Hi Guys, I just read a thread from a canadian and one from a French bloke on our aussie site and it reminded me how good it os to see overseas trails so here is one we did just after Christmas.
the Victorian hi Country is some of the best 4WDing in Aus and it only takes a couple of hours to get ther from melbourne (home) so we headed of for a three day trek, normally we like the hard tracks but this was a family trip for my family and a mate who came on his own.
We headed in at Woods Point where we had lunch on day 1 then went down to violet town before heading across to O,Tooles Flat via Donelly Ck r.d for a cup of tea, it was about 3;30 by then and we broke out the maps and thought we might make Licola by about 5;30.
Boy were we wrong, what followed was some of the most hardcore and dangerous stuff you could ever wish to drive and IFS 4 Runner through.
We took Black range Track which drops into and climbs out of the McAllister Gorge Scenic Reserve. It basically drops straight down the side of the mountain with an unprotected drop off of hundreds of meters on the left and it is a steep as. Of course the missus has the drop off on her side but she was a real trooper about it, just when you think it can't get any worse you round a corner and can see nothing but air in front of the bonnet again. then just when you think it's finished it heads back uphill at a very steep angle with huge drop offs and boulders you have to gun it to get over We got to the bottom of the valley to find a river crossing almost bonnet deep, goodo time to test our new snorkels and our lockers on the steep exit from the crossing, all went well except I gunned the V8 up the exit too hard and popped a front tire off the bead, some quick inflation work saw it hold air for most of the rest of the trip with about two or three top ups a day to keep 20 to 25 psi. Blainey meanwhile cruises across the river and almost idles up the exit with the extremes not missing a beat. from the river crossing it was another harrowing climb out of the valley to the top of some mountain then a steep decent to the road to Licola which was covered in embedded rock and loose boulders. Blaineys truck started lifting it's skirts and teetering on two wheels very often on the descents so I had to get out and guide him in several places, it was so steep I had to be very careful not to slip and fall down the mountain while keeping an eye on his 4 Runner so I didn't send him over the edge, I had an escape plan for myself at all times it was that touch and go when I was guiding.
Full blown hardcore that we weren't looking for on this trip, anyway it took 5 hours to travel about 60km to Licola, gotta love the Hi Country. So a late camp was set up at Licola caravan park, which we recommend to anyone, top camp sites and top facilities where we met several great groups of like minded travellers and fuel, I burned 60 L for 100km of hi way , 40km of track and 60 km of hardcore.
Day two saw us break camp late and head for Bluff Hut, a good bit of touring type driving mixed with a little medium 4WD, very relaxing after day one. We lobbed into Bluff Hut at about 6:30pm to set up camp. Some very nice touring was had on this day via Howitt Rd and King Billy Tk, just on 100km in about 6.5 hours and no where near the severe fuel usage of day one. Hi lite of the day was King Billy Tk from a 4WD perspective and Bryce Plain from touring perspective.
Day three we took off from camp at about 10;30 am and headed for Monument Tk (now graded/cleaned up) but worth the drive and then onto Clear Hills Tk to the summit of Mt Stirling at 1700m where the 350 degree views indicate just how big the Hi Country might be (It's Humoungus really) the views up there cannot be described adequately, almost 360 degrees of mountain ranges as far as the eye can see.
We decided to head home a day early as our little fella had a nasty cough and we didn't want him spending another night in the cold mountain air
We ended up with lunch at Mirimban where there is a huge well kept park with toilets, BBQs, a River and shade, etc.
It was a top 3 days where we covered about 250km of Hi Country roads and tracks, this place is really big and really impressive.
thanks to Blainey for accompanying us and being there in case, and for the company of course.
Woods Point, a mining town in the late 1800s and early 1900s now a place where people live, loggers i think.
The descent in McAllister Gorge Scenic reserve,
View from the drivers window on the way down,
Camp on the first night in Licola,
Bluff Hut, these huts were built by miners and cattlemen overs the years and most are open for adventureres to stay in overnight with firewood supplied, etc,
Blainey crossing the McAllister river at the bottom of the gorge,
View for the summit of Mt Stirling, there are trails through all the Mountains you can see,
King Billy track has these great rockslide running down the side of the mountain everywhere, i have no idea what created them,
A Vid of me crossing the McAllister and hitting the bank hard enough to pop a tyre off the bead,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd2Jfe9TxvY
Cheers
the Victorian hi Country is some of the best 4WDing in Aus and it only takes a couple of hours to get ther from melbourne (home) so we headed of for a three day trek, normally we like the hard tracks but this was a family trip for my family and a mate who came on his own.
We headed in at Woods Point where we had lunch on day 1 then went down to violet town before heading across to O,Tooles Flat via Donelly Ck r.d for a cup of tea, it was about 3;30 by then and we broke out the maps and thought we might make Licola by about 5;30.
Boy were we wrong, what followed was some of the most hardcore and dangerous stuff you could ever wish to drive and IFS 4 Runner through.
We took Black range Track which drops into and climbs out of the McAllister Gorge Scenic Reserve. It basically drops straight down the side of the mountain with an unprotected drop off of hundreds of meters on the left and it is a steep as. Of course the missus has the drop off on her side but she was a real trooper about it, just when you think it can't get any worse you round a corner and can see nothing but air in front of the bonnet again. then just when you think it's finished it heads back uphill at a very steep angle with huge drop offs and boulders you have to gun it to get over We got to the bottom of the valley to find a river crossing almost bonnet deep, goodo time to test our new snorkels and our lockers on the steep exit from the crossing, all went well except I gunned the V8 up the exit too hard and popped a front tire off the bead, some quick inflation work saw it hold air for most of the rest of the trip with about two or three top ups a day to keep 20 to 25 psi. Blainey meanwhile cruises across the river and almost idles up the exit with the extremes not missing a beat. from the river crossing it was another harrowing climb out of the valley to the top of some mountain then a steep decent to the road to Licola which was covered in embedded rock and loose boulders. Blaineys truck started lifting it's skirts and teetering on two wheels very often on the descents so I had to get out and guide him in several places, it was so steep I had to be very careful not to slip and fall down the mountain while keeping an eye on his 4 Runner so I didn't send him over the edge, I had an escape plan for myself at all times it was that touch and go when I was guiding.
Full blown hardcore that we weren't looking for on this trip, anyway it took 5 hours to travel about 60km to Licola, gotta love the Hi Country. So a late camp was set up at Licola caravan park, which we recommend to anyone, top camp sites and top facilities where we met several great groups of like minded travellers and fuel, I burned 60 L for 100km of hi way , 40km of track and 60 km of hardcore.
Day two saw us break camp late and head for Bluff Hut, a good bit of touring type driving mixed with a little medium 4WD, very relaxing after day one. We lobbed into Bluff Hut at about 6:30pm to set up camp. Some very nice touring was had on this day via Howitt Rd and King Billy Tk, just on 100km in about 6.5 hours and no where near the severe fuel usage of day one. Hi lite of the day was King Billy Tk from a 4WD perspective and Bryce Plain from touring perspective.
Day three we took off from camp at about 10;30 am and headed for Monument Tk (now graded/cleaned up) but worth the drive and then onto Clear Hills Tk to the summit of Mt Stirling at 1700m where the 350 degree views indicate just how big the Hi Country might be (It's Humoungus really) the views up there cannot be described adequately, almost 360 degrees of mountain ranges as far as the eye can see.
We decided to head home a day early as our little fella had a nasty cough and we didn't want him spending another night in the cold mountain air
We ended up with lunch at Mirimban where there is a huge well kept park with toilets, BBQs, a River and shade, etc.
It was a top 3 days where we covered about 250km of Hi Country roads and tracks, this place is really big and really impressive.
thanks to Blainey for accompanying us and being there in case, and for the company of course.
Woods Point, a mining town in the late 1800s and early 1900s now a place where people live, loggers i think.
The descent in McAllister Gorge Scenic reserve,
View from the drivers window on the way down,
Camp on the first night in Licola,
Bluff Hut, these huts were built by miners and cattlemen overs the years and most are open for adventureres to stay in overnight with firewood supplied, etc,
Blainey crossing the McAllister river at the bottom of the gorge,
View for the summit of Mt Stirling, there are trails through all the Mountains you can see,
King Billy track has these great rockslide running down the side of the mountain everywhere, i have no idea what created them,
A Vid of me crossing the McAllister and hitting the bank hard enough to pop a tyre off the bead,
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rd2Jfe9TxvY
Cheers