Mt Margaret, Marysville

There had been good snow falls reported during the week so we decided to head up into the hills around Marysville to see what we could find, and hopefully let the kids have a play in some snow without the crowds.  There were some good indications of snow as we drove along Lady Talbot Drive.  The plan was to drive up Mt Margaret.  I hadn't been there before, but I figured that at an altitude of 1200metres, and being relatively flat by looking at the map there should be some good snow play to be had.

We turned up Whitehouse Fire Line, which had some light dustings of snow.  The track made a sharp right hand turn before climbing steadily, but the track was too slippery to climb.  I decided to winch myself back down to the right-hander, as the track was slippery and at the bottom of the hill was a large gum tree which I didn't fancy sliding back into.  Unfortunately, I winched down too far, and the cable was ripped off the winch drum.

Now without a functional winch I ended up spending half an hour trying to navigate muddy ruts back around the corner as I didn't want to drive off the track into the mud without the comfort of being able to winch back onto the track if required.  In the end I had to drive off the track anyway to get around, and was able to turn around and drive back onto Lady Talbot without getting stuck.

With WhiteHouse too slippery to climb, our next option up to Mt Margaret was East Falls Road.  This was looking promising until we came to a fallen tree blocking the track.  The kids played with the little snow that was around while I set-up for lunch.

Lunch was most welcome after the long delays on Whitehouse, and we sat enjoying the views with a light fall of snow.  Bruce thought the whole experience quite interesting, if a little cold.

There wasn't any room to turn the car around, so I had to reverse down most of the track.

I hadn't given up on Mt Margaret yet, so we continued along Lady Talbot, which was becoming more and more snow covered.  The tree ferns looking fantastic with their brilliant white dusting of snow and their downward bent fronds.

As we passed the Music Bowl, the scene became more and more beautiful with snow covered beech myrtle and ferns.

The snow was becoming thicker so we stopped so the kids could play on the side of the road.

Further along however at Mount Margaret Gap there was a clearing with a good covering of snow.  The kids played here for ages; the light powder making snowballs which exploded perfectly on impact.  Bruce had a great time exploring around too.

We then drove down Mt Margaret Road which had a light snow cover, the footprints of previous hikers clearly evident.

Our final approach to the summit of Mt Margaret was again foiled by a fallen tree, though we got close enough and experienced plenty of snow so as not to be disappointed.  It was getting dark now, and it was certainly time to start heading back home.

We returned via Yanks Folly Track, which descended quite steeply at some points and were soon on the way home after a great day exploring in the snow close to Melbourne.

Cambarville and the search for the Wolfram Mine

Another trip into the forests of Marysville in search of the ever elusive Wolfram Mine. Did we find it? Read on...

We decided to tackle Mt Strickland via Strickland Spur Track, a reasonable challenge when there had been light rain. The track varied from slippery mud at the base to broken rocky ground on the ascent. A small tree across the track slowed us down for a little while, but it was easily cleared with the drag chain.

We continued across Mt Strickland and along MMBW Boundary Road to the turn off for Wilkes Creek Rd. Wilkes Creek Track appeared blocked by a number of young Mountain Ash having been blown over across the track, so we decided to have lunch before progressing any further. Lunch was an easy Hot Dogs on fresh tasty buns from Healesville. Nice and warming on such a cold day!

We started driving down Wilkes Track, but after driving over the 2nd tree across the track, and still more ahead I decided it best just to walk down and explore. We'd bought a machette on the way up, but they don't sell those things pre-sharpened so it wasn't much use for searching through the thick scrub.

We spent quite a time exploring around off the side of the track looking for the mine, pushing our way through the underbrush on the steep hillside.

We found the remains of an old hut, the corrugated iron still visible but the wooden floor well rotted away. From our map this was a good indication of where the mine should be, but the Wolfram had eluded us again for what must have been the fourth time! The only way we will be able to find it is either a bush fire travelling through the area, or finding somebody else who has found it previously that can give us specific directions.

We climbed the steep track back to the car and continued along MMBW Boundary Road, passing the proud owners of a new logging truck, who had stopped on the road and taking photos.There was a bit of snow along the track as we passed Mount Grant and joined the Marysville - Woods Point Road.

We parked in the car park for the Big Tree near Cambarville and commenced our walk, soon coming to a clearing where the home of the Hermit of Cumberland had been in the early 1900's. A plaque marks the site of his hut, and tells the story of a visit to the Hermit by the Governer of Victoria in the late 1920's. The Hermit, George Loch took the Governer to visit the Big Tree, where the Governer Baron Somers remarked "Magnificent! I wonder how long it's been here." To which George replied "Buggered if I know Mr Somers, it was already here when I came along."

The path continued on through the other side of the clearing and descended gently through a ferny gully and across a wooden bridge over a clear stream. In the distance the tall slender treess could be seen gently swaying back and forth in the breeze.

We soon arrived at the Big Tree, which isn't so much big, especially when compared to the Ada Tree, but is extremely tall, and is the tallest in Victoria.

The sign near the tree puts it at 84 metres tall, with a girth of 5.2 metres at 3 metres off the ground. A wind storm in 1952 broke the top off this tree and many others in this group of "Tall Trees". The Big Tree's original height prior to the storm was 92 metres.

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Update!!! I found a web page today that had a PDF of a Study by the DNRE on various Mining relics and sites in the St Andrews Mining Division. What a treasure chest! It has GPS co-ordinates of various mining sites as well as listings of various artifacts that can be found there. And of course if has GPS co-ordinates of the Wolfram Mine! Plotting it onto the map, it actually appears to be on the western side of the road, and not the eastern side as I had expected from the VicMap. So, we will be off for one more final time to find the mine site. To be continued...

Read about the previous attempts to find this mine here

Mansfield to Bright Range Rover Club Trip

Trip Leaders:

John & Prue Hassler	Landcruiser 60 Series
Jim Parker	Landcruiser Tray

Trip Participants:

Mark, James & Liam Fitzgerald	Nissan GU LWB
Gerald Wolmer	Landcruiser MWB
David Jenkinson	Discovery
Ian Kelly and John Hawley	Discovery
Sujee Panagoda	Discovery
Richard, Trish and Kristen Groom	Disco II
Mark Kingsley & Gavin O'Conner	Disco II
David, Kate Cassie & Matthew Jackson	Nissan GU LWB
Bruce, Brandon, Amanda & William Triptree	Explorer
Steve Williams	Disco II
Matthew, Bibiana, Thomas & Benjamin Mason	Landcruiser 100 Series

 

Tail End Charlie

Rob & Noelle Butterworth

Disco II

Trip Report: Mark Fitzgerald

Everybody arrived at the meeting point in Alexandra on time, though we did leave a little late due to some last minute completing of the new trip participant information sheets.  I'll make sure I've got mine typed up and photocopied next time, as handwriting 3 copies of the form is no fun at all.  We made our way out through Eildon and up to the lookout over the dam wall to get sight of the new works.

Eildon no longer conforms to modern dam building criteria, so additional work is taking place to improve the structure of the dam wall to cope with extreme earthquakes and the spillway is also being upgraded to cope with greater flood events.  Not much was happening on the dam wall, apart from a mob of kangaroos lazily grazing.  There was some work going on at the quarry on Mt Sugarloaf (How many Mt Sugarloaf's are there in Victoria?), with a large bulldozer pushing crushed rock down the cliff-side.  We returned back down through Eildon which was built to house the construction workers of the original dam wall and headed off in convoy along Taylor's Road, which normally would offer spectacular views over Lake Eildon, however the low lying cloud and fog blanketed the valley.

We stopped at a lookout near Station Creek for a morning tea, as well as to enjoy the views across the invisible lake and out across the High Country.

A quick chat, coffee and look around and then the convoy continued down Maintongoon Road and into Bonnie Doon, where we picked up another convoy member, chips, drinks and an opportunity to use a real toilet.  Large convoys are like old dinosaurs.  The Diplodocus kind; very slow to get moving.

Snaking back the way we came, we crossed the Brankeet Inlet bridge and turned left down Dry Creek Rd.  We picked up our last convoy member and set out to explore the Dry Creek Historical Area.  There were a number of large excavations and other clues to the mining that had taken place in the past, as well as the foundations and remnants of old houses and other buildings, battling with time and the blackberries.

We stopped here for our morning tea break, though at quarter to 12 it was getting closer to lunch time.  This beast of a convoy was proving difficult to tame.

After a good explore of the area, though it would be easy to spend a day here exploring the ruins and old mine diggings, we wound our way along various tracks across the Strathbogie Ranges to a magnificent granite outcrop opposite Mt Strathbogie which gave us spectacular views back across the plains and onto Mt. Torbreck.

Next stop was the Crystal Mine, a currently working mine extracting quartz from deep within the mountain.  As the mine was still in operation, a fence around the buildings prevented any close inspection, though it was a good opportunity to mill around, stretch the legs and have a chat.

We stopped for lunch about 1:30 at a small picnic area on Moonee Creek; somehow managing to squeeze all of the cars onto the tiny grass flats.  The kids all played by the creek edge, amazingly staying dry whilst the parents cooked and chatted.  As time was escaping us, we ditched the plans to drive up Mt Samaria, instead taking a more direct route to Stringy Bark Creek.

Stringy Bark Creek is the site of a gun battle with Ned Kelly and Sgt Michael Kennedy with Constables Lonigan, Scanlon and McIntyre, who intended to capture the Kelly Gang.  

Kennedy, Lonigan and Scanlon were shot dead, and the Kelly Tree has an iron sculpture of Kelly's armour engraved to remember the shooting of Lonigan.

A short walk from the picnic area was a large open camping area, and it was decided to setup camp here as it was already about 4PM, it was a long way to the original planned campsites along Buttercup Road and this was a great campsite with plenty of room for us all to spread out.  We staked out our sites, and started putting up our tents.  Much to my shock, I found my tent fly was not in the bag with the tent, and after considering sleeping in the car (been there, done that, and not very comfortable at all), I setup the tent with a tarp over the top to keep out any rain or moisture.

After dinner we all sat around the campfire sharing stories of previous trips, adventures, searches for lost tents and delicious chocolate cake.

The wind picked up through the night which played havoc with the tarp over our tent.  Suffice to say I got little sleep that night, as probably did anybody camped nearby to me.  My humble apologies.

Sunday 13th June 2004

Breaking camp shortly after 9AM we just managed to beat a light drizzle.  We headed over to a grave site which was marked on the map and also by road signs.

The grave of Emma Heller was significant as she is the only white person buried in the district.  Special approval was granted due to heavy snow falls at the time.

We drove into Mansfield where a number of people refuelled and then made our way out along Buttercup Road, passing many campsites along the creek before our stop off at Tomahawk Hut.  The weather was turning quite cold, and very foggy so after a quick explore around the hut we jumped back into the cars and made our way down Evans Creek Track.

We stopped for lunch at Evans Creek Hut, an old tin shed on the flats near Evans Creek.  Lunch was had under tarps as the rain started to fall.  The rain didn't bother the kids any, who continued exploring around the hut and the creek oblivious to the cold and wet.

Continuing along Evans Creek Track brought us to the upper reaches of Lake William Hovell.  The lake was quite low, and we explored some river flats along the King River, which normally would be under the lake.  The muddy flats had been cut up quite badly by previous 4WDrivers and were a sorry sight to see.

As we drove into Cheshunt, the convoy split into two, with John leading half of the convoy back to the campsite in preparation for another day, and myself leading the remaining half of the convoy to Paradise Falls and then back home.

I was able to prove how ineffective it is to lead a convoy from behind with one car (names withheld to protect the innocent) taking a wrong turn and becoming lost, but we all managed to make it to Paradise Falls in the end.  Given all of the rain we had had today, it was quite a surprise to find no water to speak of flowing over the falls, which were barely visible through the fog, mist and light drizzling rain.

We headed back home through ever thickening fog, at times able to see no more than a few metres in front on the Mansfield-Whitfield Road.  Apart from having to clear a fallen branch from the road, the trip back was without drama.

Thanks John, Prue, Jim and all for a fantastic weekend away in the bush exploring new areas in our magnificent High Country.

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John and Prue have provided the below trip report for the other half of the convoy

Our group headed to Cheshunt and began our climb up the range, past Powers Lookout and towards Tolmie. By the time we had reached the turnoff to Stringybark Creek and the Kelly Tree - our intended campsites - enthusiasm for a night camping in the rain had waned and we drove into Mansfield where we arranged some accommodation. Most stayed in the bunkhouse at the caravan park. Prue and John chose the motel (after all it was the Queen's birthday this week). We met at the Delatite hotel for our meal. David left us as he was heading back to Bonnie Doon.

Mark had sent us the SMS saying there was no water at Paradise Falls so we planned an alternative route for our last day.

Monday 14th June 2004

Trip Leaders:

John & Prue Hassler	Landcruiser 60 Series
Jim Parker	Landcruiser Tray

Trip Participants:

Gerald Wolmer	Landcruiser MWB
Ian Kelly and John Hawley	Discovery

Tail End Charlie

Rob & Noelle Butterworth

Disco II

After refuelling, we headed up the Buller Road and turned onto Carters Road, pausing briefly to look at the camping area before passing Buttercup Road and Tomahawk Hut. We took the track up Mount No 3, climbing above the logged area and through the Alpine Ash forest. By the time we reached the snow gums we were travelling through mist. We passed Westons Track on the left and turned off to the Refuge Hut, a welcome shelter from the mist and rain and a good time for morning tea.

Prue was surprised when cake and sparklers were produced to help celebrate her birthday.

Back in the cars, we passed Bus Hut before turning into Stirling Circuit Road. Because mist obscured any views, we bypassed the turnoffs to Pineapple Flat, Craigs Hut and King Hut and took the Bindaree Road. We noted the new crossing near the carpark for Bindaree Falls. Discouraged from the walk by the continuing rain, we speculated on a good display brought on by the recent rain When we reached the Howqua River, we turned off to Bindaree Hut. The rain continued so we erected a tarp between a couple of vehicles to provide shelter for lunch.

We climbed the Bluff Link Track and, by the time we reached The Bluff Track turnoff, were experiencing light snowfalls. We continued to 8 Mile Gap and descended to Sheepyard Flat. After a cuppa and farewells we headed to Mansfield and home.

Wet weather and timing conspired to make us change our plans. So “Over the Mountains” will be rescheduled next year at a drier time of the year. Thanks to Robert and Noel for acting as Tail End Charlies and taking on many tasks to ensure that the convoy operated effectively. Thank you, Mark for taking the group to Paradise Falls and safely back to Mansfield.

John Hasler

Michaeldene Track - Marysville

Marysville; nice and close to home, some lovely walking tracks and views; and a little bit of history hidden here and there.  Myself and the boys packed up and headed off to explore some points along Michaeldene Track.  First port of call was the Wishing Well, reported to be a natural spring.  We followed the walking track down only to find a dried up crook amongst the ferns.  No water here so we knew what we had to wish for.

We set up for lunch in a clearing by the Taggerty River, there were trout here; we saw one scoot off as we approached the stream, but no chance of catching any today.  Lunch was hot dogs followed off with Lolly Gobble Bliss Bombs; the perfect bush escape snack.

After lunch and another go at fishing we headed off down the walking track.  The Island Hop is a recommended walk, an easy walk across a number of timber bridges between 'islands' on the Taggerty River.

We returned along Trestle Track and walked along to an old timber trestle bridge, slowly (or not so slowly judging from photos in the walking books) rotting away in the forest.  James wanted to go walking across it, even accepting the risk of it collapsing.  He piked though when advised if he managed to survive the fall, he would be covered in leeches and there was no way I was scrambling down the ravine to collect him!

Back in the car we decided to have another go at finding the Wolfram Mine that I'd searched for before unsuccessfully. I took a shortcut from Marysville along Water Race Track, but the slippery mud proved too much, with us sliding back down the track.  Very scary stuff.  Lower tyre pressures would have made all of the difference.  Rather than air down and give it another go, I decided to winch back to the bottom of the track and try another safer route.

We followed Anderson Mill Road to Strickland Link Track, which climbed in some places quite steeply over broken rocky ground.  From here we went on to Wilkes Creek Track, and spent some time exploring around, again unsuccessfully for the mine.  I'm going to have to come back here again with a machette!

We also met a husband and wife who were also exploring around looking for mine site, unsuccessfully too, of course.

With darkness approaching rapidly we continued along Wilkes Creek Track, quite overgrown in some places and stopped off at the Bicentennial National Trail Camping Area for a evening snack.  The sounds of the owls and other night creatures freaking out the kids.

4WDing around Mt Dom Dom and the Black Ranges

This was an exploratory trip to see if I could find the walking track to Cleft Rock, to later take the kids along on.

Heading off the Black Spur at Dom Dom Saddle, I drove down Dom Dom Road and passed the remains of the old Scout Hut.  The mud in this region is very slippery, and the track had a long descent that was very rutted.  I expected to have some troubles getting back out of here.

The track ended in an area that had been logged in the not too distant past, and there was what looked like a walking track, or at lest an overgrown 4WD track heading up the hill at the location expected for Cleft Rock Track. Mission accomplished.

I was correct in expecting trouble getting back out, and required two pulls on the winch to get back up the track.

Back onto Dom Dom Road around the Eastern side of Dom Dom I came across a small but very deep bog hole.  Luckily being able to back out I gingerly made my way around and made my way to Mt Strickland Spur Track.  I turned around half way up as there where some pretty nasty squealing sounds coming from the engine, presumably I had got some water into a bearing somewhere along the drivebelt, but this stopped when I got back down the bottom.

Continuing the exploration theme, I drove around Maroondah Reservoir Park; a nice place for an afternoon family picnic, and also dropped into Donnelley's Weir.  Up along Myer's Creek track and past Mt St Leonard, I thought I would have another go at finding a lookout which according to the map had the best views of the Archeron Valley.

I did find Archer Lookout; well the whole area was thickly treed and I could see no vantage point to observe any views, but the warm pink dusk light on the trees was certainly scenic.

The location with the best views was now forest regrowth, but logging further down the road certainly opened up some magnificent views north towards the Cathedrals.

I made my home via various tracks in the Narbethong Plantation and Siberia Junction and back past Mt Tanglefoot.

Fishing and Exploring around Eildon and Big River

A fun day fishing with the kids.  After trying unsuccessfully in the pondage below Eildon Dam, and with the water level rising very quickly we left the foggy lake and made our way up to Mt. Pinninger to enjoy a hot chocolate above the clouds at the aptly named Foggs Lookout.

I had planned to fish in the Big River Arm, but the Taylors Creek Track down to the campsite and fishing areas was for some reason gated and locked.  We made our way down to Burnt Bridge camp area; many of the tracks on my map don't exist anymore in this area and some new ones not on the map are there.  I need a newer map!

I quite quickly caught a very nice Rainbow on a bladed spinner, which I released.  The kids weren't so lucky.  Possibly due to their running down and around the river bank before trying to fish!

We had spag bols for lunch on the banks of the Big River and tried fishing further up Big River, but no more wild trout were to be caught by us today.  We dropped in to the Trout Farm at Buxton so that the kids could all catch themselves a trout, where they had an absolute ball.