VICTORIA/NEW SOUTH WALES HIGH COUNTRY

We finally caught up with our friends Bob and Wendy at Wangaratta this trip and Bob kindly offered to show us his boyhood haunts in the Victorian high country. Our first camp was at Edi Cutting (pronounced E-die) on the King River. The King Valley is a really beautiful area with lots of vineyards etc. Like most of the fertile country in this part of Victoria, it was once used to grow tobacco. Apparently the use of DDT etc on these crops has restricted what it can be used for today.

King River at Edi Cutting

We had visited Lake William Hovell in 2011 but didn’t get very far up into the highlands of Alpine National Park, so our little day trip up to Lake Cobbler was new territory for us. The road turns to dirt a few kilometres past Cheshunt but it is well maintained and you could tow a van into the first camping ground on the Rose River. It is lovely country. We took a picnic lunch and stopped at some scenic spots along the way. Bob requested that we take the chainsaw as it is quite common to find large trees across the road and get stuck. It seems that the forestry department and National Parks are not willing to come to the rescue if this happens so you either come prepared or hope there is mobile service so you can ring the SES.

Some unusual scenery on the road to Lake Cobbler.

The scenery was lovely and the road in good condition.

At Lake Cobbler, we met up with a couple of different groups. One crew were at the end of a two week walk through the mountains. They planned to go further but were informed that there was no water further on so they were waiting for their ride home. There were also other campers and four-wheel drivers passing through. 

Lake Cobbler

One of the many shelters provided for hikers in the high country.

We took a short walk to the top of the waterfall we had
seen from the road on our way to the lake.

We crossed this lovely little creek on our walk.

The only negative to the day, apart from some drizzly rain was the large expanses of blackberry bush which seems to be taking over any clear areas in the forest. It really is quite distressing to see acres and acres of the stuff growing unchecked when there are so many beautiful flowering native trees and shrubs.

Most of the native flowers seem to be white.

Next morning we hitched up the vans and headed back up toward Lake Cobbler but turned left along Rose River Road toward Myrtleford. Again, the road was in good condition with little traffic although you do have to be prepared to meet very large logging trucks. Thirty-two kilometres from Cheshunt you join the Abbeyard road at Dandongadale. Here we turned right and arrived at Blades Picnic Area just a few kilometres on. There is a nicer camp spot with a toilet two camps further up but there were campers there with generators so we set up camp at Blades. This area is south-west of Mt Buffalo and the camp is beside the Buffalo River. Unfortunately the weather wasn’t too flash with a storm, including small hail, arriving mid-afternoon. It cleared later though so it was pleasant enough and we certainly appreciated the milder temperatures after the heat of the past few weeks. Leo seems to have found a new lease on life too.

On Saturday we drove up to Abbeyard where we had another lovely picnic and enjoyed the scenery and birdlife. Again the weather was a little damp but not enough to spoil things. Earlier in the morning we saw several vehicles towing horse floats heading up the mountain so we figured there must be some nice horse-riding areas up this way.

The Buffalo River at Abbeyard Picnic Area.

Bob and Wendy headed back to Wangaratta next morning while we just drove a few kilometres toward Myrtleford and pulled up at Nug Nug Camping Reserve. This is another lovely little camp beside the Buffalo River with tennis courts, barbecues, toilets etc. It costs $5 per night per person plus $5 extra for electricity. On the way we passed Lake Buffalo which has a lovely day use area where you can launch a boat or just go swimming etc. It really is a lovely area but unfortunately you cannot stay overnight.

This female satin bowerbird took a liking to Leo's dog food.

Nug Nug Camping Reserve

At Nug Nug there was no shortage of water so we decided to stay for the night and wash the mud off the car and van. We took a quick drive into town to stock up at Coles who were open despite it being Sunday, and to fuel up.

Next morning it was off toward the east coast via the New South Wales high country. Just out of Myrtleford we turned east on highway C534 then north along the foothills, following the eastern side of the Kiewa River. The Kiewa Valley is a beautiful spot which we had visited in 2011. We then followed the Murray Valley Highway through Tallangatta to Corryong and then on to Khancoban, a small village at the beginning of Kosciuszko National Park. We fuelled up here which proved a smart move as diesel in Jindabyne was 3c a litre dearer.

Large signs say that the Alpine Way is not suitable for caravans but if your vehicle is up to it and the brakes are good it is fine as long as you take your time. The scenery is very spectacular and on the eastern side of Thredbo there are some fantastic riverside camps. Unfortunately we couldn’t stay because of Leo, our dog. 

Snowy Power Station No 1 - part of the Snowy Mountains hydro scheme.

One of the many narrow cuttings on the Alpine Way.

Damage done by bushfires of past years was evident at the top of the range.

Dead Horse Gap is the highest point on the Alpine Way.

Looking down to Thredbo from Dead Horse Gap.

At Jindabyne we were expecting to have to book into a caravan park but we took a short drive up the Perisher Valley road and found a great little camping spot beside the lake. There were no signs to the contrary, so we camped here for two nights and it was a lovely spot. Leo particularly enjoyed chasing rabbits out on the little island which was accessible from our camp.

Lake Jindabyne - That's what we called 'Rabbit Island' in the centre.

We took the opportunity while in Jindabyne to take a drive down Barry Way. It is a narrow, winding dirt road which connects the area to Victoria via the locality of Willis, where there was once a checkpoint to collect excise fees for goods being transported into Vic from NSW. The road had some rocks and mud on it due to the recent rain but nothing that couldn’t be passed. There are several camps along the way but I personally wouldn't be towing a van in there although I know some people have. 

Barry Way from Wallace Craigie Lookout.

About two-thirds of the way to the border it meets the Snowy River, which it follows right to Willis. The river had quite a flow in it from the rain and was quite a sight, especially from some of the high vantage points along the road. The difference in the terrain was also very noticeable once you crossed over to the eastern side of the mountains. The trees especially are totally different species.

The Snowy River just below the junction with Jacob's River.

The Snowy widens out further down.

These interesting pieces overlooked the Barry Way just out of Jindabyne.

After Jindabyne we drove east through Dalgety to the Monaro Highway, then south through Bombala where we stocked up on groceries etc. About 25 kilometres south of Bombala we turned east again on Imlay Road and headed through the South East Forest. We had a look at Newton’s Crossing, a camp on the Imlay River in the State Forest. Unfortunately, it was quite a small area and with heavy rain forecast, the access road would be a bit dodgy so we continued east and headed into a lovely little caravan park at Lake Wonboyn on the New South Wales south coast.

This lovely bridge spans the Snowy River at Dalgety, south-east of Jindabyne.