Mountain Areas of Victoria

Marvelous Mitchell Day 3

What a wonderful ruin – like something from Ozymandias. Construction of this weir at the junction of the Mitchell and Stoney creek commenced in 1881 but the weir was destroyed by floods in 1893 soon after completion and has never been repaired. Two other attempts to dam the river at Billy Goat Bend and Tabberabbera […]

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Marvelous Mitchell Day 2

I spent a wonderfully restful night under the huge walnut tree lulled to sleep by the noise of the river rolling past – and surrounded by deer! The walnuts are a great magnet to them. They clearly check them daily to see whether a leaf or a nut has been discarded for their delectation. I

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Sambar Deer Stalking #101:

I have hunted sambar deer for over 50 years in the Gippsland mountains (and elsewhere other deer). Mostly I did it because it was fun and an excuse for a day out in the bush which I love. I still prefer lamb, and having been a sheep farmer for just as long, I always had

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The Seventieth Birthday Platypus

I had hoped that this post would be titled ‘The Seventieth Birthday Stag’ but he did not emerge from his lair during my recent sojourn up the bush to check how my hunting camps had fared from the terrible bush fires of earlier this year. I am still not fit enough for this sort of

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Upper Yarra Track Map:

Here is a map showing the whole of the (Extended) Upper Yarra Track from Lilydale all the way to Moe, approximately 250 km and 8-10 days: Australia’s oldest and best long distance hiking track. It could be a better map, but it is better than no map. I have used the 1:250,000 Australian Topo map

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Upper Yarra Track Instructions:

I have posted dozens of times about this wonderful trail which (in an extended version) can be walked all the way from Moe to Lilydale. Here  is some indication of track times and distances and here is a detailed set of instructions. Below you can find some of my posts about it in the order

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Upper Yarra Walking Track

My friend Gerard White walked the Upper Yarra Track last week – from Waburton to Walhalla. With his kind permission here is his account of the trip: Day 1: Big Pats Creek to New Federal Mill (21km) (4 people) Last week (Sunday) I set off from Warburton headed for Walhalla on the Upper Yarra Track.

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Wirilda Reflection

We knocked off early on Anzac Day to have a stroll along the Wirilda Track from the W3 ‘road’ downstream. (I am still recovering, slowly). You can put a canoe in here and with some difficulty paddle down to the old Morwell pumping station at Wirilda Park. The river used to be clearer (and may

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