A Long Weekend Camping at Mitchell River National park

We returned to Mitchell River as Michelle had said it looked quite nice from the photos she had seen from our Christmas Trip here, and it was going to be a hot weekend, so a nice cool river was the perfect place to be.

Our trip down proved eventful though when I looked in the rear mirror only a few kilometres from the campsite to discover that the bikes were missing off the back of the car! The tube holding the bike rack had snapped cleanly off. We turned around and headed back to the end of the road, but there was no site of them. I figured the next most likely place they had fallen off would have been some 50 kilometres back, so the chances of them still being there would have been very slim, so we continued down to Angusvale.

Our previous campsite was taken, and there were no river spots left at Angusvale so we headed downstream and set up camp near the river ford after discounting a few other spots. It was a lovely spot, and a good place for the kids to swim with the river quite shallow and cool as it flowed over the cobblestones.

We were relaxing around our campsite when a guy drove across the river. This was fine, but then he decided to go driving up the river. he had forgotten to lock his hubs and had become stuck. He had to jump out of the car in a metre of water and lock his hubs before he was able to drive out. of course he, and his car was soaking wet. I was surprised he didn't stuff his engine. This was our first clue of the dreadful night that awaited us.

He was joined a short time later by some of his mates, who set up camp across the river. Everything was fine till evening set in and the alcohol they must have been consuming in vast quantities took over.

They drove across the river a number of times, and as it got later they drove up and down the river banks and throughthe campground, beeping their horns and being a general nuisance to everybody.

They knocked over a few trees by the side of the track, and whilst hoonign around at the top of the hill, they must have hit a tree and damaged one of the cars. This resulted in an all out brawl back at their campsite only quieting down when one of them threatened to get his rifle out.

In the morning the 4WD club that had been camping down at Rock Creek came through and sorted them out, taking their rego plates and reporting them to the Police and Parks Vic.

As Rock Creek was now vacant, and we had no idea if could expect the same again tonight, we went without breakfast and moved our campsite. Thankfully the trouble makers moved on and we were able to enjoy the rest of our weekend.

We spotted some huge carp swimming in the river, and wee spent the rest of the hot afternoon relaxing in the water. We had a little bit of excitement after lunch when Liam came splashing towards us with a look of pure horror on his face as a snake went skimming across the water behind him!

As the afternoon passed on, we spotted some mountain goats high on the cliffs. It was amazing watching them make their way across the cliff face with absolutely no fear of heights. Makes me shudder just to think of it.

Apart from the snake we spotted yesterday, Michelle also saw a huge goanna make it's way off into the bushes, and the kids also found a baby dragon. As we were packing up, we also found a huge Huntsman Spider which we made sure didn't hitch a ride back with us.

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.

Mitchell River

Christmas New Year break again! The perfect opportunity to jump in the car and get away for a few days. I thought this year I'd go for a bit of a theme, and follow the Snowy River up into the High Country in Far East Gippsland.

First stop was Mitchell River. We pulled up at the car park for the Den of Nargun, but decided to leave the walk for latter. We continued to Lookout Point, where we set up for lunch, with a slight drizzle coming down.

We drove along Mitchell River Track, an easy 4WD track which took us across Cobbannah Creek (a very shallow crossing).

We caught some tantalising views of the cliffs along the Mitchell River through the trees as we continued towards a prospective campsite. The track also offered us some scenic vistas as it weaved closer to the river.

A promising spot by the riverside was already taken. In fact the people in this campsite had setup right on the track. It was a great spot near a ford of the Mitchell River, and we gingerly drove through the campsite, just missing their fire as we went on to explore the other side of the river. Over the river there weren't any really suitable spots, so we returned and continued on up to Angusvale.

Angusvale is a very large grassy flat on a wide sweeping bend of the Mitchell River. The area can accomodate hundreds of campers, but only a few choice spots exist along the river. We were fortunate to find one empty, except for a small car parked to the side. We decided to setup, and the kids were soon in the water.

It wasn't exactly a hot day, and some light showers continued to fall, but there was no way these kids weren't going to be in the water!

We relaxed around the campsite the rest of the afternoon, playing some totem tennis and taking it easy. There was a little more rain, but we had the tarp set-up and were well prepared for a wet weather camp.