Little River Gorge

Another lovely warm day awaited us on our last day in the high country. Better make the most of it!

We explored around McKillops Bridge, walking down under the bridge to the sides of the Snowy. Three young Kookaburras played on a tree branch above.

We'd caught a number of small scorpions at the campground, and even a tick which I spotted luckily before it decided to have a go at one of us. Now there were emus along the roadside!

The 4WD track down to the campsite where the Little River joins the Snowy offered some great views, as well as some fun 4WDing with some steep descents back down to the river. The campsite was quite nice, and there were a few groups camped down here.

As we climbed out of the valley, something on the side of the steep hills kept catching the sun. It looked like a car had run down the mountain side. As we drew closer to Turnback, we parked the car and went to investigate. It was only an old car that had been pushed over the edge, eventually coming to rest against a tree. At least we hope so. There was little chance of walking down and back up as the slope was far too steep!

The road brought us past rocky outcrops as it reached it's highest point, and we were now travelling alongside Little River Gorge. This is Victoria's deepest gorge, the bottom lying some 305 metres almost straight down off the side of the road.

Notice how there are no safety rails? Make sure you take the turn!

It's a long way straight down. 305 metres to be exact.

Further along there is a viewing platform, which either survived the 2003 Alpine Fires, or has since been rebuilt. We used the GPS to find the lookout platform, as we were also looking for a geocache here. Doing it this way took us the wrong way down, leaving us navigating the platform from the other side, a little scary but still fairly safe. I suppose the signs indicating the proper walking track (which we followed on the way back) were victims of the fires.

Further along the road brought us to the top of the gorge, and the Little River Falls. The perfect spot to relax and cool off on a hot January day!

We drove into Seldom Seen, but it had been devasted by the fires. "Dave" had survived but not much else, by sheltering in the dam nearby with his dog as everything burned around.

Native Dog campground is a lovely spot on the upper reaches of the Buchan River. We stopped here for lunch (some tasty Fajitas, another camp food favourite of me and the kids) when another Patrol towing a T-Van arrived. A quick chat and I was further sold on the idea I've got to get me one of those...

It was starting to be time to head on home. We drove across the tops of the High Country, passing snakes on the road, beautiful views of the Cobberas (to be explored further next year) and lovely little mountain towns. We bought icecreams in Benambra and followed the Tambo back out of the mountains.

Track Summary & Travel Times

Track Name	Surface	Travel Time	Total Distance	Avg Speed	Min Alt	Max Alt
Home to Warragul	Sealed/Freeway	1 hour 29 minutes	110km	74km/hr	37 metres	173 metres
Home to Moe Turnoff	Sealed/Freeway	1 hour 46 minutes	138km	78km/hr	37 metres	173 metres
Home to Traralgon	Sealed/Freeway	2 hours 7 minutes	170km	80km/hr	37 metres	173 metres
Home to Sale	Freeway/Highway	2 hours 42 minutes	220km	81km/hr	18 metres	173 metres
Home to Mitchell River NP (Hunter Corner)	Freeway/Highway	3 hours 30 minutes	283km	75km/hr	18 metres	260 metres
Hunter Corner to Den of Nargan Picnic Area	2WD Gravel	5 minutes	4.6km	62km/hr	191 metres	264 metres
Den of Nargan to Amphitheatre	2WD Gravel	16 minutes	9.4km	34km/hr	183 metres	255 metres
Amphitheatre to Angusvale(Mitchell Road)	4WD Easy. 1 small creek crossing	51 minutes	20km	24km/hr	101 metres	461 metres
Angusvale Turnoff (Dargo Rd) to Angusvale	2WD Gravel	25 minutes	16.4km	40km/hr	111 metres	526 metres
Hunters Corner to Angusvale	2WD Gravel/Sealed	9 minutes	9.7km	67km/hr	292 metres	478 metres
Hunters Corner to Bairnsdale	Highway	38 minutes	40km	62km/hr	21 metres	291 metres
Bairnsdale to Lakes Entrance	Highway	41 minutes	37km	54km/hr	10 metres	92 metres
Lakes Entrance to Nowa Nowa	Highway	15 minutes	22km	87km/hr	9 metres	100 metres
Nowa Nowa to Lake Tyers Rd turnoff	Highway	4 minutes	6.5km	93km/hr	22 metres	94 metres
Lake Tyers Rd to Beach campsite	2WD Gravel	15 minutes	15.9km	62km/hr	13 metres	87 metres
Lake Tyers to Highway via Old orbost Rd	2WD Gravel, lots of wallabies	25 minutes	19km	46km/hr	3 metres	76 metres
Newmerella to Tulloch Ard Rd Turn off	Sealed Highway	50 minutes	50km	60km/hr	13 metres	260 metres
Buchan Orbost Rd to Balley Hooley Camping Area	2WD Gravel	17 minutes	15.9km	62km/hr	13 metres	87 metres
Tulloch Ard Rd to Running Creek Tk exit	2WD Gravel	27 minutes	20.5km	45km/hr	294 metres	765 metres
Running Creek Tk to Jacksons Crossing	4WD with some steep sections and river crossing	33 minutes	9km	16km/hr	75 metres	780 metres
Jacksons Crossing to Yalmy Tk	4WD Clay	25 minutes	11.8km	28km/hr	86 metres	381 metres
Yalmy Tk to Deddick Trail	2WD Gravel	40 minutes	30.3km	45km/hr	180 metres	765 metres
Deddick Trail	4WD, beautiful scenery, steep ascents and descents, creek crossings, alpine ridges	2 hours 40 minutes	51.5km	19km/hr	230 metres	1205 metres
McKillops Bridge to Little River Camp exit	2WD Windy Gravel	16 minutes	7.1km	26km/hr	193 metres	280 metres
Little River Camp Track (One Way)	4WD Gravel, steep descents	12 minutes	3.2km	16km/hr	189 metres	369 metres
Little River Exit to Little River Gorge	2WD Gravel, wibndy with steep precipaces	22 minutes	8.8km	24km/hr	347 metres	899 metres
Little River Gorge exit to Seldom Seen	2WD Gravel/bitumen	35 minutes	12.8km	22km/hr	805 metres	940 metres
Seldom Seen to Native Dog Camping Area	2WD Gravel	1 hour 46 minutes	55.3km	31km/hr	805 metres	1443 metres
Native Dog Camping Area to Benambra	2WD Gravel/Sealed	50 minutes	47.2km	57km/hr	715 metres	1289 metres
Benambra to Omeo	Sealed	23 minutes	23.3km	61km/hr	622 metres	941 metres
Omeo to Swifts Creek	Highway	19 minutes	26km	82km/hr	300 metres	766 metres
Swifts Creek to Tambo Crossing	Highway	30 minutes	36.4km	73km/hr	158 metres	399 metres
Tambo Crossing to Bruthen	Highway	30 minutes	33.6km	66km/hr	47 metres	330 metres
Bruthen to Bairnsdale	Highway	20 minutes	26.3km	78km/hr	18 metres	130 metres
Bairnsdale to Home	Highway/Freeway	3 hours 16 minutes	286.4km	88km/hr	19 metres	179 metres

Deddick Trail

Time to move on, we drove through the forest along the Old Orbost Road spotting a few wallabies along the way. We refueled and topped up our water supply at the servo just outside of Orbost, then checked out a Geocache at the lookout. This was the start of our trek along the Snowy River.

We headed up the Buchan Orbost Rd and then turned down Basin Rd. We started exploring along a walking track to Basin Falls, but there was no sign indicating how long the walk was and the kids weren't interested in getting out of the car. I ran along the track for a good distance, but didn't come to any falls, so turned around and ran back up the hill to the car.

Balley hooley sounds like an interesting place, so we drove down to this campsite on the confluence of the Buchan and Snowy Rivers to have a look. It seemed a nice campground, and there were a few others camped here as well. We went for a short walk along the walking track, and explored down by the river.

The views from Tulloch Ard Road were glorious, but were only a hint of some of the magnificent scenery we would be driving through today.

We moved off the ridge, and followed Running Creek Track down a spur onto Jacksons Creek Track. We were now beside the Snowy in a cleared area driving beside rocky outcrops.

There were some lovely camping sites along here, but not a soul to be seen. Perfect!

We approached Jacksons Crossing warily. A small ford took us onto an island, then the track just led straight into the Snowy River, with no sight of the exit on the other side to be seen.

I paused, then got out of the car to see which way we should go. Eventually I cottoned onto the strategically placed rocks, leading out and around the river marking the boundaries of the safe crossing. Back into the car and off into the water we made the crossing without incident.

On the other side of the Snowy now, we stopped at a campsite on a sweeping bend of the river. There were quite a few people camped here, but it seemed a nice spot. We even saw a goanna cross the track and climb a tree beside us.

We continued along Varneys Track, climbing out of the valley and then drove along Yalmy Road. This was a good quality forest road. We stopped off at a small creek for lunch, the weather quite warm today.

We eventually arrived at the start of the Deddick Trail, one of those icon tracks in Victoria and the main purpose of this trip.

The Deddick Trail is simply beautiful, scenic, challenging and awe inspiring. The following photos only give a small taste of how wonderous this place really is. I drove along many steep descents and ascents, often the track was visible in the distance heading straight up spurs to the ridgetops. Even when down in the valleys away from the endless views, the lushness and green as we travelled beside and through crystal clear mountain streams was unforgetable.

Eventually our journey along the Deddick neared it's end. As we crossed over Mt Gelantipy, we moved from verdant mountain ash forest into Gelantipy's rain shadow and soon McKillops Bridge was visible in the valley far below. Another icon of this area.

We drove towards Deddick looking for a secluded campsite on the river, but had no luck and so returned to McKillops Road and looked at the other formed campsites.

We eventually settled on the campsite at Bulldog Flat, and enjoyed a most tasty roast chicken as we watched a flock of hundreds of cockatoos play in the trees across the river.

The bush here is so dry that there were even scorpions around the campground!

Lake Tyres

Time to move on, and after packing up camp we stopped at a little side track off the Dargo road, which on the map indicated a collapsed bridge. This would be a good camping spot for an overnighter if travelling up towards Dargo.

We continued through the rolling countryside, eventually arriving at Lakes Entrance. We took a short stop at the lookout to see the offshore gas platforms, easily visible with the bright clear weather. This was a popular stopping spot, with cars constantly unloading streams of people to take in the view across Bass Straight. White Bellied Sea Eagles and various gulls and terns flew backwards and forwards across the vista.

We restocked on supplies at the supermarket in own, then continued on to Lake Tyers. The camping ground at Glasshouse Ruins was tent city plus, so we bushcamped down a track that lead to the ocean beach. There was another tent setup here, but we were able to establish a semi private campsite behind some tea tree, a short stroll from the beach. We spent the rest of the day playing in the surf and walking up and down the beach.

The crowds came and went and we eventually had the beach to ourselves.

We headed back to our camp for dinner. Spag Bols, a tried and true favourite, though hard to cleanup from.

After dinner we walked along the beach, enjoying the sunset. The colours were magnificent.

Den of Nargun

The car got picked up sometime during the night. Don't know what was going on there, but some people rocked up after we'd gone to bed and drivin it off. Maybe they'd been canoeing?

After breakfast, we jumped in the car and headed off towards our Den of Nargun Walk. The view over Angusvale was quite spectacular, as were some other vantage points over the Mitchell River

The views from the Amphitheatre were very impressive; a large slice of the mountain had been worn away by the river leaving a sheer curved cliff above a rockfall at the river's edge.

The weather was improving as we commenced our walk. the kids were all quite excited to visit the Nargun, though a little apprehensive after being told of how he loved to eat small children!

As we descended, the air became cooler and it was like walking through a rainforest.

We sat by the Den of Nargun for ages, enjoying the mysticism and solitude of the place. Swallows flew in and out from the cliff wall and birds called from the trees. Eventiually some other walkers arrived, and so we continued down river.

The walk along the creek bed was very Tolkeinesk; lovely green twisted trees with dappled rocks and trickling water. It was just missing elves and hobbits.

The Mitchell River was in full flowthis is a canoeing paradise I'm sure. I believe it is Victoria's longest free flowing river. Not a dam anywhere in sight!

The climb was quite steep, and the weather had warmed considerably, especially since we were out from the coolness of the valley and rainforest. A young couple sat on the guard rail at the lookout, obviously not suffering any vertigo.

We spotted a tree covered in the most brightly iridescant beetles. Blues, greens and yellows. When they slipped out of their shells, their whole body was a golden yellow.

Back at camp we played some more totem tennis, swam in the river, and with the wood we collected through the day, we were able to cook up some tasty Fajitas for dinner.