// November 15th, 2007 // No Comments » // Map Stuff, Travel, Work
After the Melbourne 4×4 Show, Paul and I headed for to Alpine Victoria for a field-checking trip in the Hema Map Patrol.
Chromite Mine Track Bush Camping
Our trip started at the Heyfield Bakery to check out their pies (after trying many pies along our travels we became expert pie tasters, and the best pie we ate is listed at the bottom of this entry). We then headed off to Licola, a small remote town on the edge of the Alpine National Park. Licola is a tiny town served by a general store, which also serves as a petrol station, bank, campsite, and even offers toboggan hire in winter. Natural disasters such as fires, mud slips, equine flu and floods have caused a big downturn in tourism, and the owner of the general store is considering shutting up shop, which will be a big loss to this tiny community.
Scenery in the Tamboritha Road area
We entered the Alpine National Park via the Stockman’s Track, and our first night was spent at a bush camp near the Chromite Mine. The devastation of the fires was evident everywhere, and the charcoal black trees were striking against the blue sky and the fresh green undergrowth of the forest.
Billy Goat Bluff Track
The Billy Goat Bluff Track was a real highlight of the trip, the track carefully follows a ridgeline, towering over valleys on either side, offering amazing views of the alpine ranges below and we luckily had clear skies (which did not last for the rest of the trip). The grade of the track was great due to the dry weather, we climbed 1200 vertical metres in just 7 kilometres, and the view of The Pinnacles was fantastic.
Black Snake Creek Campsite
That night camped at Black Snake Creek, a remote campsite overlooking the Wonnangatta River with good facilities, including toilets, fireplaces, and flat sandy campsites with great views of the river.
Old Dargo high plains Road
The next day we discovered some good country hospitality from Dargo, the walnut capital of Australia. The well-stocked general store had great friendly who were happy to help, and recommended the comfortable Dargo River Inn. The day was spent checking the roads in the area and checking out the local campsites, with the Melbourne cup weekend coming up the campsites were all starting to fill out. We ended the day by field checking the Old Dargo High Plains Road, which was a real highlight of the whole trip. At times the visibility due to cloud cover was les than 5 metres, and the eerie clouds and that stark black charred Snow Gums created a spooky but beautiful atmosphere. The track was not well maintained, and we had a clear several trees blocking our path with an axe, which left us wishing was had packed a chainsaw.
Suggan Buggan
After Dargo we headed to The Great Alpine Highway (B500) and Omeo through the Alpine National Park along the very well maintained Dargo High Plains Road. Omeo is an adorable alpine village with quaint shops, cafe’s and the main street is lined with flower boxes, even the High Country Laundry was decorated tastefully to match the rest of the village. After trying several fully booked caravan parks we managed to find a room at a historic cottage called ‘Sung as a Bug‘ where we experienced more alpine hospitality. The next day was spent field checking roads in the region, and around Suggan Buggan and Hanging Rock.
Camping on the Snowy River
After checking out the pretty Basin Creek Falls, and with dusk looming we were battling to find a campground. After trying the Bally Hooley Campground, which was not suitable for the Map Patrol, we headed towards Jacksons Creek Campsite. We headed down the valley towards the Snowy River, and due to the amount of rain the track was in very poor condition, and the lower we got the more muddier it got. We eventually Reach Jacksons Crossing on the Snowy river, but decided to not attempt the crossing until morning. That was a sleepless night worrying about how we would get out of the valley- either back up the muddy track that would take all day, or across the swollen snowy river. Daybreak brought some welcomed sunshine, and as it was Paul’s birthday we had a camp breakfast of bacon and eggs on the edge of the Snowy River with its banks lined with wild flowers. By daylight the crossing of the river was not nearly as daunting as we expected, and was another highlight of the trip. Jacksons Crossing involves grossing the river in 2 parts, the first is a short crossing over some gentle rapids onto an island which you drive along and then cross the second part of the river over another set of rapids.
Scenery on the banks of the Snowy River 
Jacksons Crossing
Me, at the Six Mile Creek Rest Area
The top highlights of our trip were:
- Best Pie – Braidwood Bakery
- Best Burger – Cann River Hotel
- Best Bush Campsite – Jacksons Crossing
- Best Serviced Campsite – Six Mile Creek Rest Area, outside Bega
- Best Accommodation – Dargo River Inn
- Best Track – Old Dargo High Plains Road
- Second Best Track – Slipping around in the mud on the Jacksons Crossing Track
- Best Village - Omeo
- Best General Store – Dargo General Store
- Best Laundromat – High Country laundry, Omeo
Another year, another Mardi Gras. This was my third year at the festival. We headed down to Wollongong from Brisbane last Thursday, we were supposed the leave Wednesday night, but had some very minor car issues that caused an irritating delay. After 12 hours we arrived in Wollonggong and spent the day with Doug, and then headed to Sydney to check into the newly renovated Chifley in Potts Point.
Friday night was spent catching up with Mikey and Yanni who we had not seen for ages, Yanni had his sister and a mate in tow, so we headed off toa very delicious and enjoyable Teppenyaki dinner, i did not catch the egg that was thrown at me.
