We held our annual High Country and Beyond event recently. There were numerous trips led over the course of the event (Sat 10th - Sat 17th March) and I wasn't part of them all but was involved with a few so will give a quick run down on those.
The event is run by the Wangaratta 4wd Club which is affiliated with 4WD Victoria. It is a not for profit event and the fees charged cover the caravan park costs, the meals provided, insurance, etc. The first year we ran it from the Buckland Valley which was a great venue but was logistically quite difficult. 2017 and 2018 we based the event in Omeo and utilised the caravan park which meant no issues with black and grey water disposal, no issues with fuelling of vehicles and phone signal was available for those who needed to stay in touch over the course of the event.
As far as maps, etc go various brands of maps are better than others in varying locations of the high country. I find Spatial Vision and Rooftop to be the best, Hema are good for the well known tracks but very inaccurate in some of the less travelled areas. My policy is that I start with whatever map OziExplorer decides to show me at the start of a trip and when I come across an intersection that isn't represented accurately I just flick through the various maps until I find one that is good for the area.
Anyway, enough of the background info... Notes and pics time!
This is an overview of the territory we covered on my trips. Some went further south and others further east, other than BlueRag mine we mainly to the north of Omeo.
HC+B 2018 Dave Trips by Dave, on Flickr
Saturday 10th. Along with the assistance of another guy, Rob I conducted an "Intro to 4WDing in the High Country" training session where we covered the different terrains and driving techniques for each, hill stops / starts (keystarts), driving through the brakes, etc. In the afternoon everyone went for a drive to Glen Wills to see the Ruston 12H engine which has been restored from a rusty vandalised bit of "junk" to a fully operational engine. I had to stay at camp to do prep work for the evening but I've seen it before. It is a beautiful thing! 2 cylinders, maybe 350mm dia each. You tube link of it running.
Sunday 11th. Took some participants for a drive to Blue Rag. The highway between Mt Hotham and Omeo was closed for a fair portion of the day due to a cycling event so we went the "back" way. Turning off the Cassillis road we made our way along Upper Livingstone and Birregun roads to Dogs Grave. We then followed Birregun Rd until our turnoff onto Stockroute Spur Track which is a reasonably steep track with a couple of areas of washouts which everyone descended safely.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_01 by Dave, on Flickr
After morning tea at Collins Flat campground we drove around to Harrisons Cutting for a look at the beautiful creek and small waterfall.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_05 by Dave, on Flickr
We then had to get to the Dargo High Plains Rd so we ascended Matheson Track. In the dry it is relatively easy most of the way although fairly steep. Near the top the track had a few interesting spots that we had to negotiate over but challenges like that are what makes life interesting.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_08 by Dave, on Flickr
Just near Gow's Hotel we turned off and headed to Whiskey Bottle campsite where we stopped for lunch. The tracks were easy going although quite dusty. The views were great and the ripe blackberries proved to be a huge temptation at one of the creek crossings so we all stopped and picked a heap. We picked enough to have blackberries for morning tea every day for the rest of the event! Next stop for us all to re-group was the "Red Rattler", an old train carriage at a track intersection south of Blue Rag. It was a chance to re-group before we commenced the slower tracks that would lead us to Blue Rag.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_10 by Dave, on Flickr
Blue Rag as always was a great drive. The track is starting to develop a bit of character after being turned into a multi lane 2wd highway a couple of years ago for fire break / fighting purposes but is still nothing of it's former glory. The popularity of the track however remains high simply because of the views and with the perfect weather we had the views were fantastic.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_13 by Dave, on Flickr
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_14 by Dave, on Flickr
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_18 by Dave, on Flickr
There was smoke on the horizon which blotted out Mt Buller and views further to the south west but we had good long range visibility everywhere else.
Blue Rag Trip 20180311_22 by Dave, on Flickr
After reaching the Blue Rag Trig point and the obligatory photos we headed back to the Dargo High Plains road, aired up our tyres once we reached the Great Alpine Road and made our way back to Omeo via "The General" at Mt Hotham for a refreshment.
It was a big day, a bit under 12 hours all up but we covered some great tracks and had a fun day.
I'll be back with our Monday Poplars / Limestone trip soon...
Dave
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Originally Posted by Traveller
