Mt Kooyoora

The walk starts from the Crystal Mine Track car park (382m) which is about 2km north of the Melville Caves.  From the car park the vehicle track heads northwest past the White Swan Mine (about 300m from the car park).

 

From here, the track disappears and you navigate on a bearing of due north to the eastern spur of Mt Kooyoora.  Having reached the peak of the spur (about 2km from the car park at height of 440m) follow the ridge west to the summit of Mt Kooyoora (471m) where there are large boulders and a good bush campsite without any facilities or water.

Mt Kooyoora summit boulder, 471m 

Continue west from Mt Kooyoora along the ridge following red & white plastic tape markers and descending to 414m.  Continue west along the ridge towards the West Peak (420m).  There are several good, waterless campsites on the ridge at about two and a half hours into the walk. 

 

 

My hiking partner and also close friend, Allan (photo: top right) 

enjoys panoramic view from a large open slab (about 500m southeast of West Peak)

 From West Peak you can leave the ridge on a southwest bearing down to a fence line (300m) which you follow to the dirt road (MVO = Mt Kooyoora Tk).  Alternately, you can continue following the ridge west untill you reach the dirt road.  Either way, you turn south down the dirt track to the point where you can head east, past the south boundary of the fence barrier.  Proceed about 800m along the fence then follow the creek bed for about 400m and then climb about 400m up to Crystal Mine Track and car park.

 

Elevation profile

As there is no significant water source on this walk, the hiker should carry an adequate supply for the trip. 

Tali-Karng and nearby

I felt rather unfit because I have not done any pack-carrying walks for a while.  This was a warm-up walk for future longer walks planned for Tasmania early next year.  Lake Tali-Karng is located in the Avon Wilderness area of Victoria and north of Licola. 

The best time to hike is between November and April and this area has excellent alpine wild flowers in mid-to-late Spring.

Licola is approximately 4 hours drive from Melbourne through Traralgon and the start at McFarlane Saddle on the Moroka Rd is about a further 30 minutes from Licola (last petrol service).

The facilities at the McFarlane Saddle campsite include only a long drop loo and cleared campsites of varying sizes.

Park Victoria website suggests that you camp at Nyimba Camp and do a day trip to Lake Tali-Karng rather than camping on the shore of the lake.  This makes the descent to and ascent from the lake much easier as the access is very steep.  Also, the traditional owners of the lake prefer that people do not camp there and that visitors minimise their damage to a sensitive and sacret environment.

The walk from McFarlane’s Saddle to Nyimba Camp and Riggall Old Hut site across the Wellington Plain is approx 9km on a gentle gradient and it takes around three and a half hours including a long break for lunch.  The terrain is mostly alpine plain with occasional clumps of snowgums.  The larger snowgums are dead from the recent bush fire leaving only scrubby regrowth.

 Wellington Plain

The Nyimba Camp has a lot of campsites and a long drop loo with a 600 litres rain water tank and a flowing stream.

Nyimba Camp

There are 2 possible routes to the lake from Nyimba Camp.  Gillio’s foot track is about 4.5km and steep with multiple zig-zags to help the walker down the steeper parts of the walk.  The easy-graded Riggall Spur and Echo Point Tracks are a little longer, but less steep.

Routes to the lake

We took the Riggall Spur and Echo Point Tracks to walk down to the lake and Gillio’s Track back climbing almost 600m (take about 3 hrs), but, in retrospect, it would have been better to have taken the other direction. 

There are several campsites and beaches on the western lakeside.  Tali Karng is a fuel stove area and no fires are permitted within 1km from the lake.  There are no toilet facilities at the lake.  The southern shore offers access to the Snowden Falls at the eastern end of the lake, if the lake’s water level is low enough.

 

Looking east (L) and the Snowden Falls (R)

The scramble along the rocky shoreline to the falls is worth the trouble to see a very spectacular medium size waterfall.  YouTube clip of the Snowden Falls

 

GPS tracks overlaid on VicMap memo-map Topo

Mt Reynard

There is a short half day walk from Howitt Road to the top of Mt Reynard with a height of 1710m.  The shortest access route to the summit is across a small wooden foot bridge with a clearly visible from the Howitt road shortly after passing the Kelly Lane turn-off while heading north.

After crossing the bridge, you proceed due west climbing up a grassy slope and then bush bashing through medium height scrub to the top of Mt Reynard.

The foot bridge (L) and Mt Reynard top (R)

The summit is found by walking to the highest point.  There is no view at the top; but there are good views of the valley on the way up. 

Mt Ossa Summit, the highest peak in Tasmania

I am writing this blog entry, first, because of the recent sad news from the ABC broadcast of a 56 year old man, who fell to his death on the short steep slope section of the Mt Ossa summit track.

I attempted this track recently and would not encourage others, who are interested in “peak bagging”, to tackle this summit in slippery and/or misty conditions. 

It took me almost a full day for the walk and climb from Pelion Hut to the summit of Mt Ossa and back; at least 4 hours for the side trip with the start and finish at Pelion Gap on the Overland Track (OT) and over 2 hours go and return from Pelion Hut to Pelion Gap.

Having arrived at Pelion Hut and Camp via The Arm River Walking Track with the start at The Mersey Forest Road the day before, the Mt Ossa side trip was next, then a pack-carrying trip plan to Paddys Nut for two nights.

This was my second climb to Mt Ossa summit.  My first one had been (over 15 years ago?) with a few members from a walking group based in Melbourne–Victoria.  From memory, it had been cloudy when we had reached the summit.  The recent solo experience was unlike the group trip and the day’s conditions were calm and so clear, with superb panaromic views, unlike a previous solo trip on the OT, with a full pack, a few years ago, when the side trip had to be abandoned due to overcast conditions.

The first section of the summit track is the walk up to Mt Doris, where there are some good views on fine days.  A few OT walkers, that I spoke to at Pelion Hut, planned to only walk to Mt Doris. 

The track to Mt Ossa summit is well-maintained and marked.  There was one short steep slope section and I think that could be the location, in which the incident took place.

It is worth the climb and I would suggest an early start for your enjoyment.  Here are the photos:

 The gps track: Pelion Hut - Pelion Gap - Mt Ossa Summit

 

Me at Pelion Hut and Camp (left).  Mt Doris and Mt Ossa (right). 

Barn Bluff & Cradle Mountain (L).  Paddys Nut & Pelion West (R)

Mt Ossa's buttresses (L).  Mt Doris and Mt Pelion East (R)

Du Cane Range (L).  The summit plateau (R)

Useful links for walks in Tasmania