We love hiking at Wilsons Prom. We love the beaches, the fantastic views and the huge bolders and isolated inlets like Refuge Cove.

We have hiked “the Prom” several times in the last few years, but have not had a chance to put up a post on Our Hiking Blog. This will change in a couple of months when Frank heads off down there for a wander around over a long weekend.

Hiker overlooking Refuge Cove

Wilsons Promontory National Park is 200km east of Melbourne.  From the Parks Victoria website:

The southernmost point of the Australian mainland, Wilsons Promontory (affectionately known to Victorians as ‘the Prom’) is arguably the most loved national park in Victoria. Its 130 km coastline is framed by granite headlands, mountains, forests and fern gullies. Tidal River, 30 km inside the park boundary, is the focus for tourism and recreation. The park contains the largest coastal wilderness area in Victoria.

We came across a great post on Flo’s Blog…   – with the subtitle (that we love) – to boldly go where I haven’t gone before describing a recent 5 day hike they completed at Wilsons Prom. We love these types of blogs. They are generally written to keep family and friends overseas informed of adventures that have occured while the “blogger” is visiting or travelling in Australia.

If you want to check out some great pictures, read some accurate information about the hike and just enjoy a good old hiking trip story, check out their post Wilsons Promontory – a 5 day hike. It might get you heading down there like Frank will be in late March!

We have a “secret” National Park camping ground we escape to each summer for a week or two “bush” camping.
As you can see from the pictures below this is NOT lightweight camping and we take everything including the kitchen sink, dish rack and a full cutlery and crockery set.

It is camping on a grand scale.

Frank has just returned and thought he would share a few pictures of this great holiday spot that is near the Great Ocean Walk in southern Victoria, Australia.

Sorry about the quality of the images, we left our camera at home and had to use an iPhone!

1.5 kg Crayfish - well done Simmo

The proud hunters with our best day's haul

We have been camping here on and off for over 30 years and have just got the knack of how to catch crayfish. They were great to eat with a few champagnes (didn’t we tell you we take TWO gas fridges?)

Frank having breakfast, we don't travel light!

Part of our campsite. (Didn’t we tell you about the three tables, two bench seats and four camping chairs we take?)

There were several at our secret spot

Koalas are very common at our secret camping spot. The one pictured above is last year’s baby. We regularly saw Mum with this year’s baby on her back in the trees, or wandering along the ground looking for a better tree.

Cosmopolitan's at 5ish? You bet!

Not that having a drink at the end of the day is a high priority …..BUT we do like to catch up with our group and enjoy some nibbles and champagne. One evening we were able to put together a great Cosmopolitan.

Why is the campsite secret you may ask? Because it is getting too popular and under threat of losing its uniqueness and isolation. Next thing they will have powered sites, flushing dunnies and rubbish collection and we DON”T want that…

The Great South West Walk third section is from Discovery Bay to Mount Richmond and Tarragal Camp.

If you like beach walking, sand and sand dunes this section is for you!

If you hate march flies, be prepared…..

In his third guest post, Dave Tomlinson shares some great information about this section of the GSWW. You can check out the map here

Dave’s footprints, Discovery Bay – soft sand makes for hard walking

The Discovery Bay Coastal Park begins at Nelson and extends virtually all the way along the coast to Portland. It is recommended to walk the direction I did because the sun and prevailing wind is generally behind you. However when I came through the dunes at Ocean Beach the sun was high overhead and there was a strong wind right in my face. I had 7km of walking on sand with a heavy pack to reach White Sands camp. Fortunately I found that the high tide mark offered a reasonably firm surface to walk on and I got the job done okay.

White Sands shelter

White Sands is probably the most rustic campsite on the route but it was very welcome after 1½ hours of battling into the wind. Set in the shelter of the sand dunes, it offered a comfortable place to spend a night.
White Sands from above – it lives up to it”s name

Every day I appreciated the long twilights which offered daylight until about 9pm. By this time in the evening the wind had dropped so I went back to the beach and enjoyed watching the sun set over Discovery Bay.

Lake Monibeong is a fresh water lagoon which is popular for trout fishing and bird-watching. There is something exhilarating about walking beside a wild ocean on an isolated shore but from White Sands I took the inland route because I knew I had 17km down the beach the following day. The campsite was excellent (with the luxury of flush toilets!) and lake itself was absolutely beautiful.

Lake Monibeong – great spot for a swim

The water was crystal clear and I enjoyed a couple of swims during the afternoon. The kangaroos at this site seemed relatively tame and weren’t in a hurry to disappear into the bush at first sight.

The third day along the beach dawned to a cloudless sky and promised plenty of sun. I tried to leave a bit earlier but it was impossible to do all I needed to in the morning in less than 1½ hours. So it was the usual 9am departure as I hit the beach. It was a beautiful morning – warm with gentle sea breezes. I found some firm sand underfoot and all seemed perfect…except for the flies. I could hardly believe the number of March flies that were following and attempting to land on me at any given opportunity. For those unfamiliar, these are the large flies that bite, even through clothing sometimes.

Initially I simply tried to keep legs and arms moving to avoid them. Then I began to lose patience and decided they had to die. It was war and I left a trail of bodies along the sand. I had the sounds of Culture Club’s War Song stuck in my head as the sun climbed higher and it grew hotter. There was no shelter from the elements anywhere and I ran out of water. The worst part was the final couple of kilometres through the sand dunes to the Swan Lake campsite. I felt like I was trudging though a desert in search of the oasis and prayed I wouldn’t miss any track markers.

All my romantic notions of swimming in Swan Lake were destroyed when I arrived. This was the worst campsite of the entire track. It was little more than a dusty carpark with a toilet and tap offering underground bore water. The only reasonable place I could find to pitch my tent was actually on the track itself. I had trouble even finding the lake and when I did it was anything but appealing. The black mud and dirty water meant I happily settled for a bath from the tap. Very disappointing…

Swan Lake – NOT Dave’s favourite spot

It’s at this point where the track either continues down the beach again or deviates up into the Mount Richmond National Park. I thought the latter option was preferable and took the appropriate track the following morning. The initial gradual uphill offered a nice view looking back but the section of track between the two national parks will remain my least favourite memory of the hike.

Just a view of Discovery Bay from track to Mt Richmond

It involved walking on soft, sandy forestry roads and 4WD tracks through pine plantations that had been scarred from recent logging. It was in this unattractive landscape that I missed a track marker and became lost.

I thought at the time it was unusual to come to an intersection devoid of any track markers and if I was thinking clearly I would have turned back right there. Instead, I assumed that walking straight ahead would be the correct course. And we all know what assumption is right? Arriving at a second corner without any markers was an obvious reminder of what assumption is! After a few muttered expletives I had no choice but to turn around and slog back to where I’d seen the last marker. The one I missed was only about 100 metres from where I’d last taken a break!

It was getting hot as I made the gentle but unrelenting ascent to the top of Mount Richmond (229m). I was hoping for a view from the top of this extinct volcano but there were too many trees to see anything. Even the panorama once offered from the lookout tower is now obscured by the surrounding vegetation. I was happy however that there was a rainwater tank in the picnic area because I still had 1½ hours hiking to get to camp.

Many thanks to Dave for his great trip report. Click on the links below to read about the other legs of the Great South West Walk.

Related Posts:

GSWW – Section 1 – The Cobboboonee Forest

GSWW – Section 2 – Glenelg River – Nelson

GSWW – Section 4 – The Capes and Bays

Many thanks to Jacq for this trip report on a overnight walk into the Billywing Gorge of the Grampians in Victoria. Jacq has kindly let us reproduce an email she sent to a friend who did not make the trip. We also could not make it, and after reading Jacq’s notes, are quite happy about spending the weekend at home.
The plan was to find a “hidden cave” , know as the Goat Cave and camp there overnight. Below is the “Goat Cave”

What you missed out on over the weekend:

About 6:30 Friday night it started to drizzle, then progressively pour, so by the time we reached Dunkeld at 8:00 it was consistent drenching rain. Being the brave souls we are we head off to the Buandik campsite, with Michael making a wrong turn that had us heading out of our way. A convenient stop to check the map resulted in a discussion which saw us at Balmoral sleeping on the floor of one of our fellow walker’s daughter’s house.

A nice dry floor in freezing teacher accommodation built in about 1930, very inviting (especially as a little bit of repair to the old wood fire helped); much more luxurious than a freezing and wet campsite. Not to mention the thought of packing up a wet tent, the car was looking very cosy at one point.

Arriving at the campsite the next morning backed up the decision to do an extra hour drive to Balmoral, as it was soaked with puddles in every spot where you would have put the tents.

Anyway, having rounded up Davey and Michaela, we headed off under grey skies and were stopped very quickly at the first creek crossing with the dilemma of how to cross what was now a river. We eventually found somewhere up river, requiring skills in throwing and hauling oneself across. Lots of fun.

The river had to be crossed again, after the heart starter hill and downward slope. This is where the first injury occurred. Michael, John and Colin attempted to haul a log, to make it easier to cross the river, and unfortunately Michael hit his arm on the outer side above his wrist. This was followed up later by bashing it into rocks as he tried to save himself from a slide on the rocks. Nice swelling and bruising started to occur, which required some pressure bandaging to reduce the lump that was growing. I followed this up as we edged along the river by stabbing my upper leg with a stick, that reduced my thigh to a quivering mess for 5 mins until I could regain my composure.

At the normal snack stop the river had eaten up the beach and all you could see was white foam and rushing water, but it remained low enough to edge around the face to get where we needed to go. As we sidled around, I decided it was time to try and fall into the river and started a downward slide, rescuing myself before I made the water but bruised my hand and hurt my wrist reducing me to one hand. About then it started to drizzle, but we were doing okay though the rocks were slippery.

Finally we got to a point where we thought the cave would be and sent out scout Michael to look around. Michael found the cave just as the rest of the crew started to get hypothermia from the temperature had drop, and it was raining again. So down the gully we head and then across the sloping rocks, this is where things started to get messy. Below is some of the rock that had to be climbed to access the cave.Michael did his arm again, I fell on my wrist again, John did a fall that should have removed his manhood for ever, Michaela at one point looked like she had done both knees as they were at weird angles, but as 16 year olds do, bounced back. No sense wearing hiking boots, total waste of time, it was like walking up a slide with grease on it. Everyone had one decent slide that could have ended in disaster.

Cave was as we remembered and once the fire was started and we got soup into Michaela everyone was happy.

Saturday night it poured, which left us with no option but to have to head cross country to the Fortress, as the rivers were now impassible. Weather was kind with no rain and cool temperatures. Normally you use the rocks to keep the speed up and reduce the bush bashing, but as per the day before, this was not an option. It would have taken us two days to get out at the pace we could walk on the rocks. We eventually made our way to the Fortress up and through gullies, with one particular rock stack resulting in some clever thinking to get ourselves through and to the other side. This was followed by a lot of pushing through scrub to finally fall across the track after lots of climbing. Then it’s a 2 hour net downhill trip back to the car on track (though some parts had been turned into a creek). Big weekend and there are some sore bodies today.

Many thanks to Jacq for the words and Colin for the pictures.

While not purely hiking related, our annual summer holiday to Blanket Bay provides us with a great relaxing experience and the chance to be very comfortable for a week’s base camping. We recently posted about base camping compared to hiking before the holiday.

Blanket Bay is the second camping area on the Great Ocean Walk, so we had the opportunity to meet several hikers, and enjoy their company. The number of walkers travelling through seemed quite small (maybe 2-5 per night) Several of them were on supported walks where they had their food and gear delivered to each campsite by Abby of GOR Shuttle. This meant they only had to walk each day with a day pack.

We know the walk is popular and booking is required, so maybe early January is a quiet time. So, for anyone attempting the Great Ocean Walk, check out the photo’s to wet your appetite for your overnight stop at Blanket Bay. It is a great spot for a swim and relax on the beach.

Tom enjoying a swim

Our pallatial camping setup

We travel “light”!
Hannah takes the plunge

Lightweight hiking is a goal for all, but when it comes to a summer camping trip all rational thought goes out the window. We head off early tomorrow on our annual camping holiday to Blanket Bay, in the Otway National Park.

Blanket Bay is a small National Park camping ground near Cape Otway Lighthouse in southern Victoria. There are only 20 odd sites with no power, a small amount of water and long drop dunnies. No generators are allowed. We have been going there on and off for over 30 years.

A double rainbow at Blanket Bay

The great 24 hour packing exercise is about to begin and it got us thinking about the differences in gear we take for a fixed camping trip compared to a hiking trip. They are, in our case , HUGE.
The comparison may be interesting for “Our Hiking Blog” readers

Bedding
Blanket Bay: a queen sized self inflating mattress, underblanket, sheet and a doona. Two pillows each
Hiking: Down sleeping bag and a 3/4 length thermarest mat each

Refrigeration
Blanket Bay: Two gas powered fridges, a Coleman 40 litre esky and another small esky
Hiking: nothing

Food and drinks
Blanket Bay: about four large boxes of food ranging from dips and chips to bacon and eggs. Several bottles of champagne, red & white wine, beer, spirits etc
Hiking: just enough food for each day, packaged carefully to avoid carrying extra weight. Some sachels of “tang” as a treat with water

Clothing
Blanket Bay: a large overnight bag each, 3-4 different pairs of footware, 2-3 towels each
Hiking: What we are wearing plus a few spares and cold/wet weather gear

Furniture
Blanket Bay: fold out chair each, tressle tables (two), coffee table, fold out tables (two)
Hiking: nothing

Reading material
Blanket Bay: about 6-8 books each, various magazines
Hiking: one book, selected for size and weight

Other junk
Blanket Bay: snorkling gear, wet suits, fishing gear, games, dish rack, washing up tub
Hiking: essentials, pocket knife, quick dry towel (maybe), first aid kit

Lighting
Blanket Bay: Coleman Lantern, headlight each, 12v fluro, 12v battery pack, candles
Hiking: headlight each

Transport
Blanket Bay: Our twin cabin utility with roof racks loaded, the back full and a hire trailer.
Hiking: The pack on our back and our legs…..simplicity.

There have been many hits on “Our Hiking Blog” looking for information regarding access and track conditions in the Mt Howitt area following the fires in late 2006. We are not very familiar with this area, but hope the following information is useful and points you in the right direction. If you are heading up that way this summer, enjoy.

We are subscribed to aus.bushwalking , an excellent bushwalking discussion group hosted by Google, and there are several posts discussing access to Mt Howitt and the Australian Alps Walking Track. The posts regarding Mt Howitt access are quite detailed. Australian hiking guru and author John Chapman is an active member, and he posted this information following a recent trip to the area.

John has indicated he is happy for the information to be reposted here. His excellent website is a great resource for anyone interested in bushwalking, ski touring, rock climbing and photography in Australia. We have several of his books.

This is John’s report:
I have just returned from the area. I spent three days with the ranger
marking the AAWT track from Catherine Saddle through the Razor and
Viking to Barry Saddle.
Please don’t remove the tape markers – they are essential at present for track workers to go in in 2 weeks time to cut all the logs and clear all the fire debris off the track. Track workers are not walkers and need plenty of tapes to make sure they dont get lost.

John Chapman

Hiking Mt Howitt to  McAlister Springs?

Thinking of bushwalking the Crosscut Saw and Mt Buggery?

Going to attack Mt Speculation?

Snow in November in the Victorian Alps?

That is only part of the story our guest blogger John has to tell in his great story about a walk on Melbourne Cup weekend. John has been on several walks with us since discovering bushwalking in the last few years. We have done the South Coast Track, Overland Track and the Great Ocean Walk together. If you look around the blog further you will see him starring in many photo’s and stories. Many thanks John for your first foray into “Blogging”.

It was my first walk with the Geelong Bushwalking Club, leaving Geelong in the evening of Friday 2 November 2007. The intention was to climb Mt Howitt, camp at McAlister Springs on the first night, then walk along the Crosscut Saw, past Mt Buggery and camping the second night at Mt Speculation, which I understood to have one of the best camp sites in the high country. We planned to return to the Howqua camping ground, via Stanley’s No Name Spur. I was eagerly looking forward to this trip, with people that I hardly knew or hadn’t previously met and had been advised that this one of the best walks, that the Victorian Alps had to offer.

We collected two people in Melbourne and after passing through Mansfield, arrived at the rotunda at Telephone Box Junction at about 10.30 pm, which is near Mt Stirling. The choice was to set up tent in the rotunda, sleep in the car or sleep on a mat on the ground, which is what I did.

The first stirring began at 6 am next morning and we were soon up and about and ready for the hour’s drive along Circuit Road to Bindaree Road, arriving at our destination (Upper Howqua Camping area) at about 8.45. We passed some deer hunters, who had several carcasses and a large pack of what appeared to be English type hunting hounds. They looked at us a bit suspiciously. After a quick change, we had our backpacks on and after a few false starts, decided that we had to cross the creek which I managed to do without getting wet feet, although I slipped on the bank and was grateful that I didn’t break my wrist in stopping the fall.

After walking about 2 klms along a fire track, we located the track up Mt Howitt. The walk leader seemed to have reliable track notes which impressed me. After Mt Buller (1805m), Mt Howitt is the tallest peak in the region. I found the upward climb relentless and the going pretty hard, not improved by light rain. The visibility was very limited, so we did not get reward for effort at the lookout points. It was obvious that the women in the party were more physically capable than I was and my pack felt heavy and I was struggling. After about 5 hours we reached what appeared to be the plateau and after passing Mt Magdala and walking along the plateau via West Peak, another hour passed before we reached our first destination (McAlister Springs) and the Vallejo Gantner Hut, at about 4 pm. By this time rain had set in and we were surprised to see the A frame hut still standing, after being informed that it had burned down in the fire. All of the tress around it had been burnt. Most of us elected to sleep in the hut despite a few leaks in the roof, some set up tents, with one moving inside as the rain got heavier.

The rain intensified over night and all through Sunday. It was pointless to proceed along the Crosscut Saw as the visibility was very limited and the conditions unwelcoming. We spent the day trying to keep a small a small fire going and discussing subjects such as what food to freeze dry and other subjects, whilst occasionally peering out at the hail and occasional snow falling. The door to the hut was very low and I knocked my head more times than I can remember. We met one other gent who said he was walking to Canberra, but appeared to have a very flexible plan with deviations as the mood took him. We met two other people who were father and son in law and seemed to enjoy each other’s company. We were also envious of their access to whisky and other creature comforts.

Most of the group had to return to work on the Wednesday, so it was not possible to wait out the weather and proceed to Mt Speculation. We discussed whether we would return to the cars on the Monday via the Stanley No Name Spur route, with the possibility of at least seeing the start of the Crosscut Saw or going back down Mt Howitt. We decided on the latter as being the quickest option. On the plateau, we walked through 4 inches of snow, with a strong wind blowing up the valleys and foggy conditions ensuring that we kept moving to keep warm. My hands were freezing and I decided I needed to invest in superior gloves. I noted that most wore their thermals, which I had rejected in case I got hot.

The walk down Mt Howitt was not easy, was a bit slippery and hard on the knees. The track disappeared in some places, particularly with the number of burnt and fallen trees, although the weather improved as we moved further down the mountain. At the end we had to cross the creek in several places, which was running faster and deeper than on our ascent. We arrived at the car with wet feet.

I was pleased to see that our cars weren’t surrounded by water.

After changing into dry clothes, we had some lunch and headed off to Mansfield for a pie, or whatever we fancied.

The leader of our group informed us that this was his second failed attempt at the Crosscut Saw and although there would be a next time, it should only be done with a favourable weather forecast. On the way home, we learned that the bridge at Licola had been washed away, which did not surprise us given the weather that we had experienced.

The group got on well together and I was impressed with the planning, the consultation during the walk, the navigation skills and attention to safety of the group.

We were contacted recently by Bob Padula from Mont Albert, in the east of Melbourne letting us know about his walking related web pages and blog. We had a good look around this afternoon and discovered a gold mine of information that has been put together by Bob.

In Bob’s own words:

I am a Professional Engineer, providing technical consultancy services in the area of high-frequency broadcasting – I graduated from the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology in 1967, and was employed by Telstra Corporation until 1998.

In publishing this free Guide, and sharing my knowledge and experiences through the Internet, it is with the hope that it will encourage readers to set aside some time to venture regularly into the Victorian countryside and enjoy the beauty and scenery which it offers, and at the same time support the development and maintenance of an appropriate level of fitness.

This is the link to Bob’s comprehensive walking site : GUIDE TO SHORT WALKS IN VICTORIA I started counting all the walks that were listed and decided to stop at 100+ . Lets just say there are a LOT of walks described there!

Bob also keeps a Blog he describes as:
A Chronological Journal of my bushwalking activities, which is updated whenever I complete a new walk. My bushwalking is mostly short half-day journeys in Victoria, Australia, and the entries highlight the places visited, with some humor added! Here is the link – BOB’S AUSTRALIAN BUSHWALKING JOURNAL

Just have to say, great stuff Bob, excellent resources to encourage people to get out and about!

Dear Friends/Family,

Well it’s been a week since I’ve been home from the hike, just long enough to catch up on sleep and I thought I’d tell you all about how it went.

The group consisted of 5 young people from Mittagundi, 5 young people from Wallangarra, 1 boy from Typo Station, and 3 leaders (one from each of the 3 organisations).

Back L-R, James (Woll), Angus (Mitta), Tim (Mitta), Steph (Mitta), Luke (Mitta), Tom (Woll), Josh (Typo), Nathan (Woll), Lee (Typo). Front L-R, Gen (Mitta), Me (Woll), Anna (Woll), Toby (Woll) and Brooke (Mitta)


After spending a night at Mittagundi in a hut built by Ian Stapleton (the brains behind Wollangarra, Mittagundi and Typo), we devoured what was to be the first of many porridge breakfasts and headed off.

Day One was long and flat and we spent the first night at a beautiful hut that was rebuilt by a group from Wollangarra.

Day two was spent walking along an aqueduct which meant that it was also long and flat. We walked past Cope Hut to Cope Saddle Hut, a tiny SEC hut with no fire pit, we cooked couscous and curry on 6 Trangia stoves, bit of a challenge, but we managed.

Day three we woke to clear skies and had our first look at what the weather was to be like for the rest of the hike.

We walked to Dibbin’s Hut which is located in a valley; it was a tough climb down and an even tougher climb up Swindler’s Spur to Derrick’s Hut which is where we spent the night. I don’t have any photos of the up or the day, probably because I was concentrating on not falling, then on the climb.

Day four we tackled the Razorback, a stunning and long walk with spectacular views. We started the day off by walking from Derrick’s hut to Mt Hotham where one of the girls from Mittagundi who hadn’t been feeling very well got picked up by a Mittagundi staff member, so the group was down to 13.

It was a great day of hiking, with spectacular views seen from either side of the Razorback. We stopped for a break at the end of the Razorback on at Twin Knobs and then continued onto Federation Hut.
(Luke, Toby, Tim and Lee)

Day five began with a very early start (4.30am) in order to hike the 2km from Federation Hut to Mt Feathertop before sunrise (and in the dark). But it was worth it for the sunrise and the views.

We walked back to Federation Hut for breakfast and then began another long day of hiking; beginning with a descent down the fire devastated Diamantina Spur. The first half of the spur wasn’t too complicated; however the second was incredibly steep and was made even more difficult due to the fires destroying any vegetation that may have provided a solid walking surface.

(A mid-spur break about half way down)

We broke for lunch at the bottom of the spur in West Kiewa Valley by the West Kiewa River which provided a nice place to wash and rid ourselves of the dirt and dust we’d collected during the morning’s hike.

After lunch we continued up a spur this time to a beautiful flat that was once home to Weston Hut (which was destroyed in the 2006 December fires). The soft regrowth and tough day made for one of the best sleeps of the hike.

Day six meant that the walk was half over; it also meant that it was what we had been referring to as “Food Drop Day”. We had a pretty easy morning, walking to the Pretty Valley Catchments (near Falls Creek) where we waited for the Mittagundi crew to deliver Steph (returning from being sick) and the food.

Lunch was delicious; those avocados did not last long at all. We ate until we felt sick, and then collected the food we’d need for the next four days.
Repacking our packs was tricky, as was readjusting to the weight increase after our packs had become so light, even more difficult was pulling our waist straps after our colossal lunch. We spend the night on a flat past Pretty Valley, after a physically exhausting day (more due to the food than the hiking though…).

(Nathan and Anna struggling with Anna’s waist strap)

Day seven we walked through the not so remote Falls Creek, down some familiar slopes that after further investigation I seem to have skied down.

It was a long day of walking, on relatively flat ground. In the late afternoon we sat at the bottom on Mt Nelse and relaxed by a stream, rinsing our hair and brushing our teeth. We then climbed halfway up Mt Nelse to Edmonson’s Hut where we spent the night and enjoyed fried rice for dinner and chocolate balls for desert (condensed milk, Milo and Mari biscuits, yum).

Day eight was spent doing a few side trips after climbing to the top on Mt Nelse. We lunched on Spion Kopje and spent the night at another burnt down hut, Batty’s Hut. Dinner was definitely the highlight of day 8, (although we did have a habit of making it a highlight most days). After dinner we were treated to Licorice (Anna’s) and M&M’s (mine), which may have explained why our packs were the two heaviest post-food drop.

Day nine involved an early wakeup and another descent down another spur. This time the trackless New Country Spur was the challenge. It was exhausting navigating our way though the dense bush and we all came out with many war wounds in the form of scratches on our arms, legs and faces. We were all relieved to hear the Mitta Mitta River which marked the end of the spur.

We camped on a flat around 2km after the River Crossing and spent our last night daring members of the group to eat/drink various disgusting cooking ingredients (curry powder and soy sauce to name a couple).

Day ten began later than usual as we enjoyed a sleep assuming it was going to be a short day following the river to Mittagundi where we would find out family and friends waiting.
It was an enjoyable morning of walking on a 4 wheel drive track, looking out for the flying fox that would mark the site in which we would cross the river. Unfortunately we failed to find the flying fox and spent the rest of the afternoon bush bashing, removing our boots to cross the river, walking down the river and then bush bashing some more.


We finally found the track, and prepared for our arrival at Mittagundi (a mere 2 hours later than scheduled). Preparations included covering ourselves in mud and devouring a block of chocolate.

(Anna, Gen, Angus and Me)


We then made our way up the driveway, back to our families, back to showers, back to warm beds.

It’s really difficult to sum the walk up, firstly because there are so many things I would like to say and so many stories that I’d like to tell, secondly because it’s difficult to put something so great into words.

I had an amazing time though, with an awesome group of people and I’m so grateful that I had the opportunity to be a part of it.

Thanks to everyone for supporting the walk, you guys are ensuring that it will continue to run and for that I can’t thank you enough.

Love Hannah

A warm up walk for the Overland Track AND we see a Platypus!

A few of us went to Lake Elizabeth, near Forrest, for a warm up walk in preparation for the Overland Track in Tasmania in 10 days (yippee!!!) We walked a route that Colin and I had done late last year , with the plan to do about 15km. It was great walking except the track was often really greasy and a couple of us (me being one of them) fell. This broke my well loved and used walking pole so off to David at Mountain Designs for a newy next week. The highlight of the trip was seeing a platypus on a little beach on the south side of Lake Elizabeth. We had decided to stop there for a break and were just chatting , waiting for a couple of stragglers to arrive and when I spied the platypus feeding right on the edge of the lake , burrowing its bill frantically into the edge in about 4 inches of water.

It was fantastic and just ignored us and fed for about 10 minutes. The next morning I told the Parks Ranger about it and he said he had not seen one there for 4-5 years…..made us feel very honoured that this great little creature chose to appear while we were there.

We had a very pleasant evening around the fire and then slept pretty well following a big day up and down those Otway hills and a couple of , yes to use the old term, well earned drinks.

A great short break and warm up for the main event in February.