Lake Cobbler

Another trip into the mountains near Mansfield with a group of work friends from Bangalore. We took a more direct route to Mansfield this time, however had to make a detour around Mill Park due to fatal road accident, however the detour allowed us to travel along the back roads near Whittlesea where we spotted a few kangaroos.
We arrived in Mansfield early morning where we met up with Kim and his family. A quick look around the bush market and a coffee before heading out to the King River.
The river was much lower than the last time we were up this way, and the river crossings posed no problems. Kim had an opportunity to get the wheels on his cruiser a little wet.

We set-up for lunch on the King River near King Hut. It was a warm day, and the flies were out in droves, but the food was fantastic and the chance to stretch the legs welcome. Everybody had brought something different, and it was great to taste different home made Indian dishes.

I tried a little trout fishing but caught nothing. We could see the trout; they just weren't interested in getting caught today. A quick group photo and we were back in the car heading up to Mt Cobbler.

We made our way up the Staircase easy enough, though I did touch bottom on a few of the rougher places. Kim had no troubles either in the stock standard Cruiser.

Up on the Cobbler Plateau the wildflowers were spectacular; with everlasting daisies lining the track side.

The plan was to drive to Camp Creek and then walk up to Mt Speculation. We tagged along behind the Park Ranger, who graciously cleared a fallen tree from the track, however by the time we reached Camp Creek there wasn't enough time to make the return walk to Mt Speculation, so we returned along the track and made our way straight to Lake Cobbler.

Lake Cobbler was as beautiful as ever, and we enjoyed an afternoon tea before heading off on a walk to the Dandongadale Falls


The first falls we came to had only a small trickle of water falling over some cascades before the sheer drop into the valley. The view across the ranges was magnificent.


We continued along another track to Dandongadale Falls proper, which had a reasonable amount of water falling over the falls edge.

The rocky escarpment with the sheer drop of 250 metres plus was spectacular. The rock shelf hanging suspended with vast views off over the high country.



We returned back to the lake, where a lot of campers were setting up for the night, and after a cuppa headed down the other side of Mt Cobbler. We could see the falls from the roadside as we climbed down into the valley and slowly made our way through Whitfield and back to Mansfield.


We stopped in a park near Mansfield for dinner, finishing off what was left over from lunch, before returning to Melbourne.
 

Track Summary & Travel Times

Track Name	Surface	Travel Time	Total Distance	Avg Speed	Min Alt	Max Alt
King Hut to Speculation Road (The Staircase)	4WD, rock steps	36 minutes	10.3 km	17km/h	794 metres	1272 metres
Speculation Rd to Camp Creek	4WD, last portion overgrown	22 minutes	8 km	21km/h	1348 metres	1502 metres
Lake Cobbler Track	4WD Easy	13 minutes	6 km	28km/h	1106 metres	1362 metres
Lake Cobbler to Mansfield via Whitfield	2WD Gravel/Highway	Approx 2 hours 45 minutes	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded	Not recorded

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Mt Tanglefoot Walk

Mt Tanglefoot is located in the Black Ranges, just north of the township of Toolangi. The forest is predominately tall Mountain Ash with a tree fern understory and is typically wet. Hence the name rainforest!

Today the forest lived up to it's name, and a light drizzle fell on a number of times throughout our walk.

We started at the Mt Tanglefoot Carpark shortly after 9:30, climbing gently along the western slope of Mt Tanglefoot through the towering Mount Ash (Eucaluyptus Regans).

The initial stages of the walk were along a wide track that had been cleared by a bulldozer. However it wasn't long before the path narrowed and was eventually overgrown, forcing us to push our way through the wet undergrowth. I was very quickly soaked through.

About an hour or so into the walk we picked up our first leech. I started to count them, but it soon became apparent that the sheer number was beyond reckoning. At some points through the walk, we were unable to pick them off quicker than they would climb onto us so we just had to keep moving.

I learnt a lot about leeches on this walk though. Here are my leech tips:

• Leeches are mostly on the ground, especially in the wetter areas, like near creeks and gullies. If there is a lot of leaf litter and it is wet, then there will be a lot of leeches!
• Leeches are actually of medical benefit.
• A leech bite is generally painless, won't carry any diseases but can itch afterwards. Unlike mosquitos which can carry some very nasty diseases!
• The leech bite will bleed for some time after the leech drops off. This is due to the anticoagulants.
• Most leeches are on the ground, and get onto you via your shoes. Insect repellant on your shoes with your trousers tucked into your socks will act as a very effective (though fashion challenged) barrier.
• There can be infection caused by the leech's gut bacteria. Irritation or infection from mouth parts left after forcible removal is debatable.
• Leeches usually won't harm you, unless you're allergic to them. They are just very iccy and creepy.

At one point along the walk, a huge tree had collapsed crushing the timber walkway over a small creek. The tree had appeared to have exploded, with only shattered fragments now remaining.

At some points along the walk, the ferny undergrowth was so thick it was like walking through a sea of green. This is were we got the wettest. My clothes couldn't have been wetter if I had jumped fully clothed into a swimming pool. My waterproof shoes were filling with water that was running down my trouser legs!

The halfway point was where the Tanglefoot Track joined with Mondo Road, and we reached this after 3 hours of walking; on par with the guide notes. This is an absolutely beautiful road, and I'd driven along here before. The undergrowth is cleared to act as a fire break, leaving the tall mountain ash standing on the grassy verge. A lovely place for a picnic on a warm day, but with a light rain falling we continued on, eating our lunch on the move.

The walk along Quarry Road was much easier. The road was clear and gently slopped downwards for much of it's length. At one point the road became a creek; I'm not sure if this was the normal state or if there was just a lot of water from the recent and current rain.

One of the scores of leeches was successfull in it's mission, it's only legacy being blood stained trousers.

We reached the quarry in good time, and paused for some snacks before heading into the deep wet jungles of the Myrtle Gully Walk. This was probably some of the most beautiful portions of the walk, with huge Beech Myrtle trees and wet ferny moss covered gullies. But the rain was falling harder and it was too wet to even take photos. This would be very enjoyable on a hot day, as I imagine it would be quite cool here, and the leeches should be fewer between.

We left the gully and climbed back into the mountain ash as we approached our starting point 6 hours and 18 kilometres after leaving this morning. The last hour or so was the hardest, as it was very wet and getting quite cold. A hot cup of tea back at the carpark was perfect to make us feel civilised again!

Aussie Trips 2005

This year I'll try to mix in more hiking with the offroad adventuring, though one 4WD destination I hope to do this year will be Haunted Stream, as well as exploring more around the upper reaches of the High Country, around the Playgrounds, Cobberas and Davies Plain.