Trip Report Victorian High Country 21 to 28 January 2012

Transcription

1 Trip Report Victorian High Country 21 to 28 January 2012 Trip Enthusiasts Ross M & Lydia B Steve D John, Kim, Julia & Matthew M Steve & Rollanda R Lance M Mike L & Maree S Bob D Graham R GU 4.2 Turbo diesel GU 3L turbo diesel GU 4.5 petrol Landcruiser 100 series turbo diesel (aka Clarence ) GU 4.2 diesel GU 2.8 turbo diesel (aka Vimmy ) Navara turbo diesel Pajero turbo diesel Written by Kim & Julia M, and Maree S Friday 20 Jan Sydney to Gundagai Although not the official start day of the trip, most trip participants gathered in Gundagai this evening, in preparation for traveling to Mansfield the next day. There were 8 cars booked and ready to set out on this fantastic trip. Steve & Rollanda limped into Gundagai about 8pm. They said they had heard a bang and started smelling diesel fuel about an hour prior to arrival. The fellas all gathered around poor Clarence to sort out the problems. With the arrival of the NRMA bloke, the consensus was that one of the fuel injectors was loose & leaking fuel. Saturday 21 Jan Gundagai to O Toole s The saga with Clarence continued this morning. Steve discovered the car had no power & was not keen to even drive up the road. The NRMA bloke was called again & he diagnosed the clutch to be the problem. So after some discussion between themselves, the only solution was for Steve & Rollanda to pull out of the trip, pack the car onto a flatbed, and hire another car for the trip back to Sydney. We re all so sorry you could not continue our trip with us (except for Graham, Steve's brother who seemed happy). The rest of the group headed on to Mansfield at their own pace. Lunch and shopping were completed, and we congregated in the main street for a 2pm departure. Sorry, what did you say Ross? A 1pm departure, not 2pm? How come everyone else knew about this except for the Munday ladies? We were happily shopping & ended up the last to arrive, thus became the designated trip report writers. Near Aberfeldy in Mountain Mist

2 Up the mountain we drove towards Jamison, alongside Gaffney Creek. We saw many beaut campsite along the river as we went - excellent to note for another trip, another time. Turned onto Walhalla Rd & kept climbing upwards to Aberfeldy. Aberfeldy is a tiny dot at the top of a mountain with about 6 houses. One house had the most magnificent views from the top of the hill if we only had a helicopter, we could go there for weekends by the fire (ahh, to dream). Down the other side of the mountain & onto Donnelly Creek Rd, then Donnelly Creek Track, where we found a perfect campsite called O Toole s campground. Set up camp & walked in the creek to get firewood from the other side. Had a lovely first Happy Hour under the tarp beside Vimmy. Some would say there was heavy mist in the air that night, others might suggest it was raining. This did not stop us having a great fire after dinner, a drink or two & some star gazing when the clouds cleared. Sunday 22 Jan O Tooles to Macalister river Up & off at the designated time, along Donnelly Ck Rd (or is it Donnelley Ck track?). Turned onto the Burgoyne Track and meandered quietly along the creek for ages. Scenery was just lovely! Stopped at Licola for a long lunch. Lance noticed a warning light on the dash. Investigations discovered his rear brake line was leaking. He decided to leave us temporarily and drive to Bairnsdale to get repairs done. We agreed to meet Tuesday evening at Dargo, all things being equal. Matt went swimming & made friends with a few loud locals hanging out in the river. We then continued our fun driving through Primrose Gap, along Black Soil Gully track and the Macalister River track. We stopped for an afternoon swim and got chatting to a family who were already camping & swimming there. They highly recommended their own camp spot & said they were planning on leaving later that afternoon. So with a quick nod, we all tacitly agreed to stay put for the night. While waiting and chatting prior to set up, we played with their jumpy puppy, our kids played with their kids, and we all had a go trying to crack their whip (Lydia you ve still got it!). We had a challenging discussion about what is meant by buy you dinner. During our driving today Ross stated at one point that he would buy dinner for anyone who drove around a specific hairpin bend with one turn. Graham in his Pajero managed this feat, as witnessed by Mike & Maree. Ross then announced he ll give Graham a can of corn for his dinner. Well - Ross was having tinned corn for dinner, so what do you expect? Graham receiving corn from Ross.

3 Ahhhh it s a hard life camping in a perfect spot next to a perfect swimming hole: perfect weather (not too hot, not too cold); eating good food; drinking great drinks; good company; AND the kids happily occupied all evening, thanks to the river and Maree s hammock. Heaven. Just as we were deciding to head off to bed, the peace was shattered. I managed not only to tread on one of Ross feet as I stood up, but I then re-balanced myself by stepping harder onto his other foot as well! Two feet shattered in one quick movement. Ross yelled, Kim screamed & the wildlife woke up. All I could do after that was laugh so hard, for so long, that my apologies were completely incoherent. Sorry Ross! (Poor Ross!) Sorry Ross! Ross with sore foot, Mike seems puzzled Monday 23 Jan Macalister River to Howitt Hut After apologizing again to Ross about his feet (and trying really hard not to laugh again) we all started to pack up. I found Steve s sun glasses in our car, having picked them up yesterday and mistaking them as my own. Steve had spent much time last evening cleaning out his car & tent looking for them. He even asked everyone individually if they d been seen? Turns out I was the thief! More apologizing to Steve re the sunnies theft. Sorry Steve! We took off along the Macalister River track. Stopped for relaxing morning tea and a swim along the river. From here we turned onto the Butchers Country Track. Goodness me! What a contrast! This track was steep and dry, with loose dirt, sharp rocks and jump-ups to contend with. We all had our own individual challenges in ascending this mountain. The great news is that we all made it up the track without intervention from others, and without apparent damage to any of the vehicles. Well done ALL drivers! After a stop for lunch, we continued along the track. It continued to be a challenge in some parts, but not as scary as prior to lunch. We arrived at the top of the track about 2.30pm and zipped over to Howitt Hut to set up camp. Just after our arrival several utes also pulled up, full of horsey people and horsey equipment. They set up in the Hut and lower grassland, while we enjoyed the Heights grassland. The horses in the paddock knew what was going on and came over to the fence to play. The local road work crew also arrived about the same time, so the place was buzzing with a grader, a roller, a water truck, and a B double full of road base. Maree, Matt and I went for a walk. The Alpine Walking Track was closed due to fire & flood damage, so we continued up the road instead. Matt thoroughly enjoyed watching the grader and other vehicles work to repair the road.

4 Horses and Sunset at Howitt's Hut Later that afternoon Bob, Mike & Ross taught Matt how to saw through a log with a hand saw. Having completed one cut, the men folk then said... and that s why we use a chainsaw! In the dark around the fire poor Ross copped it again. This time Matt walked past in front of him & stood on some branches that were waiting to go into the fire. You couldn t have picked it, but one branch flew up a hit Ross square in the groin! Poor Ross another howl & then studied quiet as we left him to nurse his injury in peace. (The Mundays really do love you Ross! I swear it is a fluke of nature that we keep injuring you!) Tuesday 24 Jan Howitt Hut to Dargo A perfect morning and some general chit chat with the horsey people as we packed up. We took off along the Zeka Spur Track descending from 1580m into the Wonnangatta Valley, via the Wonnangatta Track. This track was not as challenging as yesterdays tracks, but an adventure just the same. Lots of woop-de-doos and lost-my-lunch s with a few hair pin bends thrown in for good measure. The scenery was lovely and the sunshine superb. I noted that some of the gum tree saplings had leaves as big as an open palm. When we got down into the Wonnangatta Valley we spent some time wandering around the remains of the old homestead station. Some blokes were sitting around the campfire near the Wonnangatta Homestead Ruins

5 homestead & they called out hey come on down & we ll give you a show bag!. I thought they were joking, I really did. After our blokes wandered down first, I went for a look. The fellas were camping out for the Wonnanagatta Homestead Preservation Group (or similar). They asked us to fill in a survey & gave us a show bag with lots of info about Parks Victoria. They were really keen for Parks Vic to spend money keeping the area in good condition. We decided to go for a swim in the Wonnanagatta River - its hot work walking around in the sunshine looking at stuff. So apparently another hour passed by while we paddled, ate lunch & had a quick snooze in the shade. After lunch we drove: Wonnanagatta Track, Hern Spur Track, Wombat Range Track, Cynthia Range Track, Pioneer Station Track, Crooked River Track, via Talbottsville Camping Area, McMillans Track, then onto the tar road and into Dargo. We had time for a wander in the General Store, and also a quick ale on the verandah of the Pub. We drove out to the Wonnangatta Caravan Park. The lady in the office was quick to point out we could only camp there one night, not two as we had planned, as she had the Victorian Landrover Club coming in for the long weekend. (note to future trip leaders don t plan to stay here over the Oz day weekend). Undaunted by this news, we paid, drove in and set up camp. As previously planned, Lance was camped already, waiting for us to arrive. There was still plenty of time for showers, washing, happy hour AND a trip back to the pub for dinner. On our way back from dinner I noted that those in our group who did not to dine at the pub with us were STILL seated in exactly the same place whence we had left them hours earlier! I assume they wobbled off to bed eventually, just as we did! Wednesday 25 Jan Dargo to Mt Victoria A very slow morning at the Wonnangatta River Campground. While eating brekky we had fun watching the magpies, wagtails and other birds do their morning thing. The kids found where one pair of birds were hiding a baby in their nest. We had to tell Lydia. Then we all lay down on the grass under the tree to watch the baby chick being fed. Off we drove back towards McMillans Track, then into low range for Bulltown Spur Track. We descended into a valley & had a lovely time crossing & re-crossing the Crooked River. Stopped at one river crossing with a deeper pool for morning tea and a swim. Then we drove up South Basalt Knob Track. Coore-Blimey! No one knew how poorly this track had deteriorated. A very steep ascent, dry & dusty, with lots of cut-outs, cut-ups, and sharp exposed rock! Definitely A grade fun! The first we knew of this excitement was when Ross said quite calmly on the radio Umm, hold up fellas, I have just failed to proceed. From here each car and driver faced their own challenges in getting up this hill. Bob s rear tyres sat precariously on an edge, while he tried to figure out how to accelerate forward with great momentum while not rolling back even 1 cm. (the old heel&toe trick did it - gas and brake and clutch, all together). Graham noted that he was being overtaken by his own dust, as he tried to move forward. Mike exited his car mid-hill (to check things out) leaving a white knuckled Marie in the car trying not to panic at the loss of her driver. We all stopped and re-grouped at the top of this hair-raising bit, to swap tales, eat and rest the shaking hand and legs! The next section of the track was tricky also, but having conquered the earlier section, it was a piece of cake.

6 Blue Rag Track We had a late lunch on this track and then drove to the Blue Rag Track. We decided not to go up and back on the Blue Rag Track, mainly due to time. So we moved off & drove down the mountain, through the Mt Hotham ski area, along the bitumen and into Mt Victoria campground. Another night under the stars, with a great camp fire and the company of other fellow campers who were also staying there. Thurs 26 Jan Mt Victoria to Davies High Plains Happy Australia Day! Maree encouraged us to celebrate this day before we packed up camp. She made campfire scones, Graham gave us all lessons on how to pack up a shower tent properly, and we answered the question what does Australia mean to me? Then we waved a few little flags & took some photos, to prove we really did wave a few little flags. The plan was to drive down to Omeo for petrol and a quick coffee, if there was time. Turns out Omeo was also holding its own Australia Day celebrations: markets in the park, singers, and free food, thanks to the Lions Club. So we stopped for over an hour. Australia Day Flag Waving

7 We hit the road again & took off towards Davies High Plains. At Benambra we stopped again to say goodbye to the group. We Mundays had to head back to Sydney, to attend a 100 th Birthday Party for our Nanna Flo. (Happy Birthday Flo!). Kim & Julia M After a sad farewell (if you call doing the Hokey Pokey sad!) to the Munday s (who had to attend a 100 th birthday party back home) in Benambra, the now diminished group (in numbers not in enthusiasm) headed towards Davies Plain. After travelling along Limestone Rd and Benambra Black Mountain Rd, we took a left on Limestone Creek Track and deflated our tyres. The track crossed several creeks before the junction with McCarthy s Track where we turned left. The track climbed steeply heading towards Charlie s Plain, a picturesque area on Charlie s Creek with a large camping area. Heading up the Davies Plain Track we encountered several other groups, (Bikes and 4WDs) also enjoying this wonderful, remote and rugged area. We arrived at Davies Plain Hut, an historic cattlemen s hut built by the Gibson family in 1939, at about 4.45 pm and set up camp. Our Australia Day Happy Hour was a great event with lots of food and drink. Not having a campfire that evening (they were all occupied), Mike quickly rigged a tarp to create a cosy outdoor room to share the cold evening together Davies Hut Friday 27 Jan - Davies High Plains Our rest day at Davies Plain was most welcome. The hammock was erected, showers were had by most of the group, games were played, books read, music listened to, enormous march and blow flies were swatted and, of course, cars were worked on. The highlight of the day was Bob s damper and the Frisbee game which we all participated in! Great fun. Sat 28 Jan Davies High Plains to home We set off at about 9.00am descending steeply passing Buckwong Creek (a delightful but small camping area). We crossed the Murray River and stopped to inflate our tyres at Tom Groggin camping area. Lunch was had at Jindabyne where we were entertained by a great bush/irish group before saying our goodbyes and heading to our respective homes. We were blessed with great weather, exciting 4wdriving experiences, glorious country and a great team of people who effortlessly worked together to create a seamless, safe and fun holiday adventure. Many thanks to our Leaders for making it all happen. Maree