New territory and January statistics

The past week has been a bit up and down. A week or so ago Trevor had been feeling a bit off. It was my turn this week. Everything seemed a bit more of an effort than normal. I still managed to get in some reasonable distance but it was not necessarily at a lively pace. On Thursday night I couldn't keep up with Trevor and trailed behind for most of the walk.

On Thursday afternoon I had a meeting scheduled at Tilley's at 3:45pm so took the opportunity to do a walk between the end of my family history session and the meeting. Leaving from the family history centre, which is located diagonally opposite the Lyneham shops, I headed up towards O'Connor Ridge. While I didn't go on to the ridge I did parallel it and walked along the top side of Lyneham and O'Connor before heading along a path which followed Macarthur Avenue and eventually took me back to Lyneham. Apart from the heat, it was another hot day, it was a pleasant walk.

Walking through the older suburbs gives plenty of time to look at the urban renewal which is all the rage. There has been quite a bit of knockdown rebuild activity although a substantial number of the original houses still remain albeit tarted up here and there.

I have been using Runtastic, an app on my phone, to track my walks. Here are the stats from January:

Distance: 313km
Duration: 68 hours 46 minutes
Calories: 17,222
Elevation gain: 5457m

I did other walking over and above what was logged.

Great Alpine Walk: overall comments

Following the walk we were saddened to hear of the fires that burnt through the area in which we had just walked. The storm that had dogged our final full day of walking on day 6 appear to have ignited the fire. A dry storm is a significant hazard when the vegetation has dried off and dry fuel has built up on the ground. The landscape through much of the areas we walked will have been transformed, yet again, by fire.

This post is intended to provide overall impressions of the trip as well as the organisation surrounding it.

We had booked this trip with Auswalks, a company operating out of Victoria and headed by Phil and Monica Coleman. The booking had been done online and payments were straightforward. In most cases the information provided about the trip was sufficient for our needs. I did have a couple of questions and these were promptly answered.

When we received our package of documents, maps, map case and book it was only one set. Whether you are a couple or two singles sharing may be OK however there was no discount for getting only one set. I'm pleased that Trevor and I didn't have to share a lunch bag!

The trip information was comprehensive. The only issue was that the pickup time was shown on both the first and second pages and was different. By the time I realised that there were two times given it was too late to check so we fronted up at the earlier time and, of course, it was actually the later time that was used.

I did have a couple of questions and these were answered promptly.

Having a list of the participants in the doco was great as it made it easier to identify each other as we gathered and mingled.

Our guides, Phil and Marie, duly turned up in Bourke Street and the milling crowd trooped over the road and we presented ourselves and our bags to them. They were both very welcoming, greeting previous clients warmly.

There were regular stops when travelling allowing toilet trips and acqisition of refreshments. It was also OK to eat and drink on the bus. Adequate time was allowed for us to do whatever was necessary during the stops without making them unnecessarily long.

Phil and Marie provided background information as we passed through areas which helped to fill in the time. Sitting on a bus can be boring if you are just beetling along a multi-lane highway so it was good to turn off the highway onto the country roads which took us through to Falls Creek.

The trip notes gave information about the accommodation we would be using. It contained information about the hosts, too, which was a nice touch.

The accommodation and both Falls Creek and Dinner Plain was very comfortable and the facilities more than adequate. The spa was a very welcome offering at our Falls Creek lodge and Trevor and I took advantage of it on day 2.

Lisa, the host at Diana Alpine Lodge in Falls Creek, was very accomadating and the food she served us for the two dinners and each breakfast along with the lunch rolls was excellent. Trevor didn't appreciate the corriander in one of the dishes but that happens.

The dinner we were served at Rundell's, our Dinner Plain accommodation, was outstanding as were the breakfasts. I think that we were all beginning to wonder if we would return home after a weeks walking a little heavier than we started!

There had been a change in where we stayed in Harrietville. This was beyond the control of Auswalks as they had apparently booked the accommodation 12 months in advance only to to flicked at the last minute. The rooms at the Snowline Hotel sufficed as we were tired and a comfortable bed was all that really mattered. I'm not sure when the room we had had been last cleaned. It had been occupied by a mouse between being cleaned and when we arrived. I dealt with that and hoped that the little rotter did not visit again during our stay. There was only one chair in the room which was a bit odd. There was seating outside the rooms under the verandah which was a problem as it meant that people sat outside talking loudly when the rest of us were trying to sleep.

The food at the Snowline Hotel was excellent. Both the dinner and breakfast were very well done.

The walking
My comments are coloured by my Flinders Ranges walk experience so readers need to take this into account.

Flexibilty is fine and generally necessary to take into account weather and other on ground conditions as well as the individuals in the group however it would generally be expected that the listed offerings for the day would be catered for. This was not the case on day 3 when a whole section of the plaaned days walk simply didn't happen as a track was missed and by the time it was determined that it had been missed we were ks away from where we should have been to take that track. The frustrating thing was that I had thought that we should have taken the track that proved to be the correct one but the guides notes were insufficiently clear which lead to the error.

Both guides had notes that they followed. It was apparent that some things had changed since the notes were prepared and this was the cause of some problems on at least two occassions (days 3 and 5).

Trevor felt that quite a bit of the walking was through similar country. To an extent that was true however it was an alpine walking holidays so it was not unreasonable that we walked through alpine areas on most days with a degree of similarity from one area to another. There was definitely enough change in the geology and flora to make each walk interesting.

Given that the holiday had been chosen as a preparation for the Coast to Coast walk which we will be doing later this year I believe that it met its objective. I didn't realise how physically tired I was until I just about went to sleep while eating dinner on the last night.

All up I had walked at least 108km with quite a bit of climbing and descents. Most of this, 100+kms, was done across the middle five days which means that those days averaged a good 20kms a day.

Of the climbs and descents ... I'm not sure which is worse - going up or coming down. Both have their challenges.

Only time will tell whether the Great Alpine Walk was a good preparation for the Coast to Coast walk

Nice touch
Our guides had taken quite a few photos during the week and we were presented with a CD containing over 100 images at breakfast on the final morning. Not only did we get a copy of the photos we were also given a slide show.

Here are photos of our party (as supplied by Auswalks):

... our guides

Phil

Marie

... and the walkers ... except for Trish who managed to miss the photo sessions ...

Ian

Trevor

Maria

Joan

John

Lorraine

Alec

Peter

Sam

Anne

Marie

Alison

Would I consider taking another walk with Auswalks? Yes.

My Runtastic phone app got a good workout during the week. I worked out on day 2 that I needed to set the phone to flight mode to conserve battery power on long day walks. I found the prompt at the completion of each k useful. A couple of other people in the party were impressed enough to get Runtastic, too. Over the course of the week it was not unusual to have people ask how far we had gone.

I wasn't the only one with a gizmo. Joan had an altitude metre, well he is a mountain climber after all, which was useful on day 6 when we were descending from Mt Feathertop down to Harrietville.

I think that Trevor thought that much of the country we walked through was the same. To an extent he was right however there was always something different to see and there was variations between each of the trails we walked.

I also suspect that I was more prepared for sameness having done quite a few walks in Tidbinbilla. This will always be a glass half full/empty situation. Yes, there were similarities but there were also differences and it is the differences that always have the ability to surprise.

We had a great week which allowed us to check out our equipment, clothes and current level of preparedness for a strenuous period of walking. It gave us pause to think about what sort of luggage we should take to England when we do the Coast to Coast walk and how much clothing is needed.

The water bladders were definitely a good investment. Being able to drink without having to stop and de-pack or having to carry a bottle in your hand all the time was hugely beneficial.

I'm sure that there are other things that I meant to say which have slipped my mind.

I will do a flora post when I get a chance. We have quite an array of photos which will need to be sorted through before I attempt to put them in a post.

Orroral Heritage Trail

Trevor suggested that we do a walk this week and thought that perhaps one in Tidbinbilla would do however I have pretty much exhausted the Tidbinbilla walks so I figured that it was time to look at some of those in the Namadgi National Park.

Namadgi covers a huge area and there are plenty of trails. Some are short, others longish. Some are easy, others moderate while others are just plain hard. I selected that Orroral Heritage Trail as it was longish, 12km return, but only classified as moderate. Trevor did not want a walk that was overly difficult and this one seemed to fit the bill.

So, today, after lunching at Brothers Oven we headed off. We were equipped with our day packs and were carrying wet weather gear as the day promised some rain. In reality were were carrying almost a much as we will be on most days when we do the Coast to Coast walk. We were wearing our hiking boots as I was expecting the ground to be wet following the recent rain. We also had our short gaiters to combat the effect of grass seeds on our socks.

To get to the start of the walk we had to travel through Tharwa and then towards Adaminaby, along Naas Road. We called in to the Namadgi Visitor Centre to check that the chosen trail was open and to use their toilet facilities. According to the ranger on duty their was no problem with the trail however it might be a bit wet underfoot.

Our starting point was some 19km from the Visitor Centre. From Naas Road we took Boboyan Road and then Orroral Road which we followed until we reached the Orroral Campground, our starting point. The road was sealed all the way out but quite narrow and windy. There were a number of low level crossings which were not to be crossed if covered with water. Fortunately the crossings were dry. A number of rural properties still operate through this area and passed the odd cluster of farm buildings. These places really are isolated, tucked into valleys with steep sides.

There were no cars in the carpark when we arrived so we were able to select a shaded spot in the hope that the clouds continued to clear.

A lovely old tree in the camping ground

The camping ground was quite spacious with reasonable facilities given its remoteness. Perhaps we should consider a camping trip one of these days ... on seconds thoughts perhaps not!

The camping ground is tucked down near the Orroral River and the trail follows its course up the valley, sometimes quite close to the river and at other times moving away from it and up on to higher ground away from the marshy flats.

The track meandered up and down through open forest with a grassy understory. the track was generally quite narrow forcing us to walk in single file for much of the first few ks. While there were a few large trees, as evidenced by the one down at the campground, most of the trees were saplings leading us to conclude that they have grown since the 2003 bushfires raged through the area.

The slender trunks of the saplings suggest that most are quite young

 Along the trail were notice boards providing information about the area and features that we encountered. While some of the boards were faded the intent was good and it provided sufficient information to keep up our interest. It always helps to have an idea of what it is you are actually looking at.

Every now and then we saw clusters of huge granite boulders scattered randomly about.Geologically, the area started life as ocean floor on which silt was deposited over eons. The ocean floor was then thrust upwards and now sits some 900m above sea level. The surrounding hills range from 1200m to over 1600m above sea level.. As we saw when walking in the Victorian alpine region the uplift has exposed the layered rock and this has then eroded. Next came volcanic action ... hence the granite tors and boulders which are a feature through our local ranges.

The boulders were huge. Perhaps I should have got Trevor to stand beside them to demonstrate their size.

A number of wooden bridges crossed streams, some of which had water, others dry even though there had been recent rain. Eventually we came to a footbridge across the Orroral River which took us out of the forested area and onto the cleared valley floor.

The babbling brook otherwise known as the Orroral River

Once over the river we started encountering track markers. These were important as there was quite a bit of marshy land to cover and picking the wrong path could have left us with very wet feet.

A guide post. Can you spot the next one?

By this time the clouds which had looked like they were clearing had decided to return.

We are quite used to seeing kangaroos, sometimes in quite large mobs, around the Taylor Nature Reserve and Michael and I have seen large gatherings of roos on some of the meadows at Tidbinbilla but I was not prepared for the number of kangaroos we encountered today.

The kangaroo population in Namadgi was definitely going strong.

The Orroral Valley is long and wide and the early settlers had taken advantage of its terrain and cleared much of the valley floor and then ploughed the resulting cleared land. The slopes are well timbered even following the fires of recent times.


The site of the first European settlement in the area is marked by a plaque. There is no substantive evidence of that original dwelling or any of the other buildings.

Continuing up the valley, crossing a number of swampy areas, we finally sighted the Orroral Homestead. Scattered across the valley were a shearing shed, which was used for local dances and currently is in a state of disrepair, the remnants of the 1950s house which was removed after it had been vandalised, an orchard and the Orroral Homestead.

View up the valley with the homestead and other bits and pieces

Fences have been erected around all but the shearing shed although most are in a state of disrepair. Kangaroos were everywhere. I am not sure what the fences were meant to stop.

Kangaroos under an apple tree in the remains of the orchard

The remains of the 1950s house

Here is a series of photos of the Orroral Homestead which probably dates back to the late 1860s. It was built of slabs and consisted of three rooms with a separate kitchen. Only a chimney remains from the kitchen. There is a verandah along the front of the homestead which looks out onto the Orroral River and Cathedral Rocks  which stand out on the ridge across the river.

The back of the house

The front of the house with the verandah

The kitchen chimney stands a little way from the back of the homestead

And here is the shearing shed:

A short distance from the homestead were dilapidated cattle yards which were occupied by kangaroos!

By the time we left the homestead it had started to rain. We did put on our rain jackets and we were pleased when the rain cleared as the day was reasonably warm and it was hot walking in the jackets.

The last part of our walk was along part of the Australian Alps Walking Track which runs from Walhalla through the Victorian Alps through the Snowy Mountains and then Namadgi ending up at Tharwa. We had walk along bits of this track during our Great Alpine Walk week.

We continued up the valley towards the site of the Orroral Tracking Station which had operated in the valley from 1965 to 1984 before being dismantled. The remains have got informative explanatory plaques.

There is a picnic area at the with tables dotted around a shady area. You can also get to the site without doing the 6km walk that we did.

Looking back along the valley over the remains of the dish platform

After wandering around the tracking station site and visiting their welcome toilets we headed back the way we had come.

We encountered more light rain but decided to keep going without rain jackets as it was still quite warm.

Trevor stopped on the track with examples of the regrowth all around

All in all this was quite a pleasant walk over relatively flat terrain. The round trip of just on 12kms took just under 3 hours which included frequent photo stops as well as plaque readings and checking out the homestead and the other relics.

I'm pleased that I wore my hiking boots as the track was often rough and rocky when it was not marshy/swampy.

And as for the kangaroos ... what can I say? We did see quite a few birds. There was plenty of evidence of rabbit activity, freshly dug holes with rabbit droppings nearby, however we only saw two rabbits. Perhaps we would have seen more if we were walking in the early morning.

Great Alpine Walk: day 7

Today was going to be a reasonably easy day as much of the time was taken up with the return trip to Melbourne.

Breakfast was scheduled for 7:30am so we had set the alarm for 6:30 and did the final pack of our bags. Today we had opted for a light backpack for our walk along with runners on our feet rather than hiking boots.

Packed, we headed over to the Snowline Hotel where breakfast was to be served. We were a few minutes early and sat outside with the other earlybirds waiting for the doors to open.

Along with cereals, juice and yoghurt we were provided with a cooked breakfast. Scrambled eggs, bacon served with a tomato chilli jam on crusty toast. I had tomatoes rather than the bacon. It was far too much delicious food for this time of the morning.

Hot drinks included cappuccinos which was most welcome.

The luggage was stowed and we were off by 8:30am driving from Harrietville to Bright. The local Shire has gone to a great deal of effort to put up signs announcing the names of the areas, villages and towns. Smoko caught my fancy. I wonder what the background to the name is.

A market was being set up in the area of Bright where Phil had planned to park the bus so we were dropped instead and the bus parked elsewhere.

Our walk today was a gentle one along the Bright Canyon. It was a pretty stretch of the river with quite a lot of interesting geological features. The group enjoyed walking across the suspension bridges, too. All up the route covered 3.5km.

Our morning tea break was in Bright and Trevor and I enjoyed a drink while we watched the world wander by.

Back on the bus we headed for Melbourne with a lunch stop in the very dead town of Euroa. Almost nothing was moving in the town at 1:30 on a Saturday afternoon.

We had one further quick (toilet) stop before reaching Melbourne where the first drop off point was the airport. About half of the group was flying home on the Saturday. The next stop was the Alto in Bourke Street. This was a bonus as the trip notes said that the only city drop off would be at the Robinson. We didn't mind at all as it meant that we could get an earlier train out to Glen Waverley.

Jen collected us from the Glen Waverley station.

Trip completed.

Keep an eye out for the trip summary and the flora post. I'll get to them over the next couple of days.

Great Alpine Walk: day 6

The alarm rudely woke us at 6:00am. We spent a little while repacking our bags which had been tossed as we searched for hats and other items to lend to fellow walkers.

The breakfast once again was very nice. This morning I decided scrambled eggs and tomatoes would be the go and they were very nicely done.

We left Dinner Plain at 8 and headed through Hotham to the start of our walk along Razorback and out to Mt Feathertop. From the road we could see the path going along the ridge and, just before a climb, divide with one continuing up the ridge while the other skirted around the side. Fortunately we were taking the lower track which Phil told us was actually the quickest route. He got no complaints from us.

Looking out along Razorback

 

The start of the Razorback Trail

I had checked the log before setting out and found the entry for Prue and Brenton so they had tackled Mt Feathertop on the previous weekend as they had planned.

We had been warned that the track was stony and rocky for much of the way out and it was. It was hard underfoot. Phil set a fairly fast pace for the lead group. We stopped from time to time to make sure that everyone was accounted for before pushing on. Storms had been forecast for later in the day and this, in part, may have been the reason for the speed.

One of the stops with l-r: Trevor, Phil and Maria

Morning tea break

Due to the uneven surface, and the sometimes quite narrow track, much of the walking required close attention to where we were putting our feet. At times the track clung precariously close to drops. Not for the fainthearted!

The rough and stony track across Razorback

Some of the rocky surface we walked over. Note the upright sharp shale.

 The track was often narrow necessitating us to walk in single file.

Trevor is at the back of this group heading along this narrow trail

Often the views were obscured by vegetation so watching our foot placement meant that we were not missing as much as would have been the case if there was no view blocking trees.

Looking over the ranges from the Razorback Trail

Beside the path we were delighted by a glorious array of alpine flowers cheerfully showing their colours for our enjoyment. I must check whether dandelions are natives as they were growing in profusion through the areas ion which we walked.

All but one of the group had opted for the walk through to Harrietville. Maria turned back before reaching the start of the ascent up Mt Featuretop so that she could pick up Trish along the track back to the start of our walk and drive the bus down to Harrietville.

The wind had come up and at times it sounded like waves breaking on the beach. Quite eerie so high up.

Just before the track up to the summit of Mt Feathertop we spied Federation Hut and its most welcome toilet. Visiting these facilities had to wait until after our attack of Feathertop.

Phil gave permission to Joan, Maria Teresa and I to commence the climb up Mt Featuretop sand for us then to come down and go on the Harrietville.

Trevor had opted to stay at the junction and guard the track to make sure no one escaped.

Trevor (lying down in the centre) guarding the track

The climb was made difficult by the rocky surface, loose stones and narrow track. There were times when the track narrowed and hung out over drops.

 The wind also added the the challenge as it buffeted us throughout the climb.

These rocky, uneven steps were a welcome part of the climb up Feathertop

The flora changed during that final ascent. There was still the odd tree, but they were quite rare. Flowering plants were in profusion along the track and across the slops.

If we had thought that the insect life was busy during the earlier part of our walk it had nothing on the insects that assaulted us up on the top. I was pleased that I was wearing long pants.

The final bit of track to the top with hikers savouring the views.

We sat down on the rocky summit and ate our lunch while fighting off the insects. As we ate the rest of the group arrived in ones and twos.

The views across the ranges back to Hotham and down into the Ovens Valley provided quite a contrast to that from Mt Tabletop. The footprint of man was very evident in both directions. According to my GPS reading we reached 1901m which is the highest I was on this trip.

View from the top of Mt Feathertop looking towards the Ovens Valley

Lorraine on top of Mt Feathertop

Refreshed we headed down the mountain with me in the lead. I think I had an advantage as I didn't have poles to contend with on the narrow track. The training I have down on the rough tracks on Mt Arrawang and Mt Taylor meant that I was used to tackling uneven surfaces and coped quite well with the climb down.

Back at the junction we picked up Trevor and headed over the Federation Hut. This is a relatively new structure and was equipped with mobile phone connection points. The toilets were most welcome and used by most the group even if the supply of toilet paper had been exhausted. I knew that I had carried toilet paper for a reason.

Being suitably relieved we prepared to head down the track to Harrietville. Trevor, Alec and Marie-Louise joined Joan, Maria and I. Making sure that Phil would be informed as to who was in the lead party we set off down the mountain. We were facing an altitude drop of around 900m across 9km of track. Maria lead us down with me taking up the rearguard position. We made good progress down the mountain. It was encouraging to get notification of how we were progressing by my Runtastic app at each completed kilometre.

Making our way down to Harrietville: l-r: Marie-Louise, Trevor, Alec, Joan (most obscured by Alec) with Maira in the lead.

About a third of the way down the temperature started to rise and the humidity increased markedly. Both got worse the further down we went. The vegetation also changed. We left the alpine flora behind and moved into tall mountain ash, bracken and other ferns and a variety of different plants. The snow gums disappeared.

The downward track had been hacked out of the mountainside and this probably left many of the trees a little more vulnerable. There was evidence of the destructive power of wind and water with a significant number of fallen trees both above and below the track. In places trees had fall adjacent to the track and the huge root balls lay next to what was left of the track. In some cases the roots had been wrapped around numerous rocks that lay exposed in the tangle of roots of the fallen giants. In some places the track had almost been wiped out by the falling of the trees and care was needed to negotiate the significantly narrowed tracks where this occurred.

One of the many trees that has fallen next to the path and taken a chunk out of the track

In other places toppled trees lay across the track and we had to scramble over them.

Marie-Louise scrambling over a tree which had fallen across the track

As we zigzagged down the mountain we needed to make sure that everyone in the party was adequately hydrated. Alec and Marie-Louise did not have bladders so we needed to make sure that they had regular drink stops. Marie-Louise confessed that she and Alec had not started out with adequate water and they were pleased that Phil had pressed a 1.25l bottle of water on to them.

Part way down Maria Teresa started to be troubled by a sore knee and she and Joan dropped back to the rear of the group so that she could nurse her knee during the remaining descent.

Trevor took up the lead position.

As we descended we started to see the township below us through the trees.

Some of the lush vegetation encountered on the bottom half of the drop down to Harrietville

Even though we continued to drop Harrietville kept appearing to be in the distance until finally we passed a cleared area which contained a number of cabins but still we had not reached our target: the Snowline Hotel in Harrietville. We did reach a sealed road which was being spotted by drops of rain. Alas, that was all the rain that fell.

Almost there: l-r Joan, Maria, Trevor and Marie-Louise

Following Phil's directions to the hotel probably added a kilometre to the walk however it allowed us to check our the offerings of this small townships which included an ice creamery which we visited after we refreshed ourselves.

We had walked 21.3km with climb of at least 605m and an overall drop of 1762m. No wonder our glutes were a little sore the next morning.

Marie, our second guide, met us in the main street of Harrietville and provided us with refreshing cool drinks. Next came showers and a change of clothes. Our clothes were wet with perspiration and were hung up to dry overnight before being packed for the journey back to Melbourne.

Suitably refreshed we made the hot walk, along with quite a few of the other walkers, down the street to the ice creamery to partake of the offered gelato.

Dinner was scheduled for 7 o'clock at the pub and most of us got over there before the appointed hour to grab more cool drinks. We needed to replenish our fluids.

We had been able to check out some of the dinner options as people were served their meals as we waited for everyone in our party to arrive. They certainly looked interesting. I ordered a vegetable curry and Trevor the fish. Around our table we had a variety of selections from the menu and everyone was delighted with the quality of the food and the innovative touches that the chef had used to make the dishes both interesting and tasty.

The quality of the food served throughout the week was excellent. Pubs and county eateries have certainly changed over the decades and offer well prepared dishes that would put many city restaurants to shame.

I was really beat after five big days of walking and could hardly stay awake during my very tasty main course so forewent any thought of desert, no matter how interesting they sounded, and headed off to bed.