Mt Samaria Overnight Walk

Mt Samaria State Park is located in northeastern Victoria and it is about 210 km from the Melbourne CBD.  The closest town is Mansfield.  The park offers a variety of activities such as walking, camping, picnicking and 4-wheel driving.  

 

To get there from Mansfield, travel 14 km north via Whitfield Road (C521), Blue Range Road and Mt Samaria Road.  The gravel road past Blue Range Creek Campground is steep and rocky, but is accessible to all vehicles, in dry condition.

Back Creek Falls

It was in the afternoon when we drove past Rocky Point Lookout and it was getting dark very early and so we did not stop.  We travelled a further 2 km north along Mt Samaria Rd to reach Back Creek Falls car park.  It was only a short walk to the falls so we had a quick bite to eat and a sip of coffee and headed to the falls. 

 

The plan to camp at Camphora Campsite (2.9 km one way) and to walk to the falls from there was abandoned because we did not have enough time.

The Camphora Campsite has been redesigned as a Walk-In Campsite with a carpark about 100 m away and so we drove to the Spring Creek campground .  It was nearly dark and we quickly pitched tent, had dinner, spent a bit of time discussing the start of tomorrow's walk and then retired to bed.

In the morning, after packing for an overnight walk, we had a good look at the Park Map Information Board and decided to stick to our initial plan to walk via Camphora Camp to Wild Dog Creek Camp. 

We left Spring Creek Campsite and walked back to Camphora Walk-In Campsite via Mt Samaria Road.  It was about 2.5 km of gentle down hill walking.

 

The Camphora Walk-In Campsite with a table and a drop loo. BYO water.

Leaving Camphora Camp for the next camp.

Camphora Camp to Wild dog Creek Camp: 3.3 km, 1 hr 30m

The track is well-defined and easy to follow. There were many trees down across the track but it was manageable.  There were a few rather large trees and we had to climb over and/or to get around them.  We took our time because each of us were carrying about 16 kg weight including 3.5 litres of water (for drink on the track and for cooking dinner and breakie).  

We arrived at the Wild dog Campsite early enough, as planned.  After snacks and a cuppa we set off with a light pack for a visit to Wild Dog Creek Falls which was about 900 m away.  The path to the falls was well-marked.  The decent to the falls was rocky, steep and assisted with steps that lead to a viewing platform.

Mt Samaria from the viewing platform (see you tomorrow)

My light-weight hiking chair and Allan's new light-weight tent and pack/s.

 

This was the second time that the tent had been used and there was no problem with pitching the tent.  It took only few minutes to put it up.  I did not know that we would have the luxury of a camp table and chairs at the camp, so I had carried the hiking chair and so I had to use it.

Wild Dog Creek Falls

 

Thankfully I was able to view the waterfalls this time.  Without the viewing platform at the falls I had not been able to get close to it some years ago.  

Wild Dog Creek Falls Walk-In Camp to Mt Samaria Summit

Early morning when we left the camp and approached Wild Dog Creek, I was surprised to see a reasonable amount of water in the creek.  It had been bone dry on my last trip.  Each of us had carried an extra 2 litres for cooking the dinner and for the breakfast. 

 

 

Wild Dog Creek and nearby fungi.

It was a gentle climb after leaving the creek.  There were just a couple of trees down on this track.  After 1 km we crossed the Mt Samaria Road and the track became rather steep.  After a further 0.8 km we reached the junction of the short summit circuit track.  This waypoint would be useful for the return loop for day walkers who start from Mt Samaria Rd.  A further climb of 30 m took us to another junction with the summit track for those who walk up from Mt Samaria Rd in the southwest.  From this junction, we could see Mt Samaria trig just about 25 m away.

Lake Nillahcootie and Lightning Ridge Tk, Lima South & East (L)

Mt Samaria Summit, 953 m 

After a lunch with the view and a lot of photographs, we said good bye to Mt Samaria.  We headed back to the sign post showing the way back to a carpark.  Following the path for about 15 m, we lost the track and so we back-tracked to the sign post, pulled out our navigation gear such as the GPS with the preloaded route (from Alltrails website) and the compass.  For just-in-case-of-emergency, a mobile phone with a preloaded off-line map (for hiking/bushwalking ..) can be useful.  We knew that we were heading in the right direction and the track could not be far away.  It was just about 20 m northeast from us.  It took about 10 minutes for us to find the correct track marked by an orange triangle nailed on the tree, the first marker we had seen after leaving the summit.

Note: There were the three paths leading off Samaria summit.

We were trying to take the north most path.

The walk down 1 km to the junction with a path to the Mt Samaria Rd (for day walkers) was pleasant.  Route finding skills and a compass bearing was required.  We continued on heading east and stopped on a knoll for lunch and with extra water we boiled water for soup.

From here, the path was less well-defined and care must be taken.  It was easy to lose the track and not easy to get back on.  After 0.5 km walk the track became steep.  Blue Range is a little higher than Mt Samaria and we had a stop for a rest break.  We walked past the Butchers Tk  junction and reached Rocky Knob, the highest point on the top of the Blue Range, where we discovered a geocache hidden near the top.

 

Blue Range, 974 m

The walk down to the Spring Creek Camp, our first day campsite, was steep and the trekking poles were put to good use.   It was not as steep as it looked on the map.  So back to the car we made dinner and retired to bed.

 

The next day we decided to continue along the Mt Samaria Road to Williams Road via a lookout over Lake Nillahcootie and the Strathbogie Ranges.  The first part of Williams Road is only suitable for 4WD and AWD vehicles

 

Lookout over Lake Nillahcootie from the Mt Samaria Road

 

A cormorant and Mt Samaria.

A Week of Adventures near Licola

 Mt Howitt Return Walk 

I travelled from Melbourne down the Princes Hwy and then to Licola, and then along the Tamboritha Road and Mt Howitt Road then pitched tent at Howitt Hut, off the Mt Howitt Road. 

 

The next day, I continued on and travelled to View Point, and walked the 5 kms to Vallejo Gantner Hut where I met a walker who had been on AAWT for 10 days.  I was told about the exposed tent site on Mt Howitt where I was planning to camp and so I decided to stay the evening with my walking companion. I was warned about the bush rats and so, for peace of mind during the night, I set up my free standing tent in the hut and the pack was also hung up. We had a long chat by the fire and talked about our hiking experiences. The similar interests brought us together and we exchanged our contacts and hiking tips.

 

 

 

 

A revisit to the Vallejo Gantner Hut after about two decades.

New: the outdoor table and the replacement of the old long-drop loo.

This was my first solo pack carrying hike for a few nights for a little while, so I was a little disorganised. In trying to catch up with a good weather forecast, I had forgotten to take my old track notes from the car.  I was planning to walk to Mt Lovicks and the Bluff, but this was abandoned and so I walked back from Mt Howitt with some regret.

 

 

GPS route of Mt Howitt RT hike

 

Crosscut Saw, Mt Buggery, Speculation, Koonika, The Razor, The Viking from Mt Howitt WT

It was busy at the Vallejo Gantner hut on a nice afternoon.  A few Park staff turned up to do their maintenant work, and it was good to know that the weather conditions would be 'same, same for the next few days..'.  A father and son returned from their day hike on the Crosscut Saw.   Also several visitors from South Gippsland walked in too.

 

After lunch I loaded my pack, waved good bye to everyone, walked out, and reunited with my car at the View Point car park on the Mt Howitt Road.

 

On travelling to Bryce Gorge, I had a quick stop at the Howitt Hut for a photograph.

Howitt Hut with friends of those I met at Vallejo Gantner Hut.

A Qld couple also camped at Bryce Gorge Car Park. BYO water.

Bryce Gorge Waterfalls Loop

I was revisiting this area that I had not been for more than one and a half decades. 

What a gorgeous hike! The Bryce Gorge Waterfalls track was well-maintained and well-marked. I enjoyed the views of the open plains, across the gorge, and the waterfalls and in particular, around the Conglomerate Falls. The falls water was so pristine and delicious.

Bryce Gorge plains and Guys Hut

 

 

Conglomerate Falls and the stunning views across the gorge

This area warrants another return for an overnighter camp!

Conglomerate falls (L) and Piemans falls (R) from the viewing platforms

Second night at Bryce Gorge campsite. Light rain came and went in the late evenings.

A nearby attraction was the Dimmick Lookout, but the road in was realy rough for the car. There were a few pot holes filled with water and it seemed more suited to a high clearance vehicle.

There were many places I wanted to revisit on the way out, but time and weather did not permit. I missed the campsite at Kelly Hut for the walks to Mt Reynard and Mt Arbuckle near the junction of Howitt Road, Moroka Road and Tamboritha Road. I will definitely come back for these walking tracks later.

Bennison Lookout on Tamboritha Road, after passing B1 Track 

Could not stop here for the views on the evening when I was travelling into the area,

 so I stopped on the way out.

Wellington River Short Loop

 

The information sign (L) on the start of the 17-river-crossing hike up the Wellington River to Lake Tali Karng (R) I had a bite to eat at Playtus Campsite on the Tamboritha Road before taking an overnight walk to check out the first few of the river crossings.

 

The river section at Wellington Bridge

 

GPS file of the short walk.

Wellington River WT - overnight pack

After checking out a few crossings near the start of the Tali Karng pack-carrying walk, I was so lucky to meet up with a hiker who had just walked out. I did not hesitate to ask about the river crossings and was pleased to hear "Only the third and the fourth crossings were about knee depth and the rest were just paddling."  It was a relief and I also thanked him for the time to show me some challenging section on the hiking SV map1:50 000

Revisiting the full track was not in my plan for this adventure, but because it was a long drive to get there and the weather was good and the river crossings were possible, I felt that it was worthwhile to do an overnight walk up the river at my own pace and to pitch my hiking tent by the river. I was glad that I did it. There was a minor issue with setting up the tent because I had not used that tent for quite a while, plus, some early morning showers also delayed the packing for the start of the overnight hike.

The second and the third crossings.

Lunch spot.

The seventh river crossing (R) with the tent site about 30m away southeast.  I forgot to take any photos of my hiking tent setup because it showered in both the late evening and early morning.

GPS file of the Wellington River overnight walk.

Tali-Karng and nearby in 2015

 

Car camping tent at Platypus Camp.

Huggets Campground to Dermodys Picnic Campground trek failed: 

The planned walk was a 19.2 km out-and-back trail from Huggets to Dermodys campground.  I travelled along Kentucky Road which was fine up to the lookout and then there was a big hump at the start of the very steep descent which looked too severe for the Subaru Outback so I hesitated in taking the risk. It'd be fine for a high clearance vehicle, IMO.

I travelled back out to the main road and headed for Briagolong and then Blue Pool Campground.

Blue Pool Walk-In Campground with loos, water and tables

The short hike loop with the lookout

It was an enjoyable walk and a sunny day. While having lunch I dried both tents. The forecast was fine until the next day. Hence, after checking out maps for the last day, Lawson Falls was chosen as the next walk.

I had a bit of the problems while I was travelling on A1 and M1 (on and off the highway, road work..). I also missed the planned campground on Forest Road due to darkness and so I slept in the car at the falls carpark.

Discovery Walking Track and Lawson Falls loop

 

GPS file of the Discovery WT and Lawson Falls

  

Lawson Falls

After leaving the falls carpark and/or picnic area, at 300 m down the track there is a choice of going 1.1 km straight to the falls or doing the 8-km Discovery WT loop which involves a steep 200 m climb and down again. It was a good waterfall with a good flow and well worth the detour.