Several roads run west from the goldfields to the South Australian border through the seemingly endless wheatfields of the Wimmera . To the west of the farming centre of Ararat is the major attraction of the area, The Grampians ( Gariwerd) National Park , the southwestern tail-end of the Great Dividing Range. Stawell and Horsham - the latter regarded as the capital of the Wimmera - are good places to base yourself, but Halls Gap , inside the park, is even better. North of Horsham are Nhill and Dimboola , close to Little Desert National Park and, like Warracknabeal further north, wheat centres. Beyond here is the least populated part of the state, the wide, flat Mallee with its twisted mallee scrub, sand dunes and dry lakes. This region, with several state and national parks, extends from Wyperfeld National Park in the south, right up to Mildura's irrigated oasis on the Murray River. South of the Grampians is sheep country; following the Hamilton Highway from Geelong you'll end up at Hamilton , the major town and wool capital of the western district, also accessible via Dunkeld on the southern edge of the Grampians.