Steavenson Falls - Marysville - VIC (Post Bushfire)

Walk:  VIC - Marysville - Steavenson Falls walk (Post Bushfire)

Distance/Type: 2.4km / Return

Terrain/Rating:  Short stroll along foot path / Low.

Start / Finish Time:  11am- 11:30am

Start / Finish Location:  Steavenson Falls Carpark.

Trip Summary:
The beautiful hamlet town of Marysville in the central highlands of Victoria was one of many towns devastated by the widespread bushfires on Saturday the 7th of February 2009, known as Black Saturday.
Having driven past the town a few times to go to various other bushwalks, today I decided to check out Marysville and how the main natural attraction, Steavenson Falls, is coming along. The day prior we had some record rainfalls so this would be as good a time as ever to see the falls at their capacity and take some pictures.
The devastation of the forests in the area is obvious well before entering the town with most trees affected, either being dead or showing signs of regrowth. The undergrowth is amazingly green with tree ferns and saplings in abundance due mainly to surprisingly good rainfall over the last 2 years. The state has been very lucky that the rainfall has arrived as we had been stuck in drought conditions for over a decade which led to the tinder dry bushfire prone conditions in the first place.
Having walked the area pre-bushfire I was amazed at how the views are so much more extended due to the lack of tree and bush foilage. Previously you wouldn't have been able to see much further than 100 metres in any direction, you would not see much of the river or the waterfall from the track until you were within 50m of them, but now the views were open all over the river valley and hillside.

Trip Details:
June 2010:
The falls are reached by driving along Falls Rd which runs east from the main street in Marysville. After driving about 1km you reach a gate with signs telling people not to enter.   Currently the last 2kms are under construction with works machinery onsite.

Falls Rd to Steavenson Falls

The road has nearly been completed to the carpark area with bitumen down and street lighting to be completed.

Open views of Steavenson River.

The walking track runs off the end of the road and looks like it is still a few months away from completion. There are trenches with electricity cabling and water pipes still uncovered. The plan for the walking track looks to be to have lighting all the way to the falls. Amazingly, with all the surrounding devastation, the original spotlight that was used to light the falls at night still stands and one assumes will be reconnected.

Lower track to the bottom of falls. The original spotlight still standing.

A new viewing platform with seats has been constructed on the original falls dam wall.
The new platform appears to be a major improvement on what was here originally.

New viewing platform.

There used to be a side track that you could take up to the top of the falls where there was a viewing platform as well. The start of the stairs to this side track is still there but had tape closing it off shortly further up.  In my brief short walk along it, it is well covered with undergrowth and with the huge trunks of trees and rubble lining the hill above Hard to know if this track will be re-opened. If so it will take quite a long time before its cleared enough to walk again.

Update 1: This walk was officially re-opened 2 weeks later on the 18th Sep 2010, with the road opened to the carpark, walking tracks sealed and a new toilet block constructed.

Update 2: Dec 2012. The track to the top of the falls and Bennisons Lookout are open.

Previous Marysville walk prior to the bushfires  here.

Lake Mountain - Marysville - VIC

Walk:  Lake Mountain cross country ski.

Distance/Type: No set track.  
Terrain/Rating:  Flat / Slight slopes.
Start Time:  10am
Start Location:  Lake Mountain Upper carpark.
Trip Detail Summary: 
 2hr drive north east from Melbourne out to the ski fields at Lake Mountain.
There is 20odd km of cross country tracks here. We had been to this area previously last year pre bushfires so we were interested to see how badly the bush was effected.  First time on skis so a lesson first then see how many bruises I could collect. 

Trip Details:
Arrived at Lake Mountain at 9:30am after a brief breakfast stop at the Marysville Bakery.
Collected out ski gear and luckily got a lesson booked in at 10am.

Lake Mountain

Our instructor went through the basics of how to put the skis on, how to steer, how to fall and most importantly how to stop. After a few practice runs near the snow making area we were taken up the main track and after 1 hour we were let loose.

Echo Flat trail.

The group started on the Taggerty Return trail then the Echo Point trail before having lunch at Echo Point.
Lake Mountain Tracks

Barwon River - Geelong - VIC

Walk:  Barwon River

Distance/Type: 20km / Return  
Terrain/Rating:  Flat / Easy
Start Time:  11am/3pm
Start Location:  Fyansford Information Centre on Hamilton Hwy.
Trip Detail Summary: 
Walk along the northern bank of Barwon River to the Breakwater Rd / Rail Bridge, crossover, lunch then return back along the southern bank.
Trip Details:
This walk was done with the hiking group I'm a part of.
The "Information Centre" could be easily missed as its nothing more than shelter with no signage or maps or information to be seen from the carpark. We drove past as we werent sure but also to have a look along the path that we were going to walk as we knew that rain during the week had meant the Barwon River was flowing and a lot higher than normal.
We all met at the dirt carpark next to the Fyansford Hotel under windy and overcast conditions.
Even with the later start than normal there were more than usual late starts so the walk started 30 minutes late.We had 4 new members on this walk.
We headed east along the trail on the northern bank of the river and within 500m had to divert up a grass bank due to flooding over the path. There were many benches along the way but most were surrounded by water.  Sound people were putting a kayak in at the disused pipe bridge.
After 1 hour we had walked approx 5km, pretty much as you would expect with the easy terrain.
There was a cafe about 90 minutes into the walk but we had our own drinks and food and planned to walk halfway and have lunch near the bridge train bridge in Geelong.
Toilets were located at Moorabool St Bridge and were well received.
We continued onto past the athletics track but were forced to turn around approx 100m from our half way point as a feeder creek/drain was overflooded and could not be passed around.
A couple of policemen on trailbikes passed us here as we headed back. I assume they may have been looking for the reason an alarm was going off at a riverside factory.
We choose to have lunch at a picnic ground between the athletics ground and rowing clubhouses.
A few decided to get out of the strong breeze and lunched by the clubhouses.
Having lunch we watched a dog swim across the river as well as the local fire brigade testing out there long ladder hose by feeding it from the river.
After 15 minutes for lunch we headed back crossing the river at the Moorabool St bridge.
Plenty of walkers and bike riders along the path today.
One of our new members had problems with her hip on the return leg so I took her bag and took the back with Anne to nurse her back to the starting point.
All in all it was an easy hike but was tough on the feet for some due to walking mainly on bitumen.
Total time was 5hrs incl lunchbreak.
The distance we ended up doing was 18km but really it could have be done in 4:30 hrs or less.
Drinks were had at the Fyansford Hotel afterwards and then we had dinner at the Mexican Graffiti restaraunt in Geelong.
Unfortunately this was one of the few times I didnt take photos having left my memory card in the laptop. grrr

Exped Sirius II Extreme - Equipment Review - Tent

Equipment:
Tent - Exped Sirius II Extreme

Intro:
The Exped Sirius II Extreme in the Terracotta Colour.
I bought this tent much cheaper online (-$150) from the New Zealand store http://www.bivouac.co.nz/ than I could find anywhere in Australia.
I enjoy having space when I go hiking and I wanted a tent that was flexible in any conditions thrown at me. 

There were 3 main factors in my purchase

• Price to weight ratio had to be reasonable. It had to be lightweight for its size but not overly priced.
• It had to be very good in all weather conditions (so a 4 season tent)
• It had to be able to fit 3 adults incase of emergency. (on one hiking expedition this was used to fit a 3rd person in)

Review:
Plenty of room for 2 people with room to spare to store your essentials inside. I'm 6ft and it has good head height for sitting up in.

The door has a flyscreen and fly, both can be zipped up independently allowing for as much or little airflow as desired. Its very stable under blustery and rainy conditions.

The vestibule can be zipped up. You can buy a footprint for this as theres probably a bit too much air space between the walls and grass, so its protected but not as much as I'd like.
The tent can be setup pretty quickly.
It has a few cute things like a rope along ceiling to hang a lamp from, pocket in the walls to store valuables off the floor,  illuminations on guy ropes so you can see them at night as well as pockets to wrap the guy ropes into.  I still tend to take this on solo hikes rather than the smaller tents I have.

Specifications:
Capacity: 2-3 adults

Weight: Minimum*: 5.8 # / 2.65 kg;
LightPackers: 4.6 # / 2.1 kg; fly, poles and footprint(sold separately)
UltraLight Packers:3.5 # / 1.6 kg; fly, poles
Packaged: 6.6 # / 3.1 kg

Area: Floor: 31.5 ft2 / 2.925 m2
Vestibule: 15 ft2 / 1.43 m2

Materials:
Rainfly: silicone coated ripstop nylon; untaped seams
Canopy: UV-resistant, flame retardant ripstop polyester
Floor: PU-coated, taffeta nylon
Poles: DAC Featherlite NSL 9mm TH72M aircraft grade aluminium

Packed size: 16x6’’ / 42x15 cm

Setup time: 10 minutes

Colors: Green and Terracotta

Main Ridge Circuit - Guthega -Mt Townsend - Mt Kosciuszko - NSW

Walk:  Main Ridge / Mt. Kosciuszko / Mt Townsend Circuit from Guthega

Distance/Rated Duration/Type:  Hike 45km / 3 Days / Figure 8 Loop
Detailed information:  Wild Walks - Main Ridge circuit

Map:

Terrain/Rating:  Mountainous terrain in varying conditions / Hard

Start / Finish Time:  

Day 1: 9:00AM  / 5:30PM

Day 2  9:00AM / 3:00PM

Day 3  9:00AM  / 3:00PM

Start / Finish Location:  

Guthega / Guthega

Trip Summary: 
One of my favourite walks in Australia.  

Combining on & off track hiking this walk transverses the pristine and iconic Snowy River near its headwaters.

You will walk by snow scattered mountains, have great high views above the aqua coloured Blue Lake, climb the two highest mountain peaks in Australia, with spectacular alpine views each day.

With the weather capable of changing within minutes, this hike has it all.  

From Guthega Alpine Inn head along the Snowy River before crossing over and walking offtrack up into the mountains. 

Walk down into the valley near Blue Lake before working your way up to Main Ridge crossing over Twynam track, then camp down near Albina Lake.

 

Head up to the 2nd highest mountain in Australia (Townsend) then work along track to Mt Kosciuszko. From there head past Seamans Hut, offtrack into the valley to camp near Foremans Hut ruins next to the Snowy River. 

The next day cross over creek, then up Main Ridge track across Blue Lake track up to Mt. Twynam. From Mt Twynam head off track thru woods past Blue Lake down to Snowy River again before making it back to Guthega.

Detailed Topo Maps, Compass/GPS and PLB are essential.
Details on the Wild Walks website which recommends a 4 day hike.  We did this hike in 3 days with a very long first day.

How to get there:
From Jindabyne take the Kosciuszko Road north. Turn right into Guthega Road and drive to the end.
Park near the Guthega Alpine Inn / Guthega Pondage.  

Accomodation:
For a good base camp 20 minutes from the start, stay at Island Bend campground along Guthega Road.  It is free and has a pit toilet.

Island Bend campground

If you want a hot shower & toilet then the closest campgrounds are at Lake Jindabyne. 

Trip Detail:
Head down the concrete road from the main Guthega Road.

Guthega start of trek

Continue onto the dirt track (with small boulders at entrance). 

Head along the track and down the valley, with Snowy River on your right until you reach Blue Cow Creek.

Heading down to Blue Cow creek

Either walk across the rocks on the creek or use the Flying Fox if the water level is high.

Blue Cow creek

Continue walking along the bush track parallel to the Snowy River.
After about 50 mins you will arrive at Illawong Lodge, which is an emergency shelter.

Arriving at Illawong Lodge

Head down to the suspension bridge and cross the Snowy River.

View from other side of Snowy River

From here the track becomes faint and you will need to rely on Topo Maps and Compass/GPS.

Heading up to Pounds Creek Flats

Working your way up the hill through Pounds Creek Flats, depending on the time of year, but most likely there will be snow and plenty of small creeks to work your way through.

This is the original Day 1 Camping Area for the hike but we found at having done only 7km and around 2 hours of walking we pressed ahead.

Head upwards through the creek valley, past the Mt Twynam snow areas which appears on your right.

Pounds Creek Flats with Mt Tynam in the distance.

Further up you need to head to the left which will guide towards large boulders.  

Heading up over ridge to Blue Lake

Working over the boulders  the view opens up to Blue Lake which should be on your right. 

Blue Lake

Be very careful here as there are high dropoffs.
From up high here you should have a good view of  Blue Lake.
You need to head down to its bank where the outflow point feeds Hedley Tarn.  There should be the start of the Blue Lake Track.

The Blue Lake track starts down at the bank where Blue Lake feeds out.

Work your way up Blue Lake Track and after 1km you reach the intersection with Main Ridge Track.

On Blue Lake track. Head right up Main Ridge track.

Head right towards Carruthers Peak / Mt Townsend.

Main Ridge track towards Carruthers Peak.

This is one of the riskiest parts of the walk with snow possibly covering the track.
Bypass the side track on the right near Carruthers Peak, this will be used to return back to Guthega on the last day.

Looking back along Main Ridge track.

After about a hour you should notice Albina Lake down the righthand side of the track.

Albina Lake view from Main Ridge track.

Look at setting up camp a reasonable distance from the lake & nearby Lady Northcote Creek.

From here you can look at doing the side-trip to Mt Townsend in the morning.

DAY2:

You can either leave your packs at camp, visit the peak and retrace your steps back out to Main Ridge track or take your packs some way up the hill and drop in the open to visit the peak. You could then take the southern side around Albina Lake to head back onto Main Ridge Track further east.

Heading up to Mt Townsend.

Nearing the last 100m to Mt Townsend make your way through the boulders until you reach the cairn.

Nearly at Mt Townsend peak

Once you have come down your Mt Townsend sidetrip head back to the Main Ridge track.

View of Main Ridge track across Albina Lake, from Mt. Townsend.

 Theres easy walking along the southern side of Albina Lake, following the contours you'll see Main Ridge track heading east upwards towards Mt Kozi.

Main Ridge track heading towards Mt Kozi.

This will be probably you busiest part of the trip.  Drop your packs at the Mt Kozi side track entrance.  

Mt Kozi path.

It only takes a few mins to get to the peak. 

Mt Kozi peak.

You have now been at the 2 highest peaks in Australia.

From here you can see Rawson Pass towards the east which is the next destination.

View of Rawson Pass from Mt. Kozi.

Continue east along Main Ridge track to Rawson Pass.  The public toilets here are the last ones you'll see until you finish the trek.

Rawson Pass junction

Either here or a 20min walk along Summit Trail to Seaman's Hut are the best places for lunch as this walk goes off track after the hut.

Rawson Pass junction.

After 20 mins along the gravel track you'll reach Seaman's Hut.

Approaching Seaman's Hut

From here we head off track behind the hut and down the valley towards Foreman's Hut.

Heading down into Foreman's Hut valley

Heading down the valley you'll be walking through foot high scrub towards the northern bank of the Snowy River. There will be at least one creek crossing but they are easily crossed using boulders in the area.

Skirting along the Snowy River

Once over the creek, skirt near along the northern bank of the Snowy River.

You're probably looking at about 2 hours of this before the remnants of Foremans Hut comes into view further down the valley as it levels out.

Foreman's hut in the distance.

This will be your 2nd nights camping area with the Snowy River as your water supply nearby.
Note: You are only about 1km from Charlottes Pass across Snowy River incase of emergency.

Foreman's Hut camp arera

The final day starts with short walk back onto Main Range Track near Foremans Crossing.

Head away from the Snowy River uphill until you reach the Main Ridge track.

Main Ridge track heading back up towards Blue Lake intersection.

Head left uphill NW away from Snowy River for an hour before we reach the Blue Track/Main Ridge paved intersection we visited on the first day.

Heading towards Blue Lake intersection.

At the intersection TURN LEFT and head up towards Carruthers Peak again.
After about 1km at the Main/Ridge Mt Twynam intersection, turn right and head around NW of  Blue Lake towards Mt Twynam.

Track to Mt Twynam

You could have lunch on the Mt Twynam peak or somewhere further down along the creek valley.

There is very little shelter from the sun in this area. 
Head off from Mt. Twynam in an easterly direction towards the Pounds Creeks Flat area.

View of Blue Lake from Mt Twynam area

Backtrack you way back down the mountain using the Snowy River & Illawong Hut as your guide to the suspension bridge.

Marker tree for suspension bridge crossing.

Work you way back past Illawong Hut, Blue Cow Creek and back up to the carpark.

Snowy River

Jindabyne is your best place to get resupplied and freshened up after your trip.

Stoney Creek Trk - Barron Gorge - QLD

Walk:  Cairns - Barron Gorge - Stoney Creek Track

Distance/Type:  5km / Return

Terrain/Rating:  Slight Incline up rocky/dirt path next to creek. / Low.

Start / Finish Time:  11am- 12am

Start / Finish Location:  Stoney Creek Carpark.

Trip Summary:
Nice easy walk along the creek with many places to take a dip on a hot day. Ends at a small waterfall then return.

Trip Details:
The walk continues straight ahead off the end of the carpark.

After a few short minutes cross over the creek on the Weir Bridge and walk along the creek . There is a side trip of Douglas Track here which takes you higher up the hill.  TBC