Mitchell River and Snowy River - 27th December to 31st December 2004

Snowy River National Park

Day 5 - 31st December 2004

Another lovely warm day awaited us on our last day in the high country. Better make the most of it!

We explored around McKillops Bridge, walking down under the bridge to the sides of the Snowy. Three young Kookaburras played on a tree branch above.

We'd caught a number of small scorpions at the campground, and even a tick which I spotted luckily before it decided to have a go at one of us. Now there were emus along the roadside!


The 4WD track down to the campsite where the Little River joins the Snowy offered some great views, as well as some fun 4WDing with some steep descents back down to the river. The campsite was quite nice, and there were a few groups camped down here.


As we climbed out of the valley, something on the side of the steep hills kept catching the sun. It looked like a car had run down the mountain side. As we drew closer to Turnback, we parked the car and went to investigate. It was only an old car that had been pushed over the edge, eventually coming to rest against a tree. At least we hope so. There was little chance of walking down and back up as the slope was far too steep!

The road brought us past rocky outcrops as it reached it's highest point, and we were now travelling alongside Little River Gorge. This is Victoria's deepest gorge, the bottom lying some 305 metres almost straight down off the side of the road.


Notice how there are no safety rails? Make sure you take the turn!


It's a long way straight down. 305 metres to be exact.



Further along there is a viewing platform, which either survived the 2003 Alpine Fires, or has since been rebuilt. We used the GPS to find the lookout platform, as we were also looking for a geocache here. Doing it this way took us the wrong way down, leaving us navigating the platform from the other side, a little scary but still fairly safe. I suppose the signs indicating the proper walking track (which we followed on the way back) were victims of the fires.



Further along the road brought us to the top of the gorge, and the Little River Falls. The perfect spot to relax and cool off on a hot January day!


We drove into Seldom Seen, but it had been devasted by the fires. "Dave" had survived but not much else, by sheltering in the dam nearby with his dog as everything burned around.



Native Dog campground is a lovely spot on the upper reaches of the Buchan River. We stopped here for lunch (some tasty Fajitas, another camp food favourite of me and the kids) when another Patrol towing a T-Van arrived. A quick chat and I was further sold on the idea I've got to get me one of those...


It was starting to be time to head on home. We drove across the tops of the High Country, passing snakes on the road, beautiful views of the Cobberas (to be explored further next year) and lovely little mountain towns. We bought icecreams in Benambra and followed the Tambo back out of the mountains.



Track Summary & Travel Times
Track Name Surface Travel Time Total Distance Avg Speed Min Alt Max Alt
Home to Warragul Sealed/Freeway 1 hour 29 minutes 110km 74km/hr 37 metres 173 metres
Home to Moe Turnoff Sealed/Freeway 1 hour 46 minutes 138km 78km/hr 37 metres 173 metres
Home to Traralgon Sealed/Freeway 2 hours 7 minutes 170km 80km/hr 37 metres 173 metres
Home to Sale Freeway/Highway 2 hours 42 minutes 220km 81km/hr 18 metres 173 metres
Home to Mitchell River NP (Hunter Corner) Freeway/Highway 3 hours 30 minutes 283km 75km/hr 18 metres 260 metres
Hunter Corner to Den of Nargan Picnic Area 2WD Gravel 5 minutes 4.6km 62km/hr 191 metres 264 metres
Den of Nargan to Amphitheatre 2WD Gravel 16 minutes 9.4km 34km/hr 183 metres 255 metres
Amphitheatre to Angusvale(Mitchell Road) 4WD Easy. 1 small creek crossing 51 minutes 20km 24km/hr 101 metres 461 metres
Angusvale Turnoff (Dargo Rd) to Angusvale 2WD Gravel 25 minutes 16.4km 40km/hr 111 metres 526 metres
Hunters Corner to Angusvale 2WD Gravel/Sealed 9 minutes 9.7km 67km/hr 292 metres 478 metres
Hunters Corner to Bairnsdale Highway 38 minutes 40km 62km/hr 21 metres 291 metres
Bairnsdale to Lakes Entrance Highway 41 minutes 37km 54km/hr 10 metres 92 metres
Lakes Entrance to Nowa Nowa Highway 15 minutes 22km 87km/hr 9 metres 100 metres
Nowa Nowa to Lake Tyers Rd turnoff Highway 4 minutes 6.5km 93km/hr 22 metres 94 metres
Lake Tyers Rd to Beach campsite 2WD Gravel 15 minutes 15.9km 62km/hr 13 metres 87 metres
Lake Tyers to Highway via Old orbost Rd 2WD Gravel, lots of wallabies 25 minutes 19km 46km/hr 3 metres 76 metres
Newmerella to Tulloch Ard Rd Turn off Sealed Highway 50 minutes 50km 60km/hr 13 metres 260 metres
Buchan Orbost Rd to Balley Hooley Camping Area 2WD Gravel 17 minutes 15.9km 62km/hr 13 metres 87 metres
Tulloch Ard Rd to Running Creek Tk exit 2WD Gravel 27 minutes 20.5km 45km/hr 294 metres 765 metres
Running Creek Tk to Jacksons Crossing 4WD with some steep sections and river crossing 33 minutes 9km 16km/hr 75 metres 780 metres
Jacksons Crossing to Yalmy Tk 4WD Clay 25 minutes 11.8km 28km/hr 86 metres 381 metres
Yalmy Tk to Deddick Trail 2WD Gravel 40 minutes 30.3km 45km/hr 180 metres 765 metres
Deddick Trail 4WD, beautiful scenery, steep ascents and descents, creek crossings, alpine ridges 2 hours 40 minutes 51.5km 19km/hr 230 metres 1205 metres
McKillops Bridge to Little River Camp exit 2WD Windy Gravel 16 minutes 7.1km 26km/hr 193 metres 280 metres
Little River Camp Track (One Way) 4WD Gravel, steep descents 12 minutes 3.2km 16km/hr 189 metres 369 metres
Little River Exit to Little River Gorge 2WD Gravel, wibndy with steep precipaces 22 minutes 8.8km 24km/hr 347 metres 899 metres
Little River Gorge exit to Seldom Seen 2WD Gravel/bitumen 35 minutes 12.8km 22km/hr 805 metres 940 metres
Seldom Seen to Native Dog Camping Area 2WD Gravel 1 hour 46 minutes 55.3km 31km/hr 805 metres 1443 metres
Native Dog Camping Area to Benambra 2WD Gravel/Sealed 50 minutes 47.2km 57km/hr 715 metres 1289 metres
Benambra to Omeo Sealed 23 minutes 23.3km 61km/hr 622 metres 941 metres
Omeo to Swifts Creek Highway 19 minutes 26km 82km/hr 300 metres 766 metres
Swifts Creek to Tambo Crossing Highway 30 minutes 36.4km 73km/hr 158 metres 399 metres
Tambo Crossing to Bruthen Highway 30 minutes 33.6km 66km/hr 47 metres 330 metres
Bruthen to Bairnsdale Highway 20 minutes 26.3km 78km/hr 18 metres 130 metres
Bairnsdale to Home Highway/Freeway 3 hours 16 minutes 286.4km 88km/hr 19 metres 179 metres