Higganbotham Mine Explorer - May 2002
Mark & Michelle
This was a reccy trip to allow me to plan a group trip into the area. It was a very nice day out, but I decided to not turn it into a group trip. We were looking for the Higganbotham mine site, which we did not find as I wasn't sure what quality the last bit of road was going to be like, the day was getting late and we were on our own so I didn't fancy getting into anything I wasn't going to get out of easily. But anyway, on with the trip...
Yarra Glen, Melba Highway, Toolangi; a path much taken. This time though, instead of heading left into the Murrindindi Scenic Reserve, we turned off Murrindindi Road under the powerlines and drove along Ginter Road into the northern reaches of the Black Range State Forest. We passed WPT12, which was a quite deep pool of water which flowed under the road and would make a nice little picnic spot. Further on, we came to Higganbotham Track which was a really great little 4WD track climbing up the valley wall. The track was very well graded and nicely curved as it ran along the hillside through the trees.
We turned off left onto Balaclava Track, and then onto Grants Track as I had heard that there were some interesting shafts and diggings along this area. We soon found a number of deep shafts and excavations along the side of the track, which I presume were above the Higganbotham mine site at the bottom of the very steep valley. After exploring all around and finishing our cappuccinos we continued along Grants Track, which came along the top of the ridge offering great views into the Murrindindi Valley, across the Sheehan Hills and beyond. This would be a very nice campsite on the top of the hills; I could imagine looking up into a beautiful clear star filled night.
Though the map showed the road continued on down to the mine site, the road was getting steeper and I suspected that it was going to pass into private property and I didn't enjoy the prospect of getting all the way down only to find a locked gate, so we backtracked to Higganbotham Track, and drove along the ridge on Beatsons Track.
We came to the continuation of Grants Track, and toyed with the idea of driving down to the mine, but as I have said in the opening paragraph we have left this for another day. We explored around Stanley Homestead site before driving into Limestone and on back home.
| Track Name | Surface | Travel Time | Average Speed |
| Home to Murrindindi Rd | Sealed | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Murrindindi Rd | Gravel 2WD | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Ginter Rd | Gravel 2WD | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Higginbotham Tk | Easy 4WD | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Balaclava Tk | Easy 4WD | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Grants Tk | Easy 4WD - nice views | Not recorded | Not recorded |
| Beatsons Tk | Easy 4WD - ridge track | Not recorded | Not recorded |