High Country Lite, easy camping

[Darcy]

Howqua Hills Historic Area , Hut Tour, Camping Trip (difficulty EASY) TRIP NOW at 18 cars ! Cap at 20
Weather Looking ok for the weekend !
Weekend in early April , 1/4/23 meeting at Merijig 0900am start
UHF channel 26
GPS -37.103493,146.26285
(still on the blacktop and within phone reception but with the option to pick up anybody who camped at sheep yard flat on the way through)
This will be approx 140km round trip from Merijig passing Sheep Yard Flat Campgrounds 30 km from Mansfield . No carrying fuel, yay
This trip will include steep rocky tracks, significant elevation changes, big high-country views and will climb the howqua valley to The Bluff opposite Mt Buller then Summit mount Lovick , cross through the 16 mile creek and the howqua river and visit at least half a dozen high country huts including the iconic Lovicks Hut, Frys hut, Bluff Hut, Upper Jameson hut and Craigs hut.
There are track closures in the area however they will not effect our planned route, we will watch reports.
This is a light touring trip that is appropriate for unmodified 4x4 vehicles and should be manageable with simple camping gear without a need for carrying extra fuel. A perfect trip for a club permit sierra or a factory fresh Jimny or just about anything with Low Range


Trip Participants
Darcy + Dan- seX90
Richard+ cohen - Sierra
Rich P + Bronte P - sexy New Jimny
Willy P + Rosie - Jimny
Dougie - ute
Phil + 2 - Jimny
Chris +1- Sierra
Cohen + Charlotte , swampy (has issues) not attending
Shaun +1 mux ( sheep yard flat )
Damo / captain diplomacy , challenged
AB rubiconP jb74 ,
Brad , Jimny
Callum Ookie the zuke ? Red zook sheep yard flat
Jaqui B. New Jimny +tent ( not attending )
Alex 09 GV
Jodie +1 Prado (sheep yard flat )
Bruce +1 2011 GV 2.4
Lcdave
DAVID VO
TahnV

[rmitchell]

I am interested Darcy and was talking with Jonno on Friday about running pretty much this over three days or a run from Licola up to Howwitt Plains and back down to Merijig.

[christover1]

Interested but unable to confirm right now.

[Mike57]

Count me in please. Just asking if you mean 1/3/23 OR 1/4/23. Was that a typo?

[ilukaperi]

I'd be interested, but can't get up there til late on a Saturday.

[Darcy]

Thanks Mike , yep 1/4/24
Was a typo
At the moment I am limited to a weekend however I agree there a numerous good 3 day options in this area linking in the butcher country track.or Caledonia river track exiting via Stratford. Makes it an easy medium with perhaps more trip prep , Food for thought

[richplezo]

Yeah count me in Darcy , lite is good .

Richplezo

[willypleasance]

I’m interested in coming! Would love to bring my ‘99 Jimny, still need to bolt on some recovery points but otherwise I feel good about bringing it

[gwagensteve]

This was a very popular and commonly run trip back when I started 4WDing. Highly recommend.

I wouldn't recommend the drive between the bluff and the Howitt high planes on King Billy track if it's anything like it used to be in the late 90's - really rocky and rough without being challenging and just feels like it takes forever to get across there because you're just getting shaken around for what feels like hours and hours. I'd stay on the Buller side of the Bluff and run butcher country/Macallister river as a separate trip.

Just my 2C.

[Darcy]

Great to see some enthusiasm for the trip , looks like full steam ahead ! Agree that we will plan a future trip exiting via Licola on the Caledonia river road as a longer trip next year.
I think we will spend plenty of our time soaking up the views from mount Lovick and in camp messing about in the upper howqua river. A good one for those who have not spent time in this area. For those wanting to join late please discuss with me at the upcoming meeting and we can gauge whether this is manageable/ practical.
Looking forward to getting back into the forest.