Kosciusko National Park in New South Wales is part of the Great Dividing Range that starts in North Queensland and ends at the Grampians in western Victoria. Kosciusko National Park gets its name from Mt Kosciusko the tallest mountain in Australia, which is situated at the southern end of the park. I’ve climbed that mountain twice now, so for my final hike of my South East Australian adventure tour, I’ll be walking around the north end of the park, an area called the Bogong Wilderness.

The Bogong Wilderness is a small region of the park around Bogong Mountain. Not Mt Bogong, which is a different mountain – the tallest in Victoria. The Bogong, from which both mountains get their name, is a dark coloured Australian moth, which was apparently used as a food by the aborigines.

The Bogong Wilderness walk is an overnight hike stretching 42km through forest. It’s a linear hike, so I’m hoping someone will give me a lift back to The Pointy Brick tomorrow afternoon.

Day 1 – Prosser Fire Trail to Ring Creek
On the way to the start point, I passed a lookout and stopped for a photo. A sign at the lookout pointed out some features of the wilderness that I’d be passing in my travels. It was like looking at my hiking route from the side.

I arrived at the beginning of Prosser Fire Trail and donning my pack, headed off into the wilderness.

There’s actually not a lot I can say about the trail. It’s fairly wide and like all fire trails, is designed to allow access for 4WD vehicles into the wilderness in event of a fire. On that note, there are plentiful fires going on throughout New South Wales at the moment, but just not here – I did make sure to check before coming.

A lot of the 20.5km of today’s walk is climbing and I’m well used to that. The trail meanders – a word I have tried to put in every post so far – through the wilderness, ascending and descending, and crossing the occasional creek.

The entire day I’m surrounded by forest, so there’s not much to see. I’m constantly hounded by horse flies that try to bite when I stop for breaks. There are now plentiful dead March Flies littered around the area no doubt providing a food source for the ant populations.

At the end of the day, I arrive at a large grassy patch beside Ring Creek and set up for the night.

Day 2 – Ring Creek to Humes Crossing
Unlike yesterday, most of today is down hill. I have the option to climb Bogong Mountain, but it would mean an hour of bush bashing and with 21km ahead of me, I decided not to. While this may have led to some good views of the surrounding forests, it was also forecast to be hot today, and after the last time, I didn’t want to push it.

Again, as per yesterday, there’s not much to be said about the trail. While I was no longer on the Prosser Fire Trail, I was on another fire trail and it looked pretty much the same.

It wasn’t until the final five kilometres that the views began and they were the reason I’d decided on this hike. Looking down off the mountains you see Blowering Reservoir, a beautiful stretch of lake, that while fairly thin, stretches off to either side. The views are minimal at first, the reservoir seen through the trees, but as I descended they got better.

There’s a catch though… the trail descends very steeply for several kilometres. Normally this wouldn’t be an issue but the surface is light scree over hard dirt. This meant every step had to be carefully made else an uncontrolled slip down the steep trail. This is definitely a place where hiking poles come in handy. The descent took me down 800m steeply, so it was a slow process but with growing views.

As I broke the tree line I headed out onto dry grassy plains for the last couple of kilometres. But without the shelter of the trees, I began to feel the heat of the day. As I came down, I crossed paths with several groups of kangaroos. After a rest, I made it to the road and began walking towards my van, which was only 27km away. The heat of the bitumen added to that of the day, plus the one thing you don’t notice when driving…roadkilled kangaroo stinks, and there are plenty of them. I did see an Emu crossing the road, though. First time I’ve seen one in the wild. Of course, then I came to an ‘Emu Crossing’ road sign…

After about 2km – walking on bitumen is fairly speedy – I was picked up and dropped off at The Pointy Brick.

So, here ends my South East Australian adventure. Next, I’m taking a well deserved rest while I wrap up things here in Australia and sell the Pointy Brick. Then it’s off to New Zealand for a couple of weeks before delving into South America, to begin the next leg of my adventure.

Until then,

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Alpine National Park is in the Central Victorian Highlands and is a well known Victorian skiing area. Mt Bogong is the tallest mountain in Victoria at just under 2000m above sea level.

Day 1 – Watchbed Creek Trailhead to Cole Cleve Memorial Hut
This morning I drove, from where I’d been resting for a few days at Mt Beauty (a township not a mountain), up to the Bogong High Plains and Watchbed Creek Trailhead. The Trailhead is about 1500m from the locked gate that is the beginning of the hike. I parked down the bottom as I didn’t deem the road suitable of the Pointy Brick.

I was preparing to walk up the track and add the 1.5km to the already 20.5km for the day when an old lady drove up. She asked about the condition of the road and telling me how she used to come here years ago. She decided to drive it and offered to give me a lift.

From the gate, the trail walks out across the grassy high plains gently climbing to a point where it meets the Australian Alps Walking Trail. The AAWT, as it’s known, is a 650km long trail starting in lower Victoria and crossing all of the country’s highest areas to its end point near Canberra. I might do that another time. Maybe.

Since the highland is above the tree line, the knolls and knobs are the mountains. Sadly, this makes them not as impressive as the rocky Tasmanian mountains. The trail climbed gently through the mountains with the distant sets of rolling mountains coming into view from time to time in all directions. The track is fairly easy to follow as it’s a 4WD track cut across the grass. The side tracks, of which there are plenty, are harder to see. Along the side of the track are snow posts each 3 metres tall.

At a junction the track separates and I follow the less defined one. The other is my return track in a couple of days. After a couple of kilometres the trail heads below the tree line and shortly after I arrive at Roper Hut. The hut is surrounded in the white Snow Gum trees, their high branches standing white against the surrounding greenery. The hut itself was burnt down in the 2003 fires, and has been rebuilt. It looks new on the inside.

The trail from here climbs steeply down 800 metres…

…to Big River, which is probably a lot bigger during wetter seasons, where I stopped for lunch in preparation for the 800 metre climb on the other side back up the mountain.

While the climbing was hard, it wasn’t too torturous but did seem to go on until 90 minutes later I arrived at the top and a junction. The AAWT went one way and I went the other to Cole Cleve Memorial Hut, another well set up hut, this one even had running water, a shower and a connecter to enhance your cellphone reception. This far up, I was expecting to be alone, but there were 3 other groups here.

Day 2 – Cole Cleve Memorial Hut to Big River Ford
While it was slightly cold on the highlands overnight, nothing a pair of socks couldn’t fix.

Today’s walk begins with a steep climb up to Mt Bogong, but as it’s above the tree line the time goes past quickly because you can see how much further you have to go.

Following the line of snow poles, I made my way up the mountain. Climbing in the highlands doesn’t have the same grandeur as some other places.

Yes, I was climbing the tallest mountain in Victoria, but it felt more like I’d just strolled to the top of the neighbourhood grassy hill. There are no rocky fingers or parapets, just a grassy knoll high above everything else. Yup, that’s the high point…

At the top of Mt Bogong is a giant cairn and 360 degree views.

The views are awesome, lines and lines of mountains in all directions…

and one large valley where sits the township of Mt Beauty.

I crossed Hooker Plateau and found a spot for lunch looking along the valley. Then I was off again. The only way down is along Quartz Ridge, and awesome rocky spine. This was the fun part of the day with a deep gully on either side. I climbed along it cautiously.

A few hundred metres later I broke the tree line and followed the trail down through the Snow Gums at times feeling like I was walking in a tree graveyard, the white fingers sticking up with growth around the base.

A couple of tree covered knolls later I came to a junction and followed it for a kilometre to the Big River Fire Trail I’d left yesterday (when I headed to Roper Hut). Another kilometre downhill I came to the Big River at a ford about 8km along from yesterday’s crossing. The fire trail continued on the other side, but there was an open patch of ground that I used as a camping spot. Unlike Cole Cleve Memorial hut, there’s nothing here other than a flattened area of ground and a fire pit. Not even a toilet. I set up the tent and then went down for a dip in the icy river.

Day 3 – Big River Ford to Watchbed Creek Trailhead.
From the ford, the fire trail heads up at a constant slope up to the junction where I left it two days ago. Most of the walk was along the side of the mountains, meandering their way slowly up towards the tree line.

Once at the junction, it was another 2 and a half hours retracing my steps back across the highlands until I arrived at the locked gate. This time there was no old lady to drive me, so I walked down to The Pointy Brick.

While the hike wasn’t as grand as others I’ve done, I still felt like I achieved a feat. Next, after a couple of days off, I go to the Kosciusko National Park, home of the tallest mountain in Australia, in the highlands of New South Wales. Mt Kosciusko is actually at the southern end of the National Park, but as I’ve already climbed it twice, I’m walking an area called the Bogong Wilderness at the northern end. This is the last hike of my South East Australian adventure, then after a short break, I head to Argentina to continue my travels.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

I’d planned to climb the Acropolis this morning – one of the last climbable mountain on the trail – but rain had fallen all night. My plans also had me staying on the trail one more day, but with the rain, I decided to walk out. So, packing the wet tent, I headed off across the pair of suspension bridges to the junction, then across a river…

It did not take long to get to Narsassus Hut, where I’d planned to stay the night. I stopped for a bite of lunch then pushed on.

The lake quickly came into view as I walked through the forest along its side, walking around large muddy patches as I went.

Two hours on from Narsassus hut I came to Echo Point Hut, and called for the ferry. Half an hour later I stood on the wharf at the end of the Overland Track.

It wasn’t how I’d intended to finish, but with the changeable nature of Tasmanian weather, it was for the best.

Afterwards, I enjoyed a hot shower and a steak dinner with the Brits as we chatted about our experiences.

Overall, I enjoyed the hike in all of its different parts, and while I’d have preferred more open spaces and less forests, I’d still recommend this hike to anyone wanting to get into the sport. It has something for everyone, beginners and experienced walkers, allowing you to chose the difficulty of most days as you go.

Next, I drive back across Tasmania, catch the ferry back to Melbourne and head to Wilsons Promontory, also know as the South-east Cape, the southernmost tip of Mainland Australia. There I’m back into my boots and hitting a three day trail.

The Lone Trail Wanderer.

Pine Valley isn’t officially part of the Overland Track but most people on the trail choose to walk there. It’s also a popular destination for one night visits, as it’s close to Cynthia Bay at the end of trail.

The walk to the junction was fairly flat and encased in forest. I walked with a british couple – Greg and Kim – to start with but after the junction that headed off the main trail, I went on alone making better time to the hut, and crossing a pair of suspension bridges on the way.

On arrival I found the hut was very busy so, for the first time on the hike, I decided to pitch my tent. It was a nice day…why not. Once set up, I stopped for lunch as Annie from NT arrived. She pitched her tent next to mine and together, we decided to climb to a plateau known as the Labyrinth.

The pair of us followed a vague trail through the tall gloomy rainforest until we came to the hill and began slowly climbing. We climbed up a steep and sometimes slippery rocky stream and across to the other side. The markers then ceased and we climbed through a thin but fairly obvious section of trail that seemed to climb forever. It’s easy to lose your sense of scale on a climb when you’re shrouded in trees. It’s far easier when you can see the top as you go.

We eventually arrive at the plateau and stopped for a break. Behind us, our first views of Lake Saint Clair, the end point of the adventure.

Fifteen minutes later it began to rain. Yup, the first time I pitch a tent it decides to rain. We donned our rain jackets – which also serve as wind breakers – and continue on across the plateau following the plentiful cairns. The cairns led us deeper into the plateau where there are tales of a lady having gone missing some years earlier. They found her tent and pack, but no sign of her body. The cairns walked us past tarns…

…and rocky outcrops alongside a ridge line known as the Parthenon. Beyond the ridge a mountain known as The Acropolis which I plan to climb tomorrow if the rain eases overnight.

We picked our way along and then down into a small valley where the trail split and a sign pointed us either towards Lake Elysia or The Labyrinth Lookout. We headed along the trail towards the lookout and as it began to rain, we climbed the knoll following the cairns, some of them quite elaborately constructed.

We followed the trail until we came to a giant cairn.

Which gave good views of the lake and labyrinth.

The Labyrinth gets its name from the many forested paths running through rocky areas of the plateau where tarns and lakes are scattered. I’m not sure how you could get lost, as simply climbing one of the many smooth rock mounds would give you a good view of the area, although perhaps in low cloud…

And with our own set of low clouds coming in, we decided to head back, although we were both keen to be covered and to pick our way in the gloom, but the clouds were not low enough.

We descended from the plateau slowly on the more slippery track and eventually made it to the bottom.

Tomorrow, as I mentioned, I plan to climb the Acropolis and then walk on to Narsussus hut on the shores of Lake St Clair.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

From this part of the hike onwards, much of the trail is through different types of forest: Rain forest, Myrtle forest and dry Euclypt Forests. I’ve hiked through plentiful forests in my travels and when compared to my preferred wide open spaces and mountain vistas, being constantly surrounded by trees instills a sense of being closed in. So, I wasn’t looking forward to this half of the trail as much as the first half.

Then again, this stage of the hike is known as the waterfall walk, as there are several large waterfalls on side tracks. This part of the track also seemed to be the busiest. The first stop on the trail is Du Cane hut, an old hut on the trail belonging to an aged trapper that worked in this areas many decades ago.

After a pause at the hut I continued along the trail. 30 minutes later I arrived at the junction to the first of the falls. There were already plentiful packs left at the junction, so I added mine to the group and headed down the long side trail to another junction.

Then an easy walk to D’alton Falls…

…and Fergusson Falls, where I had to climb down a rocky bank to get a better look.

A further 30 minutes down the track, I came to the junction of Hartnell Falls – the largest` set of falls in the area. Unfortunately, there wasn’t a very easy view of the falls from the side, so I headed back to my pack and headed on.

The rest of the day consisted of a climb through the forest up to Du Cane Gap past Falling Mountain, which you cannot see through the trees, then down again to Windy Ridge and the Bert Nichols hut. At the hut we discussed the reasoning behind the name Windy Ridge, but came to no firm conclusion since it’s not really a ridge and being immersed in forest, not really windy either.

I settled in for the evening, played a couple of games with my travelling companions and prepared for the walk tomorrow. I’m taking a side trail for the night to Pine Valley hut – a hut that is not actually on The Overland Track, but most people go there anyway.

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Merry Christmas!

As I left the hut I stopped to have a chat with a Pademelon (like Wallabies only shorter and fatter) and its joey. You can almost hear them, ‘Ma, what’s that thing?’ ‘It’s a human, junior, just ignore it and it’ll go away.’

While it started off a little cool and cloudy, it looks to burn of during the day. The walk to Kia Ora Hut today is only a short one. Kia Ora being a maori greeting, and the name was given because of a New Zealand member of one of the early expedition group across the plateau. The first two hours is through rainforest and climbs 300 metres over the course of 4km to Pelion Gap.

Pelion Gap is the highest point of today’s hike and as you come out of the forest, you come to a large wooden platform. Climbing up to the east is the rocky topped Pelion East, a smaller version of Barn Bluff.

But on the other side is Mt Doris, which is a short rocky mountain on the way to the real attraction, Mt Ossa, Tasmania’s Tallest mountain.

I rested on the platform and had a snack in preparation for the climb. As I waited, several other groups arrived, including the Brits, the Victorians, Annie from NT and a Private hiking group. The Brits and Annie were ready to go when I was, so together we headed off up the side of Mt Dorris. The climb wasn’t hard, skirting around the summit to the saddle between the two mountains. As we crossed the area, the clouds started to clear from the mountain.

Climbing Mt Ossa is similar to climbing The Barn, although the rocky bouldering began a lot higher on Mt Ossa. We were barely a third of the way up when I saw someone running down, showin it’s not a difficult climb higher up. We continued climbing and stopped to chat to the guy. He told us that the views were disappointing and better on the way to the top.

We reached the initial summit and realised that like Cradle Mountain, we had to climb down to climb up to the summit. When we finally crested the summit we were all pleasantly surprised. The clouds had cleared completely, and the top was a long flat area with a tarn on one side and a small area of snow on the other. After some photos in the snow I decided to phone my family to wish them a Merry Christmas. I hadn’t planned to be on the mountain on Christmas, it just kinda worked out that way.

Unlike what the guy had said, the views from the top were the best I’ve seen on the walk. It was a 360 degree view…

…and the rows of mountains to the south were just amazing.

Half an hour later, we all climbed down again. At the bottom we stopped for lunch before I again donned my pack and headed on alone. The short, hour long trip to Kia Ora was across the open valley surrounded by many mountains.

Tomorrow I’m told is waterfall day…

The Lone Trail Wanderer

Today is the longest day of the hike at 17.5km. I set out early and began crossing some open moors on the now fairly standard boardwalk. Thankfully from time to time I got to walk on real ground – it makes you feel like you’re actually hiking!

Today is cold and the moors are surrounded by mountains, which gives it an awe inspiring feeling.

I love great open areas with mountains near and close. it gives you the sense of size and just how small you are. The low cloud hanging around the mountains give that mysterious and powerful feeling. With the gentle drizzle I walked on, Mt Pelion West standing out ahead of me in its rocky glory.

The moors roll on to a forest covered knoll. I picked my way through on rocky steps.

On the other side the boardwalk continued again to the
Forth Valley lookout, down a glacial valley.

The trail then heads downhill towards Frog Flats for some time crossing some areas of mud, including one extreme mud patch. Hikers here are instructed not to walk around these as it widens the patches and destroys the vegetation. Tree branches are often thrown into the mud to walk along and for the most part ensure you don’t get too muddy. The extreme patch however was just crazy. You couldn’t walk around as the mud stretched off to the sides as well. A branch lay half way across, but when I walked to the end of it my boot sunk in ankle deep. Thankfully for my boot cuffs, no mud went inside. I did eventually find a path around the mud and continued, with mud caked boots.

The trail descended and finally came to Frog flats for a few hundred metres of plains before the trees cover over again and the trail heads uphill along the muddy path. After a couple of kilometres I reached the Pelion plains under the awesome flat topped Mount Oakleigh. If it hadn’t been wet, I’d have climbed it, but alas I have to miss this one.

Pelion Hut is a large one, sleeping 60. There is a side route onto the track for non-Overland Track hiking – you can be on the track for a single night without requiring a permit. With a hut so large, I managed to get a room to myself.

Tomorrow, I’m off to Kia Ora.

The Lone Trail Wanderer