to the hostel. Fortunately, Tim had positioned the note on the glass sliding door, making it straightforward to locate our accommodation. Had it been elsewhere, we might have spent the evening fumbling about attempting to locate room two.
Tim's Place struck me as more akin to a farmhouse than a conventional hostel. Whilst multiple guests were accommodated on the premises, the rooms offered greater privacy than you'd typically encounter at a hostel. My companion and I occupied a room we didn't have to split with anyone else. The shared bathrooms never left us queuing for a shower or toilet. A well-appointed kitchen and a sitting area with books, films, and a television were available to everyone. The property also featured a shared vegetable patch growing an assortment of herbs and produce. The entire establishment embraced eco-friendly principles, which was wonderful to encounter. I was perfectly content to pay a touch extra for accommodation here! Wifi, towels, bed linens, bicycles, and the garden were all incorporated in the rate (should you have stayed at a hostel previously, you'll understand that internet, towels, and linens often incur supplementary fees).
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| Lovely comfortable accommodation |
Tim, should you ever come across this, I'm still astonished you can tackle that track in just 2.5 hours. You're an absolute legend!
Beyond the warm, inviting ambiance, what I cherished most about Tim's Place was having kangaroos right on our doorstep. After spending more than a year and a half in Australia, I'm still blown away by how incredibly adorable kangaroos are. I was privileged to witness a female kangaroo and her baby relaxing outside our accommodation. Plus, there wasn't simply one pair—there was an entire field of them! It felt almost as extraordinary as visiting Disneyland.
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| Absolutely adorable! |
I might be slightly prejudiced given it's the sole accommodation I've tried in the Grampians, yet it proved to be an excellent blend of nature and contemporary comfort. Have you ever visited Tim's Place? If you've explored the Grampians, what was your lodging choice? Did you stay under canvas? Share your thoughts!
Until the next occasion...
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