Discovering the Victorian Alps!

On Sunday December 13, 2009, with mate Mick, we did the 250 km circle trip known as the Great Alpine Discovery Drive.

Fronm our starting point at Bright, 350 km NE of Melbourne, we travelled along the Great Alpine Road, through Harrietville, Hotham Heights, and Dinner Plain, reaching Omeo.

From there, we continued along the Omao-Mitta Mitta Rd, passing through Angler's Rest and the famous Blue Duck Hotel.

The road wound its way through the spectacular Cobrunga and Bundara River Gorges, offering glorious views of the rivers far below.

Reaching Shannonvale settlement, we turned on to the recently sealed Bogong Alpine Way, which is part of the Bogong High Plains Rd.

Climbing steadily, there were big views of the Alps around Mt Wills, and we reached the Trapyard Gap Information Board, which told us about the High Plains.

From there, we passed Buckety Plain, reaching the Rocky Valley Dam. We stopped at the access points to Cope Hut Track and Langford Gap, inspecting the Langford Gap Aqueduct and the crossing of the Australian Alps Walking Track.

Merrily we continued around the Dam, entering Falls Creek Village,

From there, it was down the valley to Mt Beauty, then back to Bright.

Our other stopping points included Danny's Lookout (near Hotham), Dinner Plain, a 3 km (return) hike to the Carmichael Waterfalls (our lunch stop) near the Dinner Plain Village, the Kusciuzko View Lookout (approaching Omeo), a petrol/icypole stop at Omeo and a photo stop at Sullivan's Lookout at Tawonga Gap, above Mt Beauty.

All this took us about six hours, Bright to Bright!

The views from the great Alpine Rd, were outstanding, as was the scenery along the Mitta Mitta Rd and the Bogong Alpine Way.

I had driven along the section between Omeo and Falls Creek many years ago, in 1974, recalling it as stony and rough!

Interestingly, it was almost 80 years ago when the Great Trail Ride took place. This started at Shannonvale, and followed what was to become part of the Bogong High Plains Rd decades later.

The 50 horsemen travelled through to Harrietville over the High Plains, with side trips to Mt Feathertop, Mt Nelse, and Mt McKay. No Rocky Valley or Happy Valleys then - no Falls Creek Village - they would appear in the 1950s!

See the complete set of Photos of our trip!

Falls Creek Snow Hike

On Sunday August 9, 2009, we visited the Falls Creek Snow Resort, high up in the Victorian Alps, about 270 km NE from Melbourne.

We drove from our home base at Bright, through Mt Beauty. Starting at the Windy Corner car park, my friend Mick did the 20 km (return) cross-country ski trail to Wallace's Hut, along the High Plains Rd, taking about four hours.

I did a 9 km (return) Snow Walk on the High Plains Rd, to the Mt Nelse track junction, around the Rocky Valley Dam - this was about two and a half hours.

As I take innumerable photos, still and videos, I have found that trying to take good photos on skis is awkward, so I left the skis behind this time. Walking on/in snow is good for the soul and for the legs....!

Temperature was hovering around 2 degrees - no wind - mostly cloudy with some blue sky at times. Natural snow depth on the road was about 1 m.

Lots of action back at Falls around the Nordic Bowl - a competition was in progress. Kids and tobaggans galore at Windy Corner!

See the full set of Photos of our visit!

Summit hike to Mt McKay - Bogong High Plains

Mt McKay is in the Bogong High Plains Region, NE Victoria, and at 1849 m is the highest mountain in Australia which can be reached by road.

It is snow-covered in winter, and is about 6 km from the Falls Creek Village via a turn-off from the High Plains Rd along the Pretty Valley Rd.

The actual summit is about 1 km up the maintenance road from a junction, where there is a small car park. This road is extremely steep and stony, and suitable mainly for 4WD vehicles in locked low range drive.

Foot access is up this road, taking about 15 minutes each way in good weather.

At the summit there are communications antennas, a fire spotting tower, amateur radio repeater transmitters, and a roofed observation lookout.

The views are spectacular, 360 degrees, across to the Alps, the Kiewa Valley, the Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley Dams, and to the Mt Buffalo Massif.

On the north flank of the mountain is the Mt McKay Power Station, most of which is underground.

This mountain is adjacent to the Falls Creek ski runs, and was integrated into the Alpine National Park in 2001, following a rejected commercial proposal to develop it for skiing.

We visited the summit on March 8, 2009, walking up the access road.

See the complete set of Photos of this trip!

Rocky Valley Dam - Bogong High Plains

The Rocky Valley Dam is located on the Bogong High Plains, near Falls Creek, Victoria, a winter ski resort. The dam is man-made and has a capacity of 28,000 megalitres and is situated at 1600 metres above sea level.

The dam was created for the Kiewa Hydroelectric Scheme, owned and operated by AGL Energy.

The dam is also utilised in snow making in winter for the Falls Creek ski resort.

Our visit to the Dam was on March 7, 2009, which included a drive along a newly sealed section of the High Plains Rd, next to the Dam.

This is programmed for completion by May 2009, linking Falls Creek with the Omeo Highway 35 km distant.

This sealed touring loop for three of the four seasons is expected to increase visitation to the Alpine National Park and incorporates improvements for park users such as improved visitor areas and signage.

See the full set of Photos of our trip!

Falls Creek Snow Trip, Alpine National Park

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On July 28, 2008, we went up to the Falls Creek Ski Resort, in the Alpine National Park.

We started at Bright, 335 km NE of Melbourne, and travelled through Tawonga Gap and Mt Beauty, then up the High Plains Tourist Rd, arriving at Falls at about 10.30 am.

The law required us to carry wheel chains, which were to be fitted to 2WDs at Howman's Gap. We were OK, as my Forester Subaru is an AWD, exempt from chains, unless directed otherwise. The general exemption applies to engaged 4WDs.

The snow ploughs do a good job of keeping this road open - paid for from the $30 per car daily entry fee!

Snow had fallen as low as 800 m.

It was our intention to do some cross country skiing along the groomed trails, picking up from our 2007 trip. This turned out to be virtually impossible - the ground temperature was minus 5 at noon, and wind gusts were reaching 60 km/hr. Natural snow depth was about 105 cm!

Blizzard-like snowstorms and high horizontal winds along the High Plains Rd created an almost "no-go" situation.

My friend Mick actually got as far as the start of the Rocky Valley Dam Wall, but was forced to retreat, along with some other skiiers, due to heavy continuous snow and huge winds.

I didn't bother with the skiis, and trudged up towards the Nordic Bowl, then turned back! I did this four times, about 2 km in total, but the wind drove me back!

School groups who had come up for the day were very disappointed at the horrific conditions.

We had our lunch in the Shelter, then drove back down the mountain, stopping at Mt Beauty township, then a big loop through Happy Valley and Myrtleford, back to Mick's new country house at Bright.

There were stupendous views of the snow-covered Alps from vantage points near the Mt Beauty village, and from the Bogong View Lookout on the Kiewa Valley Highway, near Tawonga. There were excellent views also across to Mt Buffalo from Happy Valley Rd.

Enjoy our full set of Photos