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Thread: VIC High Country Trip '13 - '14

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    Legendary happygu's Avatar
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    VIC High Country Trip '13 - '14

    Hi All,

    Just thought I would post my trip details for our Christmas High Country Trip for those that need some ideas of where they should head out in the High Country.

    This trip takes in two of the iconic Vic High Country experiences....

    Starting point for this trip was Mansfield...... Ending point was Jamieson ( but could easily be Licola for heading South or Mansfield for heading North )

    Camps were at Bluff Hut, Wonnangatta Valley, Horseyard Flat, Licola - Wellington River, but there are many numerous great camps along the way including Crooked River.....

    All camps had water except for Bluff Hut, where we were a few hundred metres down the track away from the hut.

    TRIP DETAILS : Leisurely 6 Days 5 Nights

    DAY 1 : We headed out from Mansfield towards Mt Buller, and turned south on the Howqua Track just East of Merrijig, through Sheepyard Flat ( Large Camping area ).

    We headed east on Brocks Rd winding our way up the mountain till we reached Bluff Link Rd, and then Bluff Track which takes you past Bluff Hut. Camped near the Hut
    64452-1000x800[1].jpg but not in this picture

    DAY 2 & 3 : The next morning we walked up to the top of the Bluff itself ( even though our camp had great views looking directly over Mt Buller ). When we were back in the cars we continued on Bluff Track past Lovicks Hut, till we reached King Billy Track and turned onto it. We then followed King Billy Track through to the Howitt Rd, and then through to Zeka Spur Track which we turned onto.
    DSC_0120[1].jpg

    Even though Zeka Spur Track has lost some of the character it once had, it was a great drive down into the Wonnangatta Valley onto the Wonnangatta Track. Camped for a couple of days near the junction of the Wonnangatta River and Conglomerate Creek. There are numerous campsites in Wonnangatta so you can take your pick ....
    IMG_2538[1].jpg

    DAY 4 : Continued East on the Wonnangatta Track till we reached Herne Spur Track, which is a nice climb out of the Valley. When we reached the end of Herne Spur we turned South into Wombat Range Track ( great views ) and followed this through to Cynthia Range Track ( still great views ), which takes you straight down into the Crooked River Valley. We followed the Crooked River Rd through to Kingswell Bridge ( where we took the river crossing and others took the bridge option ), to allow us to backtrack on the Wonnangatta Road on the other side back to Billy Goats Bluff Track.

    We headed up Billy Goats Bluff Track
    imagesUD4USEK7.jpg
    ( views and great drive - had to pick lines through the rock steps ), where the track is again starting to gain some 'character', with rocks and more rocks being the order of the day. Great drive ..... kids wanted to go down and do it again .... much better than last time when I blasted up on the bike with only two small rocky bits. We then followed the signs towards the Pinnacles on the Pinnacles Rd ( Great Lookout from the Fire Tower at the end of the range ),
    east-pinnacle-tower[1].jpg
    and then backtracked down the Pinnacles Rd to the Moroka Rd and our camp at Horseyard Flat Camping Reserve
    horseyard_flat_05[1].jpg
    There is a great walk into First Falls and the Moroka Gorge - but I couldn't get my party interested in the walk....

    DAY 5 : From there we followed the Moroka Road till we reached the old Moroka Range Track and followed this through to the turn off down to the Hut
    moroka_hut[1].jpg
    and then back up to the Moroka Range Track where we continued on till we turned up to the summit of Mt Wellington on the Mt Wellington Track. We made it up to the summit and then turned back rather than continuing on to The Sentinels Lookout over Lake Tarli Karn, as the day was getting away from us, ( we have done this track before and camped further on near Millers Hut - for a true top of the range experience ..... oooh - I still remember it clearly - cold and misty ). After backtracking back to the junction we continued on the Mt Wellington Track we continued on the Moroka Rd and then down towards Licola and the Wellington River, where we camped for the night.
    20110122019-WellingtonRvrCamp13[1].jpg

    DAY 6 : The next day, we continued on to Licola
    IMG_0154[1].JPG
    and made our obligatory stop there for some nibbles and a chat with the owners, and then went out North on the Licola - Jamieson Rd over Mt Skene, and continued on to Jamieson.


    MAPS THAT CAN BE USED :
    Rooftop Maps Dargo-Wonnangatta Adventure Map
    Rooftop Maps Mansfield - Mt Howitt Adventure Map
    Rooftop Maps Jamieson - Licola Adventure Map or Woods Point - Mt.Skene Forest Activities Map

    GPS Maps in the Truck, as I don't actually have the Mansfield-Mt Howitt Map



    I hope that gives some of you some ideas.....

    Mic
    Last edited by happygu; 7th January 2014 at 09:29 PM.
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  2. The Following 11 Users Say Thank You to happygu For This Useful Post:

    AB (7th January 2014), Bloodyaussie (8th January 2014), Chubba (13th July 2014), graeme1969 (7th January 2014), growler2058 (7th January 2014), jack (7th January 2014), macca (9th January 2014), MEGOMONSTER (7th January 2014), MudRunnerTD (7th January 2014), PMC (9th January 2014), Winnie (7th January 2014)

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    Moderator MudRunnerTD's Avatar
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    That's awesome! Thanks Mic
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    Administrator AB's Avatar
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    Great write up and pics mate, looks like you had some nice days too!

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    Hardcore jack's Avatar
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    Looks fantastic, will have to get up there soon.
    Cheers
    Jack

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    Legendary happygu's Avatar
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    Forgot to add, this trip is not suitable for novice 4wdrivers with no experience - on their own.

    If you are inexperienced, you should complete this trip with another experienced driver.

    It isn't a car breaking trip, but there are steep climbs and descents which could prove really tricky in the wrong conditions and with no experience.

    Mic
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    Thanks for a great trip report, must of been a great week by the sounds of it.
    2011 GU8 ST 3.0 CRD, ARB Bullbar with IPF spotties, scrub bars and side steps, Snorkel, Dual Battery system, Waeco fridge, Turbo Timer, ARB Roof Rack with 5 IPF spotties across the front, Custom full Leather Bucket seats, DPchip, 3" Taipan exhaust, ARE Intercooler & scoop, Autron EGT/Boost and dual volt gauges, ARB front locker.

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    Quote Originally Posted by happygtu View Post
    Forgot to add, this trip is not suitable for novice 4wdrivers with no experience - on their own.

    If you are inexperienced, you should complete this trip with another experienced driver.

    It isn't a car breaking trip, but there are steep climbs and descents which could prove really tricky in the wrong conditions and with no experience.

    Mic
    This sounds like my kind of trip.
    Thoroughly enjoyed myself on the Knockwood trip and can't wait to do it again.

    By the looks of it will miss the Brindies trip, but really want to do a 3-4 day trip like this in the high country.
    I'd like to do it with my wife but I got Buckley's chance of that happening.
    2011 GU8 ST 3.0 CRD, ARB Bullbar with IPF spotties, scrub bars and side steps, Snorkel, Dual Battery system, Waeco fridge, Turbo Timer, ARB Roof Rack with 5 IPF spotties across the front, Custom full Leather Bucket seats, DPchip, 3" Taipan exhaust, ARE Intercooler & scoop, Autron EGT/Boost and dual volt gauges, ARB front locker.

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    Legendary happygu's Avatar
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    Mego,

    Really was a great trip - my wife said it was one of the best we have done, and then I started going through all the trips.

    Just to really get you interested.....There was some nice trout in the Moroka River at Horseyard Flat too ..... was watching them with the kids in the torchlight.

    Mic
    Last edited by happygu; 12th January 2014 at 05:20 PM.
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    Quote Originally Posted by happygtu View Post
    Mego,

    Really was a great trip - my wife said it was one of the best we have done, and then I started going through all the trips.

    Just to really get you interested.....There was some nice trout in the Moroka River at Horseyard Flats too ..... was watching them with the kids in the torchlight.

    Mic
    My Missus hates going on hilly roads like the Dandes or going up past Healesville.

    She was a nightmare when we crossed the Great dividing range and Mt Kosziosko. 5-1/2 hrs of climbing and descending for 250kms.
    She never wants to do that again.
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    Great write up Mic

    I will have to check out these areas when I get back to Vic. Sounds like a nice drive
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