Two weeks walking in the Victorian, Australia alps - Bright, Australia
Bright, Australia
We've organised to do 13 days walking in the Victorian Alps with a group of 19 from the NPA (National Parks Association). The group are all experienced walkers, and range in age from 55 to 80. Dianne, at 66 is one of the younger ones, and Murray who is about to turn 74, is the second oldest. Alain, who has a great apartment a half km from the Louvre in Paris, wanted to do a house swap with us, so once we booked the trip we let him know that our place was available, and we arranged for him to arrive the Sunday we were leaving. We spent a couple of weeks doing a major spring clean, including getting the carpet shampooed, ready for his arrival.
Sunday 13th November 2016 Sydney to Gundagai
Alain, our guest from Paris, surprises us by turning up earlier than expected. He got off the plane and straight out as he only had cabin baggage, so we have to do the final things like making the beds with fresh sheets, while he is present.
We take him on the grand tour of the apartment block. One of the selling points of our unit is the pool area down on the harbour, with views across to the city. Unfortunately there was a sewer leak into our backyard a week or so ago, and Sydney Water reckoned (incorrectly) it was coming from our pipes, so plumbers have been digging for a week trying to locate it. Luckily it didn't affect the pool, but the area definitely doesn’t look as good as usual.
We give Alain a lift up town to the supermarket to get his first supplies, drop him back at the unit, and carry on to the AGM of Macquarie Explorers at Mosman. The afternoon BBQ is pretty congenial, and we get away at about 3pm to pick up the expressway at the Harbour Bridge and carry on, traffic light-free, getting off the highway near Berrima to get petrol and some snack supplies at a very strange little servo, which gave the impression that it should be a hell of a lot further west than the Hume Highway.
We have a pretty good run down the highway, on 110 km/hr pretty all the way to Gundagai, which is far enough down the highway to make Hotham on schedule the next day.
We arrive in the dark in quite heavy rain. Gundagai doesn’t have a lot of variety in motel selection, and Dianne checks Trip Advisor for possible choices. We finally settle for the cheapest selection at the Poet’s Recall, which is fairly close to the centre of town - an upstairs room for A$89. We lug our large collection of luggage upstairs before heading out in search of food.
Gundagai town centre at 9 o’clock on a Sunday night in the rain, after their big weekend of the year, the Snake Gully Cup carnival, does not offer a lot, but we do a patrol of the main street, and decide on the Pizza and Hamburger shop, which was open when we first passed it, but closed when we returned. The RSL was a possible starter, as we could see seated diners, but settled for the Bushrangers Hamburger Shop, which was in the process of closing for the night, but they weakened and let us in. With two enormous Aussie style burgers with the lot, we headed back to the room, sorted out the A/C, as it was raining and pretty chilly, watched a bit of Foxtel, then called it a night.
Monday 14th November 2016 Gundagai to Asterix Lodge, Davenport Village, Hotham
With plenty of time to make Hotham by 5 PM, we had a lazy start. Breakfasted in the room, and ended up with a 15 minute extension of checkout time, to leave at 10.15. We checked out the town, including the lookout, and the historic Prince Alfred Bridge (built 1866) and the timber Railway Bridge which was completed in 1902. The viaduct is 819.4m long. The timber viaducts are wonderful examples of early engineering solutions to crossing a major flood plain. Their national significance is recognised with listing by the National Trust. They are a spectacular latticework of wooden trusses, spanning the flood plains and River. Last time we were here you could walk on them, but they have deteriorated since then, and it is not considered safe to do so now. See some old, if not historic, houses, and the railway station before heading for the highway, where we found all the 24 hour fast food outlets we had missed last night.
We stopped at Holbrook, and Murray arranged for fuel, some very expensive engine oil, and eventually managed to put air in the tyres from a "do-it-yourself" installation of the hose which had to be retrieved from the office. Dianne found a bakery with pies and a vanilla slice for a very healthy (not) breakfast.
We got off the highway at the first off ramp for Albury, found an Aldi straight away to shop for basic provisions for our self-catering, then, with more difficulty, found a Woolworths for our usual pumpkin seed bread and some special items, and a chemist for additional walking first-aid items.
We had a bit of difficulty getting back on the highway, but maps.me put us right and we carried on down towards Hotham.
There are myriad ways to get to Hotham from Albury, and we sort-of decided on via Beechworth and Myrtleford in the absence of other information. We missed the first turnoff, partly because it seemed too close to Albury, which left more of the route non-highway, but picked up the second exit some 30 km down the road at Chiltern. This took us through to Beechworth on a minor, but fast road, then down the mountain on a good but winding road to Myrtleford and then to Bright on a good road down the Ovens Valley, past Porepunkah and the turnoff to Mount Buffalo, where we are coming back to walk later in the trip, when staying at Bright.
Beyond Bright, we drove on the Great Alpine Road along the long, straight section on the bottom of the Ovens River valley, and through Harrietville before starting on the winding road climbing up to Mt Hotham, which is a major ski area in the winter. Have good views out over the mountains. The valley is somewhat spoilt by the thousands of dead trees, as there have been a number of major bushfires here, including in 2003 and 2013. We pass through the bizarrely decorated road tunnel in the centre of Hotham village, past the hotel, but cannot find a road to our Asterix ski lodge. The best candidate has a no entry sign on it, and we have to circle the village a couple of times to find the entrance to the residential area, and the interestingly named Gallows Court.
We are just in time for the 5PM orientation, where we meet and try to remember the names of the nineteen walkers. We walked with Tony in the Grampians in 2009, and Tony and Ann in the mid-north NSW coast in 2010, and much later in the week realised we walked with Val in the Flinders
Ranges in 2008.
We have to sort out a clash of room allocations, with two couples allocated the same room. Luckily we keep the room, which is good as we have already filled the room with our gear, and put our food in allocated cupboards, fridges and freezers.
After the 5PM meetup, we take some good sunset photos, have our frozen lasagne tea, then walk up to the hotel where some of our group are dining. See the "super moon" fleetingly through the scudding clouds, and go to bed early.
The weather is unseasonably cold at present (which is not unusual – it snowed last week) and the lodge has not been used since the close of the ski season. We had been told that someone would open up and start the heaters etc, but this was not done, so there are a few problems to sort out. Our room is on the bottom level and is bitterly cold and we have to work out how to drive the heating system. The heater actually starts, but seems underpowered, so Murray takes the cover off it and de-fluffs the fins, but to no avail. Fortunately, we have two double bunks, so are able to use two doonas in the lower bunk and survive the night.
Tuesday 15th November Asterix Lodge, Davenport village, Mt Hotham
Mt Tabletop 10kms – Grade 4 (difficult)
Dinner Plain village walk
We are supposed to be in the cars and away by 8.30, so set alarms for 7.30, but are woken at 7 AM by the very-loud fire alarm, followed by a recorded message to stand by for further instructions. This becomes a common occurrence, and we think has something to do with people leaving the front door open, but never really understand why.
We have a hot shower in our still-chilly room, with an ice-cold carpet, get all our warm gear either on or packed, have our cereal breakfast, make our peanut butter sandwich lunch, and are ready on time. Murray decides against taking our camera, so have no photos for this day.
We drive in four vehicles further along the Great Alpine Highway to the parking area at JB Plain Hut, at 1640 metres elevation. Walk south west across a tussock grass plain with a lot of surface water towards Mount Tabletop, shown on our programme as 14 km return, on the map as 10 km return. The track enters timber country, mainly snow gums, a lot of which are either dead or burnt. The track drops down steeply to Tabletop Creek which we have to cross. The group has some minor and major slips on wet rocks, then on to a pretty meadow where we have our first rest and drink stop.
From here it is uphill on a track which varies from easy walking to rough rocky track, with several dead trees across the track, which need skirting or climbing. The track is often cut deep and narrow into the earth, making walking a bit like tightrope walking.
The final climb to Mt Tabletop is pretty steep, and Tony, who is not feeling well, stays at the bottom of the last ascent before starting back early with a small escort party. We pass the escort party before we get back to JB Plain, so have to wait at the hut, before driving to Dinner Plain to look at Carmichael Falls. Unfortunately the road to the falls is closed, and there is a notice saying the track is dangerous, so we walk along the well-made gravel path to Dinner Plains Resort, which is pretty new, with mainly corrugated iron modern architecture, and as active as the village of the dead.
Back at the lodge have our 5pm briefing and drinks, followed by dinner. The majority of the group have elected to have communal meals for the next four nights, which means you cook one of the four nights, which makes it very easy for three nights.
Have another early night. Our room has finally warmed up a bit, so settle for one doona, but topped and tailed so Dianne is further away from Murray’s snoring.
Wednesday 16th November Asterix Lodge, Davenport village, Mt Hotham
Parts of the Huts Walk
Loch reservoir & carpark to Derrick Hut 4.7km–max elevation 1,821m.Total climb 298m, descent 297m (Grade 3-4)
Derrick Hut to Pole 84 -400 metres, then 3.8km to Spargo Hut & return
Pole 84 to Mt Loch- 2.3 km, then Mt Loch to Loch reservoir carpark 3.8km
TOTAL FOR DAY 14.6KM
Another 7.30 alarm, and on the road by 8.30. Tony has a rest day as he’s still not feeling well. Rest of us drive back along the main road past Hotham Village, through the bizarre road tunnel to stop at the Huts Walk North trailhead at Loch Reservoir and carpark. Beside the start of the walking track there is a stylized sculpture of a stamp battery, and on it is perched a very large flame breasted robin. All the photo fiends take a photo before it is discovered the robin is a fake.
The walk takes us down a rough access road, with good views back to Mt Hotham village. Walk past snowmaking gear and lifts and back up the far side of the valley to the where the track splits at a chair lift terminal. Left goes to Mt Loch, right to the huts. It looks like a long climb to Mt Loch, so are pleased to be heading for the huts, with the path sloping gently down along the ridge, then steeper down a residual patch of snow, which is pretty slippery, and we have to dig our heels in.
The path descends along the north side of the ridge, past another patch of snow, where we see and photograph a real flame breasted robin, then another snow field where we surprise a very large hare, and get an action photo of him running across the snow. We cross a small creek and descend to Derrick hut, a rather new hut of blue painted weatherboard, lined inside with timber, set in a pretty grassy area with some mature snow gums. It was built as a day shelter for ski tourers in 1967, as a memorial to Charles Derrick who died in 1965 in a blizzard. While we are having morning tea, we are visited by another flame breasted robin, so get a few photos.
We climb back to the top of the ridge, with quite a few dead gums around here, before branching off to the south, crossing a tussock plain before a gentle climb through snow gums to a rather savage zig—zag descent to a wetland and Spargo’s Hut. The hut is quite old and rough, has a lot of historic hydro-mining equipment, and is furnished roughly as a habitable hut, with a bed and mattress, table, chairs, cupboards. It is one of the oldest intact structures around Mt Hotham, and was built in 1927-28 by Bill and Cecil Spargo for Bill’s prospecting and mining activities in the Golden Point area.
We struggle back up the steep zig—zag and back toward the top of the ridge, getting a photo of an unusual bluish bird with a musical call. We lunch on the ground under a thick canopied, solitary snow gum, then walk back to where the path splits to go to Mt Loch. Some have gone ahead, some are heading back, and some are continuing on to Mt Loch. We are pretty buggered, but the 850 metre climb to the summit looks reasonable from here, along a rough vehicle track, so we continue. The last part of the climb is pretty steep, and the Mt Loch party is well strung out by the time we do the final climb. By then the advance party have descended, and on the way down they alert us that there is a couple on the summit and gives us their names. There is a bit of joking which goes on regarding how we know their names when we meet up, and we get some useful information from them.
From the cairn on the summit, we can see Mt Feathertop (where we are walking tomorrow) to the west and the Mt Buffalo massif beyond, the tower on Mt McKay to the north, and further east, and a long way off, the snows of Mt Kosciuszko.
We meet the rest of the group at the junction, then head back to the cars, finding the final climb to the car park hard going.
We meet up with Tony back at the lodge to find he was no better, and would go down to the hospital at Bright in the morning. Murray and Tony have a conference call with the plumber to find out why none of the space heating radiators were working. Turned out that the lodge temperature hadn’t dropped to below the 24.5C set point, according to a thermostat in the top corridor, where all the heat accumulates. It certainly wasn’t 24.5C in our room, though definitely warmer than when we first arrived. We had our nibbles, drinks and briefing, and our second group meal. To bed with the heating turned off, and found it a lot more comfortable under the thick doona.
Thursday 17th November Asterix Lodge, Davenport village, Mt Hotham
To “The Cross” at Mt Feathertop climb – along Razorback Ridge Grade 4- 19kms
Today we are doing the hardest walk of the trip, and the one we’re a bit worried about. Others are worried about it too, and five are not doing it, including Tony who is going to see a doctor as he’s still feeling sick. Mt Feathertop is the second highest mountain in Victoria, at 1922 metres (after Mt Bogong at 1,986 metres)
We have an early start for the big day, and are 8km down the road from Davenport Village, towards Bright (and 2.5km from Hotham Village) at the Razorback Walking Track head by 7.20am, in clear weather with a breeze from the west which makes us glad we have all our warm gear on. The track starts at Diamantina Hut. We have looked at the profile of the walk, and are ready for some ups and downs, but the Big Dipper is pretty extreme, both going down first, then climbing out of it. There is a contour track around the hills which we hope to use on the return journey. On the way out, we have good views down into the valleys on either side, along the ridge to Mt Feathertop, still with patches of snow on it, and across to the cairn on Mt Loch where we were yesterday, and the ski lifts of Hotham. A lot of the track is good walking along the side of ridges on smooth paths, but other parts are on rocky ground with vertically bedded shale. We see some small birds, a blue cheeked lorikeet, and a lot of crows.
Closer to Mt Feathertop, we run into a walker who is camped at Federation hut, and we can see his yellow tent a long way off. We can look back and see our cars at the track head through the telephoto. Closer to Mt Feathertop, we pass through a cleft in the ridge which is sheltered from the wind and has green grass, flowers and trees, an ideal camping spot. We reach the junction between the Razorback Track and the Federation Hut track at a place called “The Cross” on a saddle with green grass and a large, shady snow gum about 11.30am, after 4 hrs walking. From here we can look up to the savage 1.5km climb to the summit, but decide against it, along with three others. We are probably fit enough to do it, but worried we would be too tired on the last section of the return trip. The remainder of the group does the climb, while we rest on the grass. As the climbing party comes into sight high on the mountain, Murray records their progress on the telephoto. While we are waiting, a man about our age comes up the Federation Track. He has come all the way from Harrietville, about 900 metres lower down, is heading for the summit, and will return to Harrietville in the afternoon. He makes us feel a bit wimpish.
While waiting for the climbing party to return, we meet a group from the Bush Club who are camped at Federation Hut, including Grahame and Barbara who will join our group in Mount Beauty.
The return trip is a long, hard slog, and we are glad we didn’t do the climb, even though it was only an extra 3 km. At the end, every kilometre seems an eternity. We are pleased that the alternative track around the contour eliminates the climb and descent over the Big Dipper, and we emerge onto the gentle slope that leads back to the track head. The final climb from the track to the cars is a bit of a battle. Everyone is exhausted at the end, particularly those that did do the climb to the top of Mt Feathertop.
Unfortunately tonight is our night to cook, so we don’t have time to rest. Luckily we had done a deal with Barbara, our fellow cook tonight, that she would procure, cook and freeze the beef Stroganoff and broccoli, and we would pay for the ingredients, plus provide some garlic bread. It is not easy to carry out our cooking duties after the walking ordeal. We had to thaw the beef stroganoff, and it was decided to use a new slow cooker, which unknown to us, unfortunately had polystyrene packing between the heater and the cooking pot to make it better for travelling. We soon discovered this as it heated up and started smelling terrible. We also learnt the lesson that slow cooking means exactly that. Eventually our fellow cook acquiesced to our suggestion to use the microwaves and we managed to provide a hearty, if somewhat late, meal for the group in the cooking syndicate.
We find that Tony couldn’t see a doctor in the village this morning, so decided to drive further. When someone rings him to get a progress report, he says he’s back in Sydney, in an ambulance, being taken to hospital, where he spent the next two weeks, eventually having a pacemaker inserted. Horrified when we think of what the repercussions could have been if he had continued walking.
Friday 18th November Asterix Lodge, Davenport village, Mt Hotham
The Montagne Loop Track (1km), Room with a View (3km return)
Dead Timber Hill track (2km one way) Back on part of Brabralung Trail (1km)
Carmichael Falls Walk (2km return), back to cars approx. 2kms - Total approx. 11kms
We drive past Dinner Plain Village to the trail head for The Montagne Loop track, a one kilometre circuit which joined the Room with a View Track, which you go out on and return the same way.
The Montagne loop is mostly through snow gums, with a fair amount of standing dead trees, and not a lot of distant views. We joined the Room with a View track at a small dam with a lot of water weed, and proceeded generally downhill through snow gums, with a few fallen timber obstacles across the path. Room with a View is a nicely grassed clearing on the hillside with a single bench seat, and views down into the Cobungara River valley, up to the Bogong High Plains, across ridges to the cairn on Mt Loch we visited previously, and the peak of Mt Feathertop in the distance.
We joined the Dead Timber Hill track and carried on towards the JB Plain hut, from where our walk on the first day started. We climbed to the lookout at Dead Timber Hill, passing a mysterious hi-tech antenna system hidden in the bush, below the skyline. After a stop to look at the view, which included Mt Feathertop, Mt Loch and the ski fields of Hotham, we carried on to lunch at the JB Plain Hut, then returned to the outskirts of Dinner Plain Village on the well graded and surfaced gravel Brabralung Trail. We meet a man carrying a hammer. Turns out he is not an equipment handicapped axe murderer, but a man organising trail running on a commercial basis, and the hammer is for fixing direction signs.
At the outskirts of Dinner Plain Village we see the gate to Carmichael Falls is open, and the prohibition notice that was there earlier in the week, is gone. This requires a re-think of the programme, and it is decided all those who want to do the seemingly innocuous detour to see the falls should go.
We are able to follow the track around the perimeter of the settlement, and take the downhill branch towards a gully where the falls are presumably located. It is a long way downhill to reach the creek, where we find a group of cascades, pretty enough, but not really falls. The track continues on above the creek, so we continue along the path, which doesn’t seem to be getting any closer to the creek. We send one of the younger walkers ahead to see what she can find, but she returns without finding anything. We are about to give up, (and some do) but we are encouraged by the fact that the continuing path must lead to something, as it is not a loop. Additionally, Dianne now has Maps.me downloaded onto her Iphone, and it shows the track ending and names the falls, so we carry on through muddy patches and timber deadfalls to find a steep escarpment, a viewing platform, and the falls some 50 metres distant, with a good flow of water and a 10 to 15 metre drop. Worth the walk.
Back at the cascades, we rejoin those who stayed behind, climbed the steep track back to the perimeter road, circled the settlement, then did the long walk up past the water treatment plant and the low-rise ski tow. Back on the main road, some go straight to the cars while others look at the historic Crisps Hut right in the settlement.
Saturday 19th November Mt Hotham to Mt Beauty Holiday Centre, Tawonga South (Mt Beauty)
We pack the car, and do vacuum cleaning, bathroom cleaning and fridge cleaning. We can’t complain as the accommodation price was only A$60 per night for the room (the mid-week, off season rate if you take five nights). Once the heating and are few other problems were sorted, it was excellent, with good common areas, a good kitchen and individual fridge spaces, and wonderful picture windows giving great views out over the valley.
We’re eager to get on the road as the Great Alpine Running Festival is on at Dinner Plain today and tomorrow, and there are signs up saying some of the roads will be closed later in the day.
The 2016 Mountaingrass Festival, featuring Bluegrass and Old Time music, is also on at Harrietville, which is on our way, so we’re worried there may be a traffic jam there. We’re on the road down to Harrietville by 10 AM, taking some photos of Mt Feathertop through the dense tree cover. When we get to Harrietville surprised to find the village is almost deserted, and we don’t stop – not because there was no parking as we were expecting, but because there was nothing to see.
Continue on to Bright, past the Mt Beauty turnoff, to get petrol and sundry supplies at Woolworths before heading over the pass to Mt Beauty, stopping at the two lookouts over the Kiewa Valley on the way.
We booked in to Mt Beauty Holiday Centre (A$105 per night) at Tawonga South. Our studio cabin at the caravan park is nothing fancy, but has all the facilities needed, double bed right next to the floor length glass door, twin bunks for retreating from restless partners, air conditioning that works, and our own bathroom.
We walk around the campsite, which has a very attractive setting right on the fast-flowing West Kiewa River, with expansive, well-grassed grounds. We look at a very flash powered para-glider, investigate an attached restaurant, closed for the summer, and find ourselves the wrong side of a drain to get back to our cabin, so retreat to the main road and walk as far as the second bridge, over the tailrace for the Mt Beauty power station. The tailrace is deep, but fairly still. Obviously we are at a low-demand time, but notices and fences warn against sudden flow and depth increases.
We check out the information centre, don’t go in, but take a photo of a tunnelling machine to remind Adrian, Murray’s brother, of working on the tunnel at Bogong Power Station in 1973.
Return to the camp for the 5PM briefing and drinks, before getting a hamburger and chips from Swiss Chips, rather than the trendy but crowded Pizza restaurant.
Sunday 20th November Mt Beauty Holiday Centre
Bogong High Plains -Wallaces Heritage Trail- to Wallaces Hut & Cope Hut & return- 5.6km
Mt Cope & return 5 km – Total walked 10.6 km
Have our normal routine of up 7.30am, away by 8.30am. We drive up to Falls creek in a four car convoy, through the Falls Creek Village, which has expanded and modernised considerably since we were here over 40 years ago. We cross the Rocky Valley Dam, and circle around it to the start of the Wallaces Heritage Trail, where there is a large visitor platform with educational photos and notices.
It is only a short walk from here to the historic Wallaces Hut, in a lovely setting with green, short grass in a sheltering dell, surrounded by snow gums.
The hut looks pretty authentic, with timber framed pitched roof, covered with split shingles, classic corrugated iron chimney, and vertical snow gum slab walls. The roof has been sheeted over with corrugated galvanised iron, and the walls have been lined with a water and windproof material similar to malthoid, a tar-impregnated felt. It was supplied in rolls, suitable for packhorse transport, and would have provided a touch of luxury. The Wallace family grazed their cattle on the Bogong High Plains between 1869 and 1914. Each year they would drive their stock up for four days to reach the summer feed. The hut provided shelter for the graziers.
From the hut we walk 500 metres downhill to intersect the aqueduct which collects water which would otherwise bypass the dam and hydro system, and slopes gently toward the dam. We walk along the wide, grassy track beside the metre-wide aqueduct, against the flow of water. We meet runners, singly, and in groups, on one of the many alpine endurance events run at this time of year.
In some places the aqueduct is joined by streams coming down the hill, at others, the water is run in a pipe instead of an open channel. After 1.2 kms we strike uphill for 1 km to stop at Cope Hut, a more modern and functional hut, with galvanised corrugated iron walls, roof and chimney, bunks and a table, and a sisalation insulated roof. It was built in 1929 for accommodation for skiers on tours. After a stop for morning tea, we set off again, and 200 metres on we intersect with the Bogong Alpine Way before taking a 2 km path gently downhill back to Wallaces hut, then carry on back to the cars.
We then drive back up the hill past where we had intersected the road near Cope Hut, and carry on further to the start of the Mt Cope track. It looks like a relatively easy walk across gently sloping ground to a small outcrop, so we start off at a fast pace, only slowing down when the group starts to get very spread out. Walking on the narrow tracks cut into the tussock grass isn’t easy, as you have to put one foot directly in line with the other, a bit like tightrope walking. By the time we reach the top, we are ready for a lunch stop and a look at the scenery. From the summit, you can see 360 degrees, from Mt Hotham to the south, just visible in the telephoto, to Mt Feathertop with its distinctive stripes of snow, Mt McKay with its communications tower, lookout shelter and equipment building, the bulk of Mt Bogong to the NW, and the snowy peaks of the Mt Kosciuszko main range to the north.
We aren’t in our own car, so can’t stop in Falls Creek for a sentimental revisit to Koki Lodge, where we went for our honeymoon 43 years ago, and where Murray used to go ski-ing for quite a few years, so carry on down the road through tall timber country with little sign of the bushfires which had affected Mt Hotham so badly.
As the pub next to the camping area is closed on Sunday, we settle for reheating the left-over frozen Stroganoff from Asterix Lodge for tea.
Monday 21st November Mt Beauty Holiday Centre
Bogong High Plains -Tawonga Huts – 9 km return
Fainter Falls - 1.5 km return - Total 10.5 kms
Today is our turn to drive, with five in the car. We all take it in turns to take a full carload, and each passenger pays the driver $5 for petrol etc. Those of us with cars pay the $5 one day, but get it back the next. We drive through Falls Creek, turning off before the dam wall to climb up to Ruined castle, a rocky area above the trail from Falls Creek summit to the Sun Valley area, then dropping down to the Pretty Valley Pondage, a small dam to the west of, and slightly lower than the main dam. We park beside the dam, where a very cold wind is blowing off the water, get our warm gear on, and walk to a narrow causeway across the shallow top of the pondage. There are no obvious drain pipes through the causeway, but the fill is mainly large rocks so is unlikely to form a dam.
From the pondage we climb 140 metres over a spur before dropping down to a small saddle with a memorial to Ben Cooper, who was born in 1896 and rode the High Plains for 56 years. There are good views to Hotham, Mt Feathertop and down into the West Kiewa Valley. We descend along the Fainter Fire Trail to the cattlemen’s huts, known as the Tawonga Huts, which are nestled in a very pleasant valley with a running stream, green grass and the remains of a log stockyard. We have morning tea here, visit the loo, and decide against doing the steep climb up to Mt Jaithmathang, and all head back to the cars to drive to Mt McKay.
We stop at a camping area with a stockyard on the way to Mt McKay, finding a very pleasant lunch spot on granite outcrops beneath snow gums. We are visited by a flame breasted robin, and get a few blurred photos.
On the way up Mt McKay, we carefully negotiate the steep approach road where one of the drivers had trouble when reconnoitring the area earlier. Get right to the top to park beside the communication tower without problems. The tower, octagonal lookout shelter and equipment building are quite large close up, easily recognisable from the telephotos we took from the Hotham area. The tower itself has strange, square bolted plates fixed to it. A closer look shows these are not for communication, but to hold stiffening struts added to the tower after construction. Either the tower was designed too delicate originally, or has been strengthened to take extra communications gear. Either way, it is not a pretty sight. The Lookout shelter is quite flash, with seats and glass windows. The communications equipment building is closed up tight, with a securely locked door, and full cladding of corrugated galvanised iron. It is also not a pretty sight, but is pretty weatherproof.
After taking photos of the buildings, the Rocky Valley Dam, Pretty Valley pondage, relief structures and equipment for the power station pipelines, the West Kiewa river valley, The Bogong High Plains, and Mt Bogong, we all drive back across the dam wall and stop at the start of the Ropers Lookout walking track. The area is not a lot different to what we have already seen, and we are more interested in looking at Falls Creek Village, and possibly the Fainter Falls on the way down the mountain, so re-arrange the car seating, taking Ron, Cecilia and Carol with us, and leaving the rest of the group to do the walk.
Falls creek village has grown a lot since we were last there, and some of the narrow streets on the mountainside are closed presumably for maintenance, so we cover a lot of ground right up to the main ski bowl, before finding a lodge labelled Koki. The name is right, the location about right and the stonework is similar, but the shape is all wrong. We quiz a local workman, but he can’t remember George Shirling, the 1973 owner, or Hans Fischer, the cook and general legend around the mountain. We take photos, scour the village, which is a bit like the “Village of the Dead”, until we find a restaurant open and serving coffee. The waitress, who is 30ish, can’t remember too much about Koki. We must be getting old – probably are considering we had our honeymoon here 43 years ago, after being together another three years before that!
Back in the car, we head down to Fainter Falls. We had seen a sign on the road indicating 200 metres to the falls, but when we got there we realised it was actually saying 200 metres to the car park. At the far end of the car park there is a modest sign indicating 700 metres of mostly level track to the falls, so we give it a go, walking a narrow track occasionally cut into the steep hillside, and fitted with safety fences. There is some interesting flora on the way. The first good view is along the track to the falls, as well as down into the McKay Creek. There is a viewing platform about halfway down the falls, and 50 metres away. We get some good photos here, then descend steep stairs to a bridge across the creek below the falls, then climb to near the base of the falls on the far side, where we can get a closer view of the falls, and take more photos. After, head back to the car, and back to the camping area.
At night, after briefing and drinks, most of the group walk up to the local pub for a “Seniors Meal”.
Tuesday 22nd November Mt Beauty Holiday Centre
Mt Beauty Riverside walk – 4km
Mount Beauty Gorge & Canyon Walk 3.2km, various side trips 3km
Because of forecast bad weather, including rain and snow up past Falls Creek, the walk to Kelley’s and Fitzgerald Huts, to be led by Murray, has been changed to two walks close to Mount Beauty. We walk from the Caravan Park towards Mt Beauty township and turn left onto the Riverside Walk just past the suspension bridge over the West Kiewa River. The first part of the walk is along a gravelled shared path next to the river. The path is level and good walking, lined by trees and right beside the river. We go as far as a loop at the aptly named Pebble Beach, if you like pebbles as big as oranges. The river is flowing pretty strongly, probably indicating that there is not a lot of water being diverted through the power station. The walking is pretty pleasant, apart from occasional sprinkles of rain, and a lot of flies. Halfway back to the main road, we cut across country to climb the wall of the pondage, and walk clockwise around it. From the pondage wall, we can see the industrial area and airport to the left, and the reflection of the village and mountains in the still pondage water to the right. The airport is a prime spot for light planes and gliders, and is very well kept. They have a glider tow winch permanently located down the far end of the runway.
We stop for morning tea and a loo break at a park and playground on the east side of the pondage, but find it hard to relax as the area is infested with swarms of tiny flies. From here we pass around the sports oval and through the commercial area of town, finding a likely spot for an after-walk coffee, and follow the map to where it shows a track leading to the canyon from the end of a short side street on the far side of the main road. Unfortunately there is an Electricity company installation at what used to be the end of the street, and another 200 metres of street leading up the hill, and the only tracks leading off have unwelcoming signs saying private property.
After exploration further up the hill, we regroup, and head back down, passing a field of kangaroos, and eventually find an alternative path to the canyon a long way back at the information office, near where we started.
The new track is more promising, and even has signs, so we regain enthusiasm and walk between the power station tail race and the West Kiewa River until the track climbs to a T junction, right to the canyon, left to the Pole Track. We now know for sure we are on the right track, so carry on up the river till we reach a suspension bridge. The track continues on the west side of the river, fairly well marked, and reasonably level and smooth.
Just before we get to the Adit, Murray is grabbed by the collar and pulled back from a tiger snake sunning himself by the path. The Adit is a shaft, dug in the 1950’s and now filled in and collecting rubbish, which led down some 30 metres to the power station tunnel. The rabble that Murray is trying to lead is undecided about having lunch here, so we continue on, crossing the river several times on unstable, slippery stepping stones, till we get to the end of the line. The river here has vertical sides, and, as tested by Graham, is at least 1.5 metres deep, so we stop here for lunch.
On the way back, there is some slipping and sliding recrossing the river, but no-one has a swim or a damaged limb. Back in town, we return to the commercial area for coffee, just managing to get served and settled under the outdoor umbrellas before we get a short, heavy downpour.
On the way back to the caravan Park, we all call in to the Information Centre and talk to the woman in charge about the history of the area. The upshot is for $3 a head, she will give us a talk on the history of cattlemen on the high plains tomorrow morning after we check out from the caravan park.
Tea tonight is two hamburgers from Swiss Chips, and it rains most of the night.
Wednesday 23rd November Mt Beauty to Bright Riverside Holiday Park
Ovens River Canyon Walk at Bright - 6.5km
Our tour leaders find out we can check it to the Riverside Caravan Park in Bright early, so we check out right on 10 AM, drive to the Information Centre for our interesting half hour history lecture, and head out for Bright, back over the same pass we took to get here. It is raining when we arrive in Bright, and all meet up at a coffee shop, but it is starting to clear up by the time we get to the caravan park and book in.
For various reasons we weren’t very happy with the camping area, and Dianne gave it a bad review on Trip Advisor, which explains the main complaints.
“We were in a group of 20 so got to try different types of accommodation. The villas are quite new ($178 per night in low season) and have a good river view, but the two-bedroom units ($162 per night) were built, at a guess, in the 1950’s, but have been updated inside with new bathrooms, though kitchen is pretty old. They are further back from the river, and have caravans between them and the river. The facilities for the caravans and tents are straight from the 1950's, with only a little updating. Our advice is to make sure you get a villa.
Good points - it's a great location on the river, walking distance to the centre of town.
Overall impressions - we arrived a bit early, and were happily surprised to find we could move into our cabins. The male owner was in reception when we arrived, and basically ignored us while he dealt with "a million different things". Seemed to us like he was just answering a couple of phone calls - just gave us the impression that he wasn't cut out for dealing with the public. Read all the other reviews, which confirmed the impression we had. The lady owner, who we didn't meet, was apparently very warm and helpful to the person in our group who did the booking. We had a few things in our unit we wanted to point out to the owners, but as we left every morning at 8.30, didn't get to see them. When we left on the Sunday on the last day, the office once again wasn't open till 9am so couldn’t report in person.
Bad Points – the worst thing was the heating (or lack thereof). We arrived in the rain, and it snowed that night at Falls Creek, and was about 8 degrees outside at Bright, even though it was November. There was a very prominent sign in the room showing that the temperature should be set at 18 degrees on the heating, and wouldn’t work if it was set higher. Even if it did get up to 18 degrees it would have been chilly in the unit, but it didn’t even get that warm, and it was freezing. Can’t imagine what it would be like in the middle of winter. This problem wasn’t just our cabin either. Lots of others were complaining about the lack of heating. It was obvious the heating was old and didn’t work properly. If I was paying a cheap price I might expect this, but at $150 per night I don’t think this is acceptable. Another small point was there was a very cheap toaster in the kitchen. When you put your bread in it, 1/3 of it was above the area where it gets toasted, as well as the fact one piece only toasted on one side. The beds were also a bit dippy for those that liked a firm bed.
There were a couple of washing machines in the laundries. When we had a look at them, one was half full of water with no clothes in it. I told the cleaner and it was fixed, but one of our group reported it not working properly when they used it later. One couple in our group decided to use the barbecue (electric) in the camping facilities. They put their money in, but at no stage would it work.
It seems that this camping area is very popular because of its great position; it’s just a shame that some of the facilities are not up to scratch.”
By 2pm we all decide it is fine enough to risk doing the walk down along the Ovens River Gorge, with only occasional need for umbrellas.
For a lot of the Ovens River Gorge the river runs through a narrow channel with steep rocky sides. The path runs beside the river, but climbs where the rocky banks drop too steeply into the water. We carry on down-river to a suspension bridge which takes us to the south bank (left side, looking downstream) and we continue to the former rail bridge, now part of the bike path network. On the return walk, we want to continue back on the left side, but a sign indicates the path on this side is closed, so we recross the swing bridge and return up the right bank.
On the far side of the gorge we note a narrow channel through the rock face, with a good flow of water and a waterfall into the river. The channel looks like a natural fault, but we find out later it could be a drainage channel from a lake formed by gold dredging operations. Getting back near where we started, we cross to the south bank on another swing bridge, and walk through a park, which has information plaques on the gold mining past of the Ovens Valley, telling us that 55 gold dredges were deployed. Dredging finished in 1955.
We have our usual evening briefing and drinks down at the much more modern and salubrious villas and have an evening meal of the roast chicken we bought at Woolworths. Have a fairly chilly night with the AC not really working at all in spite of following the blunt message on how to run the machine. The only warm place in the unit is the bathroom, as it has a “light fantastic”, a large square thing on the ceiling that was popular quite a few years ago, and incorporates heating as well as lights.
Thursday 24th November Bright Riverside Holiday Park
Mt Buffalo - The Big Walk 11.3km Grade 4
Today is another gruelling day, not as long a walk as Mt Feathertop, but a long descent from the Chalet at the top of Mt Buffalo all the way down to the car park at the base of the mountain. We had arranged a car shuttle, the plan being all the cars to stop at the car park at the bottom of the mountain, and only four cars with 5 people each go to the top of the mountain. It all seemed terribly simple at the start, but our progress is impeded by a grader and a rubber tyred road roller, making it hard for the convoy to pass. In our haste to stay in front of them once we had passed, we all miss the car park, and are committed to the road up the mountain, which has no wide spots to do a U-turn.
About halfway up the mountain, the lead car spots a road off to the right at a spur, and risks the chancy crossing right beside a blind corner to turn off the main road and stop at a car park. There is enough room for all the cars to turn round, and we return to the car park at the bottom of the mountain, and the end of the “Big Walk”. The transport is re-arranged, and four vehicles make the climb to the car park at the Chalet.
The parking area has excellent lookouts, and we get good photos of near vertical granite cliffs dropping a hundred metres onto the steep timbered slopes below. Definitely the most spectacular scenery we’ve seen on this trip so far. Photos we had seen of the cliffs showed them with bright orange iron stains, but, in the overcast morning light with fog, they are fairly grey. Through breaks in the clouds, we can see the bright green of the cleared pasture land along the Ovens River, and the darker green of forested hills above it.
It is about 7 degrees C when we start walking about 10AM, half an hour late, on a reasonably level track around the edge of the Gorge to Crystal Brook Falls. We can see where the brook disappears into space, but can’t get a look at the falls, or the Gorge until we are opposite the Chalet, and can look across the gorge. From the Falls Lookout you can see the end of the Big Walk, where we will end up, 1000 metres below. The track here does a descending loop, coming back to the gorge lower down, and we get good views of the falls. The track passes through dense timber and across bare granite sloping rock faces, quite good scenery, but it avoids the spectacular Eurobin falls we have seen from the main road. We have a bit of excitement crossing a particularly steep rock face, when one of the walkers panics and has to be led across the face by one of the experienced walkers.
We have a problem with walkers going at different paces, and have to stop and regroup often to keep in touch. Towards the bottom of the walk, we are in the tail end group, and one of the older women has trouble continuing to walk. It is looking serious for a while, but after a rest, and being relieved of her pack, she is able to hobble to the end of the walk. Fortunately, we have a strong walker with us who can handle the extra pack, as Murray at this stage is only just handling his own load.
Back at the car park, one car takes the four drivers back up the hill, and the other cars head back to the camping area.
In the evening, we have our debriefing out in the sun on benches before heading off to the Star Hotel for a very good Seniors Roast of the day, and book a table for 20 for our last night group meal.
Friday 25th November Bright Riverside Holiday Park
Mt Buffalo -Mac’s Point Track to Macs Point - 4km, then cross Wild Dog Plains to Rocky Creek track to Mt Dunn turnoff, then Long Plain Track past Mt Dunn back to Mac’s Point Track
Today we are taking our car to Mt Buffalo, with three passengers. It is always more relaxed doing your own driving on these mountain roads. We pass the scenes of yesterday’s confusion, drive past the turnoff to the Chalet, and find a fairly precarious park beside the road at the start of the Mac’s Point track after doing a 3-point turn on the main road. There is not a lot of traffic about, so have no problems. Across the valley we can see the massive granite outcrop of The Cathedral.
The walk starts off fairly easy, down a shallow grassy valley with views of the Cathedral to the left. Further along we pass a vintage metal sign to Wild dog plains, and walk along a creek before passing Stanley Rocks then climbing through granite boulders to Macs Point. We have morning tea here, look at the views to the south, down to cleared land in the Bunyip Creek Valley, and take telephotos of what looks like a viewing platform on a distant granite peak, which later turns out to be the Horn. We return to take the Rocky Creek Track towards Mt Dunn. We can see what looks like the mountain, off to the left, not much higher than the track, so we figure Mt Dunn shouldn’t be too much of a problem. However, the track starts sloping steeply downhill, and by the time we come to the turnoff to Mt Dunn, it is high above us. Along with half a dozen others, we decide we can do without Mt Dunn, so walk a short distance up towards it to find a good lunch spot, and camp, while the remainder set off for what is a steep climb over rocks to reach the peak.
The continuation of the loop back to our starting point is quite steep, and the track is blocked in many places by fallen timber which hasn’t been cleared, which involves a lot of energy to get over it. Get more views of The Cathedral and the Horn of Mt Buffalo after we rejoin our outward track, and we are pleased to get back to the cars.
After our briefing and drinks and nibbles, we have an evening meal of chicken leftovers.
Saturday 26th November Bright Riverside Holiday Park
Mt Buffalo: The Horn – 1km return and the Back Wall track 10km return
We take the cars all the way to the Horn Car park, arriving about 9.30am, when it is still 7C degrees. Once again, the area is impressive, especially the granite Horn. From the edge of the car park get good views of the granite cliffs, and the heavily timbered country to the south and west. The climb to the peak (at 1,723 metres the highest point on the plateau) is steep, but well graded, with stone steps a lot of the way up until we get to the bare rocks at the summit, where we encounter aluminium grating walkways, aluminium handrails, then steps all the way to the summit, which is surrounded by an armpit high metal safety fence. We take a lot of photos and video of the 360 degree view. Can see back over the Buffalo plateau to the Cathedral, Mt Dunn, and north and east to Mt Bogong, Mt Nelse, the Fainters, Mt Jaithmathang, Mt Feathertop, Mt Hotham and all the way around to the south and west to mystery Victorian peaks and finally Mt Buller. In the far distance to the north we can just make out the Kosciuszko main range.
Although the climb and descent are pretty steep, it is morning, and we are all feeling pretty frisky, so continue our plan to walk the Back Wall Track. This involves driving back to the Cresta ski area, with its open grassy valley and short ski lifts. We park here and walk further along the road to the start of the Back Wall track. Turn off to the right at the first hill, and strike out south east on a rubber mesh paved track through the tussock grass. We cross a wide track, with substantial bridges over the small streams. This track is the winter cross country route which is maintained by snow cats, hence the bridges. We turn south, following the stream, seeing small, fast moving trout in the stream which is one to two metres wide and half a metre deep. Like other days, there are quite a few wildflowers out. We start to climb up through a wide, shallow valley which points directly towards the Horn. Stop at an outcrop of large boulders beside a pool for morning tea.
We carry on to the south west, over a low pass and down into another well-grassed valley before starting a steady climb to the top of the last ridge before the descent to the Buffalo Creek valley. Here, we reach a good spot for lunch, on a smooth granite outcrop, and decide that we have gone far enough, having found a good view point, and we’d terminate the walk here. Some of the more active walkers explore further, but without finding much, so we are happy to call a halt.
After lunch, the two of us walk back and off to some high ground to the east, but don’t find any definitive “wall”. We are all pretty tired after walking more than 100km in the 11 days, and all a bit fragile. One of the women has a fall, probably not helped by the tiredness, but manages to survive the walk back out to the cars. Murray’s right knee, which hadn’t been all that good before the walk, is not particularly painful, but is now clicking with every step, so it is probably a good time to terminate the walking.
Back in the cars, we stop to have a look at the Leviathan, a massive egg shaped rock propped up on smaller outcrops so you can walk under it. Murray takes a telephoto shot of the “Monolith”. Also stop at Lake Catani for a look at the lake, which is actually a dam, and the plaque commemorating the Grossman sawmill, operated to provide timber for the first Chalet.
Back at the camp ground, we have our usual evening briefing and drinks, then dress for our farewell dinner at the Star Hotel. Dianne has the Chicken Parmigiana, while Murray sticks to the tried and true Seniors Roast of the Day. We say our farewells and head back to the camp to pack for an early start on the morrow.
Summary of Our Thoughts on Trip
We had a great group of compatible people, which made the trip enjoyable. The volunteer leaders put a lot of work into planning, but were prepared to change the program to take account of weather, fitness of the group etc. We were very lucky with the weather. Although we hit a cold snap, with temperatures sometimes not a lot above freezing during the night and early morning, it didn’t interfere with our walking. The only wet weather we had was the day we were moving from Mt Beauty to Bright, and we still managed to fit walks in before the rain one day, and after it finished the next day.
We had a great lodge at Mt Hotham which allowed everyone to mingle easily. We thought the walking at Mt Hotham was good, but not spectacular on a world scale. One of the highlights was the old huts and their history. The fact that there were so many dead trees from a number of serious bushfires detracted from the landscape.
The walking at the Bogong High Plains (staying in Mt Beauty) was similar to Mt Hotham, with interesting old huts, but nowhere near as many dead trees, but nothing really spectacular.
Some of the walks at Mt Buffalo (staying at Bright) were spectacular, and to us were the highlight of the trip. The incredible granite cliffs and rocky outcrops and rock formations were very impressive.
Sunday 27th toWednesday 30th November Bright to Melbourne to Sydney
We clean up the cabin in accordance with the messages liberally posted in our cabin, but are too early for the office to open to check out properly, and possibly give them a summary of the shortcomings of our $150, 1960’s cabin, and are away on the road by 8.30am, heading for Melbourne to spend a couple of days catching up with family and friends.