Day 237 Zero day at Howitt High Plains Camp

 Vic Day 13 (237) Monday 17th January, 2022

Zero day at Howitt High Plains Camp

The dead wood is artistic

The horse group arrived

My setup for the day

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28Karen Coughlan, Debbie Simpson and 26 others

Day 236 Wonangatta Station to Howitt Plains

 VIC Day 12 (236) Sunday 16th January, 2022 18.6km

4948.7 / 283.2km

Today is not a big day. I'm heading back up the range to my food bucket at Howitt Plains. Depending on how much food I have I might stop for a rest day. My legs are getting wobbly on these ups and downs. My day starts early and I pass through Wonnangatta Campsite proper after about 3 kilometres

A horse tour group

. Everyone is still in bed. There is one large group that look like a horse group by the logo on the 4wd. I did see a sign for a horse paddock but didn't see horses.

Woonagatta Station

I pass the old homestead site then move on and divert up to an old cemetery. The story tells a hard life with the Smith's leaving when the wife giving birth to twins died and the twins died 3 weeks later. The father and sons then left the property. The Bryce's were here a while but Annie Bryce lost her 3 year old daughter then her oldest daughter who had lived here for 17 years died at 21. Annie Bryce was the last person buried here in 1914 as she wanted to be with her daughters. Sad stories. I feel blessed to have 3 grown and healthy children. I would never really want to outlive them.

Cemetery at Wonnagatta. Sad

The trail turns up a two wheel track that disintegrates into mud holes the 4wdrivers have churned through. I think it's going to be a long day but after a kilometre or two even they give the track away and the trail descends into an old overgrown wagon track.

Dry river track

Old creek crossing. wood

The horse group has come down this way and I can easily follow the crushed grass. It then a couple of crossings of the Dry River which thankfully is not dry and then the trail turns into a animal track recently walked by the horse group. Easily followed and zig zagging its way up 1000 metres over the next 7 kilometres.

Looks like a camp spot

Track deteriorates but a NT sign points the way 

I stop to filter some water for the climb and when I leave I've left behind my 3 litre CNOC bag. Somewhere during the day I've also lost one of my Adidas camp slip ons. All this way and I lose two things in one day. Of course I note this when I camp and I'm not going back down the 1000 metres to find them.

Up Top

I get up top and it's the most pleasant walk I've had so far in Victoria. The path is a horse pad and of course they've zig zagged their way down. Churned the track a bit as it's a little damp and as they come back up later the following day I see there are about 20 of them in total. The group is from Mansfield. They have left some gear like a trailer and some tarps so that gives me good idea where to plonk my tent well out of the way.

The bucket.

I find the bucket undisturbed and cart it down to Howitt Hutt and work out I'm zeroing here tomorrow. It's good just to sit rehydrate rest the legs and eat the excess food. Every stop I've been setting up the Solar panel in the ultimate capture position and its not making much difference to generating enough power. I'm getting worried as the next town is still 9 or 10 days away. I turn off the phone and photos are short as I only turn it on occasionally.

Day 235 Cynthia Range Track t Wonangatta Statiom

 VIC Day 11 ( 235) Saturday 15th January, 2022 24.8km

Today was a long arsed day starting with one of those steep downhills that are taxing and dangerous to an old fart like me. Victoria is becoming my least favourite section.

Whilst Qld has a lot of road walking all of Victoria is as well, but the roads are 4wd roads that no sane walker or horse would love. Mountain bikes couldn't ride up some of these hills and only those mad downhill riders (thinking Ben McGrath) would ride down them

After dropping down the road, it was a pleasant walk

Still up high though

Anyway a long day getting over and down, I assume the Cynthia Range to then tackle 3 crossings of the Humffray River.

Here we go

Down down again

These are about upper thigh deep. The waters are fast and a little muddy but with skinny legs and poles I go ok.

One crossing of Wonnangatta River

The last river crossing is the Wonnangatta River which is clear water and rocky bottom about knee deep at most.

Wonnangatta River

I then manage about 6 kilometres more before I give it away and setup camp. I wash my clothes in the river water and have a bath. It's a lot warmer down in the valleys and the March flies and normal little black ones are becoming more prevalent. The fly net comes out more often now and it makes it hotter on the face but better than those little black bastards that hover and then dart straight in to the eyeball. Lots of sun today so there is definitely something wrong with solar panel.

Day 234 Talbottville to Cynthia Range Track

 Vic Day 10 (234) Friday 14th January, 2022 16.8km

I read the information board at Talbotville and attached was a little card say McAllister or McMillan was responsible for general massacres of the Aboriginal people around the area. The names are celebrated throughout the district and I wonder at the veracity of the information or do we just ignore this older history.

1st Creek Crossing

I'm having trouble with my solar panels. It doesn't seem to be generating

power and with overcast days I'm losing power all the time. I have to turn off the phone more often and photos become less. I have a clear day today so will check it out later. The trail does a 9 kilometre meander and I see the signs for the McMillan track that ends at the Pioneer Racecource but about 7 kilometre shorter with only the one river crossing. I decide to give it a go but it is not a maintained track and a couple of hundred metres short I'm bleeding from the overgrown Berry vines and have to turn back. Then it's a 2 hour walk around the original trail. Oh well. A lot of betadine on the scratches and start again.

Looking down from McMillan walking track

Makes me think though how much affect we've had on this country in the short

time we've been here. I'm wandering on roads and tracks. I don't know what it would be like through Virgin bush but it would have been a lot easier without blackberry vines infesting our waterways. I have to do 3 crossings of Brewery Creek and 1 crossing of Wongangurra River.

Wongungarra River

I meet a convoy of 4wds going to Dargo. The pub was going to reopen on the 14th, I don't know whether it did? I get round to Station Track, then comes the ordeal of climbing one of these ridiculously steep hills. It takes a few goes and the only consolation is it gets cooler by a bit as I go up.

River Crossing Number 3

The other problem was I had a full load of water as I can't work out where

the next puddle will be on top of the Ridge line. I sit down to have a rest and a convoy of 8 comes up the hill going back to their camp at Eaglevale. These 4wds love this country. Horses, mountain bikers and hikers not so much, or not these gravel roads. We have a chat as they pass. If they had come an hour earlier they could have least taken my pack to the top. But that's not the end of this torture. The road roller coasters its way to Mount Cynthia.

Private Property

Hill Climb

Road across the top

Looking back down the valley

I'm looking at some dark clouds rolling towards me and ask Belinda to check

the weather. A severe thunderstorm warning is in place for here. I find a spot on the track and setup the tent. There was a flat spot just off the track but that turned out to be the toilet. None of it buried of course. It's while I'm here looking at the view with the toilet paper and beer cans I dream up Shazza and Dazza.

I can just picture Dazza driving his old modified Nissan Patrol, mainly

because he couldn't afford a decent Toyota. Belching smoke and gravel as he tears the track apart as fast is better. He pulls up top and jumps out with a Carlton Dry (it seems up here) in one hand then his dick in his other as he belches while Shazza squats on the other side of the car. Dazza says, "love this view Shazza". "Yeh", says Shazza."How far to Dargo Dazza?". "About a 6 pack Shazza. How many cartons of beer did we pack for the weekend Shaz". "3 love". "Hope it's enough Shaz. Be a shit weekend if we run out. Ready Shaz?" "Yeh Daz" as she delicately places a rock to hold her toilet paper down.(For the Pixies presumably). The can gets a quick crush and is dropped beside the road as another tin is cracked open and the patrol belches more diesel fumes and tears a bit of gravel up,(maybe not if it's a Nissan) and they disappear. And thus it explains what I see when I get to the top of Mount Cynthia.

The track drops. Never seems to be a gentle slope.

The storm moves overhead and I sit it out in the tent. I'm far enough from

the edge to miss most of the wind. The bonus is I collect rainwater as it runs off the tent. The storm passes before it's dark but I stay where I'm at and spend the night.

Day 233 Dogs Grave to Talbottville

 VIC Day 9 (233) Thursday 13th January, 2022 76.9km with diversion

Early start for the long walk. The day would normally be about 31 k but with diversion down Jones road to get a bridge across the Dargo River it will take about 43 kilometres to get to the same spot.

Sunrise

The road heading down

Clouds down there

The day again is unremarkable just walking along Birregun Road. I pass the trail turnoff down Stock Route Sour Track and are seriously tempted to try my luck with the river crossing but the steep hill puts me off as it's a 1000 metre drop in height over 3.5 kilometres and I'm not willing to climb back up.

Drop off to Dargo River

So I keep plodding along. I had a joke with Belinda that if a car came along I would offer them a beer to get me down to Dargo Pub. But the Pub had shut down and I had passed two road closed sign but didn't expect to see any cars.

I was sitting down eating lunch when a car did pull up. Nick had talked to a council worker and had gone up the Upper Livingstone Road but had missed the second notice at the State Forest Boundary about the Jones Road Closure. We had a chat and since I had a photo of the diversion we decided he would give me a lift down to Dargo via the vehicle diversion. I think the whole diversion added about 60 kilometres. In the end he would have been fine as they did have detour signs at the track intersections and end up coming into Dargo from the south. It saved me the 6 kilometre walk down Jones Road.

In Dargo the pub and the Inn were shut but I picked up a coffee. We headed back up to the trail on the Upper Dargo Road and after having a discussion, Nick took me over the Dargo High Plains Road and showed me around Grant then took me on to Talbotville. A bit of a cheat for me. Half of it was Bitumen road to Grant which looked like it was ready to fall into the valley with the bitumen sagging dramatically for about a third of the width.

Nick also offered me a beer and we sat and talked about plans we have. I've invited him home when he visits Perth. Hope everyone I've invited don't all roll up together. Then I get some Vegemite and corn thins from him. Cheese would have made the ideal snack but corn thins and Vegemite are a good combination anyway. Puts a different smell in the tent at night though.

Grant

Brewery Creek

Fruit Trees at Talbotville

My Company

I set up beside Brewery Creek and contemplate staying an extra day as I've bypassed a days walk. Although I've added half the distance doing part of the diversion. We have cows for company so that lovely cow poo smell I'm used to returns. There are also fruit trees and I think it's a plum is in fruit though they are cherry tomato size. I have a few. There's also a fig that is going to heavy in ripe fruit soon. There are 4 camping groups including me along the river and I can see it would be very popular.

Camp at Talbotville

Day 232 Birregun Road to Dogs Grave

 VIC Day 8 (Day 232) Wednesday 12 January, 2022 17.5km

4812.1 / 401.3km

Today was a simple 17.5k walk to a camp site called Dogs Grave. All along Birregun Road. There was a bit of fog. The walk was mainly uneventful. There were showers on and off and I got to the campsite by about lunch time.

The start off

Climbing the Range

Road into Dogs Grave

It was a surprise to see a hut here. Put up by the Australian Deerhunters Association. Well built hut and no holes for critters and birds to get in. The inside walls are graffitied with signatures of visitors. I found Sasha's under Tegan and Tom's another couple I followed who rode the trail north in 2017. I think they went on to the top of Cape York. I added my signature to this area to keep the Trail bits altogether. Added a note to say Sascha had completed the journey. She would have only been on trail less than a month. Full of enthusiasm. I'm getting a little jaded though.

The Deer Hunters Hut

The National Trail Signatures

Dogs Grave is named because another drifter buried his faithful hound here in 1863. I set up the tent mesh in the hut and tried to dry stuff out with showers coming across every so often. A couple spending the weekend camping came down to the Grave and we ended having a brew together. He is an army man transferred to Bandyanna. I thought that was artillery in my day. He was born the year I joined and has been serving 20 years. Makes me feel old now. Spent a quiet restful night in the hut. A long walk tomorrow with a 12 or 15k diversion.

The Dogs Grave