Black Snake Creek Revisited

A year ago…Our adult kids were so motivated by our post Paddling into History they all readily agreed to a return trip (after an absence of over twenty years) to our old holiday spot on a very fine day last weekend with a water level of just under 1.8 metres on the Waterford gauge.

Here we are ready to set out from the junction of Black Snake Creek and the Wonnangatta scene of many memories from long ago now.

The initial plan was to canoe from Black Snake Creek to Hut Creek in the morning and then go on to canoe from Kingwell Bridge to Black Snake Creek in the afternoon – and maybe another short section downstream from Meyers Flat on the way home. Oh, the best laid plans of mice and men…

Admittedly we had to spend a few minutes clearing a walking track down Hut Creek for the canoe exit, as you can no longer access Scorpion Creek track due to the DOC tyranny. So many (public) tracks and so many camping spots have been closed down by our environmental ‘masters’.

In this case (Scorpion Creek Track) I calculate around four kilometres of wonderful river frontage camping has been deleted (forever?) Feel free to protest as I did when this draconian decision occurred. Many more such camping areas have disappeared (here and elsewhere) and I suspect many more are under threat.

Thanks to us it is now relatively easy to enter/exit the river at Hut Creek however. You should. That is just at the downstream end of Macguire’s (property) a few kilometres downstream from Black Snake Creek – see eg Vicmap Crooked River South. Just park at the lay-by on the Northern side of the road and walk down alongside the farmer’s fence to the river.

Here are a couple of photos of Della and I camping there (at Scorpion Creek Track – in winter for a spot of deer stalking etc) circa 1998 in my first DIY Tipi.

I do plan a post about Tipi building sometime in the future but I include it here to illustrate just how long I have been a tent-maker.

This was about the time I perfected my first Poncho Tarp for our first Moose Hunting expedition to Fiordland in 2000 – and planned to market it over twenty years ago (see Robert Burns again).

She has probably finished that large book by now! We still use those $6 ea Bunnings chairs (as you will see below).

There were lots of lovely grassy flats along the Scorpion Creek Track adjacent to the river like this.

The open fire in the wastepaper bin was a little smokey. Needed careful management. We (later) found that a cheap kerosene heater worked well and was less trouble. Still working on Tent Stove Progress over 25 years later.

We made a subsequent poly tipi which was 16′ across! (This one was from memory only 12). Room enough for quite a large group. We used it to display and sell (pens of) Finnsheep at agricultural shows.

Our first camping trips along the Wonnangatta were adjacent to the now closed Scorpion Creek Track and our first canoe trips were from Black Snake Creek to there.

Subsequently we camped (usually under giant walnuts near Harry Gee’s hut – still there) at Black Snake Creek and usually enjoyed a canoe trip down from Kingwill Bridge in the morning and from Black Snake Creek to Scorpion Creek in the afternoon, as I said.

I see however that we started camping just downstream from the junction on the earliest trips as this was our rig back then (still in the shed for a future reno and use by the kids with their families perhaps). Look at all the beautiful willows which our ‘lords and masters’ have tragically removed. The old 1983 Subaru Leones are still in the paddock (mouldering away).

Photo (of Bryn) taken from the junction looking downstream.

Harry’s hut today – the chimney has been removed as idiots threatened to burn the hut down with too large fires. The over-shadowing walnuts have long ago died but I can see a new one just poking its head up above the hut today.

Harry (he died c 1967) was the last resident of that defunct gold mining community which once had a Post Office and shop etc upstream from the road.

One year there we met the son of a woman who had grown up there during the Depression and who knew Harry well. She subsequently married the comedian Spike Milligan! Small world isn’t it?

Regarding ‘spikes’ there used to be a bridge spike about 3 metres up the walnut to the east of the hut where we camped in the shade for many years. Its purpose was a mystery to me, but this gentleman was able to inform me that Harry used to hang a sheep carcass to ‘set’ and to be away from wild dogs from it many years ago. No doubt there are many such stories about the place I am unaware of.

The old giant walnuts are gone – victims of a blight I suspect – but lots of their seedlings have come up all about the creek and roadside and are just now beginning to fruit. They should be ready by around Easter weekend.

Our family must have all been more energetic back then, as this trip we only managed a very slow canoe paddle downstream from Black Snake Creek to Hut Creek (just above Scorpion Creek Track) but a lovely day was had by all nonetheless.

Back then (thirty years ago) when the kids were little we used easily to spend a whole day on just a short section of river such as that from Cheynes Bridge to 20 Acre Creek on the Macalister too. Lots of swims and relaxation – as this (repeat) day was destined to be.

I have trolled through all our old photos and have managed to find a couple of dozen photos of us canoeing/camping there in total from 20-30 years ago. By contrast this one day delivered nearly five hundred photos, including videos – the wonders of the digital age!

There were lots (20-30) of people camped at Black Snake Creek. Thirty years ago (even at Xmas/NewYear) we had it to ourselves. Also there was a fairly constant stream of (mainly) dual cabs tooling along the Wonnangatta Rd – but there was (as usual) absolutely no-one else on the river but us! In all those years there never has been.

I will try to post some of these old photos along with yesterday’s version of them.

For example, this was us ‘stealing’ apricots from the ruins of the Black Snake Creek homestead (just upstream opposite). They were always ripe between Xmas and New Year when we were there.

We haven’t changed much really!

Bizarrely enough the drum which I placed there was in nearly the same position after thirty years!

The kids had some fun with it first:

The tree has now (alas) died, lasting just long enough for us to take this commemorative photo of it. “…many other things
Have ended, maybe, that I can no more
Foresee or more control than robin and wren.” Edward Thomas, Fifty Faggots.

Della and I under one of Harry Gee’s walnut trees (You can see the hut in the distance right)