I' m coming.
Same meeting point & time ?
Corryong Visitor Information Centre, 50 Hansen St, Corryong @ 3pm?
High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Moderator: Committee
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Late notice Chen!
Good to hear you're coming, see you in Corryong, 3.00pm.
Good to hear you're coming, see you in Corryong, 3.00pm.
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Arrived home last night.
Trip turned out a little harder than planned.
Met Chen and Jono in Corryong Saturday afternoon. Forecast was for showers, tending to rain and possible thunderstorms. And that's what we got, the showers became rain and there was thunder and lightning. The rain was in a narrow band traveling south east but our first nights camp was to the south west so was dry and warm when we arrived. This was Bullocky Creek, a very nice spot on the Thowgla river. Then the rain moved a little bit west and we got wet. Thankfully Jono had a tarp so we were able to stay a little less wet. By dark the rain had stopped but cloud/mist persisted.
Day two saw us on the road at 9.00am heading for Mt Pinnibar (1772m) surrounded by low cloud and drizzling rain. Got to the top of Pinnibar after any easy climb apart from one short rocky scramble but with visibility down to 50m we didn't stay long. Headed down to Tom Groggin, passing two fourbies near the top who reported that the track ahead was 'good'. By good I think he meant steep, rocky, slippery with lots of holes and ledges. Luckily we were heading downhill. I really think the GVs would have struggled to get up this bit if we were going the other way. Made it to Tom Groggin and the Murray river.
Kept going, crossed Buckwong Creek which had some good camp sites.
Started on Davies Plain Tk. Pretty easy climb with a few short rough/steep section to keep it interesting. Davies Plain was very picturesque.
Stopped at DP Hut for lunch before continuing south on what was now a very bumpy and slow bit of track.
Turned onto McCarthys Tk and went down a couple of very steep pinches to the Poplars camp site and the highest vehicle access to the Murray.
Our destination for the day was the Limestone Creek camping area. To get to there from the Poplars required driving a bit of track described by the Rooftop Map as 'some steep sections'. Basically there were four small creeks flowing east into the Murray and, travelling south, we had to cross each of them. The creeks were no problem but the ridges that separated them were another story. The hardest one was probably a 200m unbroken climb, save for the erosion berms, on a rock base with a ledge at the very top. Too slow and you would lose momentum and traction and have a long way to reverse down for another run. Fast enough to get up the hill and you were starting to bounce up and over everything. Just a case of point it up the hill and hang on.
Got to Limestone Creek and another good camp site, apart from the flies and the rubbish left by other campers. Jono got a good fire going.
Funny thing about this trip was the lack of other people. There were a few at Tom Groggin and at various points along Davies Plain, but we had the camp at Bullocky and Limestone Creek to ourselves. The Poplars was also empty.
Day three, on the road at 8.30 and quickly onto the main road and heading for Benambra, saw some water in Lake Omeo for the first time, then stopped at Blowhard lookout for some more cloudy views, and then onto a sunny Omeo for fuel (200km from Corryong with about 100km low range offroading) and the bakery. The Dargo High Plains Rd had just been reopend so we went back to the original plan and headed for Hotham and Blue Rag. Hotham, and the surrounding area, turned out to be covered in smoke from the recent fires and you could still see it burning in the valleys in between Hotham and Feathertop. Decided to bypass Blue Rag as there would be nothing to see and headed straight to Dargo after passing several people who had nothing better to do than ride there push bikes over Mt Hotham. Hit Dargo at 12.30 and decided to finish the trip early.
Obligatory Dargo Hotel photo.
Some photos for Jono. Played around with a long exposure and some light from a torch.
All in all a good trip, weather could have been better, but also could have been a lot worse. Thanks to Jono and Chen for coming along.
Trip turned out a little harder than planned.
Met Chen and Jono in Corryong Saturday afternoon. Forecast was for showers, tending to rain and possible thunderstorms. And that's what we got, the showers became rain and there was thunder and lightning. The rain was in a narrow band traveling south east but our first nights camp was to the south west so was dry and warm when we arrived. This was Bullocky Creek, a very nice spot on the Thowgla river. Then the rain moved a little bit west and we got wet. Thankfully Jono had a tarp so we were able to stay a little less wet. By dark the rain had stopped but cloud/mist persisted.
Day two saw us on the road at 9.00am heading for Mt Pinnibar (1772m) surrounded by low cloud and drizzling rain. Got to the top of Pinnibar after any easy climb apart from one short rocky scramble but with visibility down to 50m we didn't stay long. Headed down to Tom Groggin, passing two fourbies near the top who reported that the track ahead was 'good'. By good I think he meant steep, rocky, slippery with lots of holes and ledges. Luckily we were heading downhill. I really think the GVs would have struggled to get up this bit if we were going the other way. Made it to Tom Groggin and the Murray river.
Kept going, crossed Buckwong Creek which had some good camp sites.
Started on Davies Plain Tk. Pretty easy climb with a few short rough/steep section to keep it interesting. Davies Plain was very picturesque.
Stopped at DP Hut for lunch before continuing south on what was now a very bumpy and slow bit of track.
Turned onto McCarthys Tk and went down a couple of very steep pinches to the Poplars camp site and the highest vehicle access to the Murray.
Our destination for the day was the Limestone Creek camping area. To get to there from the Poplars required driving a bit of track described by the Rooftop Map as 'some steep sections'. Basically there were four small creeks flowing east into the Murray and, travelling south, we had to cross each of them. The creeks were no problem but the ridges that separated them were another story. The hardest one was probably a 200m unbroken climb, save for the erosion berms, on a rock base with a ledge at the very top. Too slow and you would lose momentum and traction and have a long way to reverse down for another run. Fast enough to get up the hill and you were starting to bounce up and over everything. Just a case of point it up the hill and hang on.
Got to Limestone Creek and another good camp site, apart from the flies and the rubbish left by other campers. Jono got a good fire going.
Funny thing about this trip was the lack of other people. There were a few at Tom Groggin and at various points along Davies Plain, but we had the camp at Bullocky and Limestone Creek to ourselves. The Poplars was also empty.
Day three, on the road at 8.30 and quickly onto the main road and heading for Benambra, saw some water in Lake Omeo for the first time, then stopped at Blowhard lookout for some more cloudy views, and then onto a sunny Omeo for fuel (200km from Corryong with about 100km low range offroading) and the bakery. The Dargo High Plains Rd had just been reopend so we went back to the original plan and headed for Hotham and Blue Rag. Hotham, and the surrounding area, turned out to be covered in smoke from the recent fires and you could still see it burning in the valleys in between Hotham and Feathertop. Decided to bypass Blue Rag as there would be nothing to see and headed straight to Dargo after passing several people who had nothing better to do than ride there push bikes over Mt Hotham. Hit Dargo at 12.30 and decided to finish the trip early.
Obligatory Dargo Hotel photo.
Some photos for Jono. Played around with a long exposure and some light from a torch.
All in all a good trip, weather could have been better, but also could have been a lot worse. Thanks to Jono and Chen for coming along.
Last edited by steve125 on Tue 29 Jan, 2013 9:39 pm, edited 1 time in total.
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gwagensteve
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Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
That looks like an awesome trip. (And an awesome trip report) Nice work!
Steve.
Steve.
michaelpiranha2000 wrote: The rear is in great condition. but has a broken crown wheel and pinon
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Thanks again to Steve for running the trip, was a great chance to explore some places I wasn't familiar with.
Here's a couple more photos a bit different to what Steve has already posted up.
The view at blowhard lookout just outside Omeo
Parked at the top of Hotham
The view out over Hotham, cloudy and smoky from the bush fires
Here's a couple more photos a bit different to what Steve has already posted up.
The view at blowhard lookout just outside Omeo
Parked at the top of Hotham
The view out over Hotham, cloudy and smoky from the bush fires
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christover1
- Financial Member
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- Joined: Thu 09 Aug, 2007 5:18 pm
- Location: Croydon Victoria Australia
- Contact:
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Looks like I missed out on some good fun.
Great trip report and pix.
Will try for next one.
Great trip report and pix.
Will try for next one.
ZOOKS RULE DA BUSH
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Steve
Wish I could have gone. Looks like a great trip. As it turns out I had a to make a trip back to Perth on the weekend to see my Dad who was admitted to hospital (he is 89) so did not even get the manual hubs on.
When I was up Wonnagatta way two weekends ago it was simillarly deserted. I think the fires kept people away that weekend and maybe the same this weekend.
Mike
Wish I could have gone. Looks like a great trip. As it turns out I had a to make a trip back to Perth on the weekend to see my Dad who was admitted to hospital (he is 89) so did not even get the manual hubs on.
When I was up Wonnagatta way two weekends ago it was simillarly deserted. I think the fires kept people away that weekend and maybe the same this weekend.
Mike
2009 Manual Jimny
Re: High Country Tour, 26-29/1/13
Thanks Steve for orgnizing & leading this wonderful trip.
Everything is enjoyable. Highway cruising, rocky 4WD tracks, river crossings, dusty dirt roads, the GV handled very well. Also, camping, campfire, stars & full moon, rain & rainbows are all spectacular. Thanks to Jono for the tarp:)
It's a great way to celebrate Australia Day by merging yourself into the Australian bush.
Everything is enjoyable. Highway cruising, rocky 4WD tracks, river crossings, dusty dirt roads, the GV handled very well. Also, camping, campfire, stars & full moon, rain & rainbows are all spectacular. Thanks to Jono for the tarp:)
It's a great way to celebrate Australia Day by merging yourself into the Australian bush.