Australia day get together in Vic?

Paul, I haven't been in, in the last couple of years, but the road sections are absolutely fine. King spur track is treed, but fairly reasonable for the most part. Take your time( as I know you will) & I think you will be fine. The only section that I can think of that may be a problem, is once you get to the river crossings (almost to where the valley opens out to camp) it does get that river bank/ lots of water type of vegetation that can be a little overgrown. I would take a saw in your case, as I have never been in there at 3m high though!

Thanks Darren, I always do carry a saw...... so far we have only been stopped once because of our size. Looking forward to this meet, that high country is beautiful and I haven't seen it since my trail bike riding days forty years ago.

Its still just as beautiful as 40 years ago Paul. Im looking forward to this meet too, as we have quite a bit of interest from the other owners who haven't posted also. Cant wait to get some pictures, & see how many trucks we can get together in a beautiful spot.

Gday all,
We have adjusted our Tassie itinerary to make time for this get together. Looking forward to it.

Russ

Just working out time frames. How tricky is the King Spur Track as in terrain and visibility? Could it be done at night or would that not be wise?
Out of curiousity what are the Dinner plain and Mayford Spur Tracks like as an alternative?

Peter Davis wrote: Just working out time frames. How tricky is the King Spur Track as in terrain and visibility? Could it be done at night or would that not be wise?
Out of curiousity what are the Dinner plain and Mayford Spur Tracks like as an alternative?

King Spur not a good idea at night.

Mayford Spur is closed and impassable now with no access from Dinner Plain so as far as I know King Spur is only way in/out.

Clay sections at the bottom of King's Spur could be a challenge if it rains

Thanks Rick.

National Parks have closed a lot of high country tracks over the years. I was based at Rawson back in the 70's working as a surveyor for the Board on the Thompson tunnel up at Swingler. Travelled much of the area back then and still have the old maps.

A number of the old tracks that were really good then have now been closed, overgrown and almost unrecognisable. Some of it was for the dam but many like Mayford Spur have nothing to do with water catchmemts. Maybe a plus for the environment but seems a backward step re fire management and SES

Hi everyone Jan and I are contemplating joining the group for Aussie day 2015 if the invitation is open to Banana Benders. Do we need any national park passes etc for the weekend? We will be coming from just South of Brisbane so were thinking of getting down to Bright by Friday night and heading up Saturday morning. Is there anyone else thinking of doing something similar as it would be good to travel with someone else as we have never done the Victorian high country in old 356 before.

Noel
We were thinking of heading down from Dungog (north of Newcastle) earlier in the week probably on the 19th or 20th to arrive down in the HC/Mayford by the thursday before the hordes.
You're welcome to overnight here in the yard if you wish.

Thanks for the offer to stay Peter and Sandra, we were originally planning to head down the Newell but I will discuss it with Jan as it sounds like a good plan

Noel
Now that you've fitted the cummins, you'll probably not need an overnight stop you'll be so quick !!

I agree Greg I have to watch the speedo now as I actually can break the speed limit without trying too hard. I am going to try and fit a cruise control before this trip as I got quite a sore right foot on our last trip to the gulf in October

Hi all,

I may not be logged in between now & the Mayfords trip so see you all there.

As I said on another thread, it is time to give the OKA a run before mothballing it for another long spell, so we were thinking of exploring parts of the high country on our own so maybe we can attend this gathering as well.
I'll check the maps

I assume the camp site will be pretty close to the junction of Mayford Track and King Spur track, both of which are on the Open Street Map that I use.

Pos: -37.09145 147.24269 or close

There are a couple of ExploreOz treks close by.

One - www.exploroz.com/TrekNotes/EastVic/High_...Omeo.aspx#rqc_tabs=2 finishes up very close by at Omeo and would be a possibility for anyone coming from the north.

"High Country - Corryong to Omeo A great trek in the Vic High Country with a crossing of the Murray River. Travel through a range of fauna & altitudes. Views of Kosciusko abound from the summits of Mt’s. Pinnibar & Gibbo.Distance 237.59 km Minimum Days 2 Difficulty Difficulty 3.5/5 Suitable for 4WD "

The other is to the west a bit www.exploroz.com/TrekNotes/EastVic/High_...nkah.aspx#rqc_tabs=2 and the mid point could maybe be accessed from the gathering place at Mayford.

"High Country - Woods Point to Porepunkah This route enables you to travel directly from Woods Point to Wonnangatta Valley in 3 days, experiencing challenging 4WDing, ever-changing mountain scenery, historic cattlemans huts and peaceful rivers throughout the entire journey.
Difficulty Difficulty 4.5/5 Suitable for 4WD
Distance 279.44 km Minimum Days 4"

Is anyone planning to do either one of these of others either before or after the weekend?

Depending on work for me and still getting things sorted out Kay and I could be a show in 334 on that day

Hi all,

Doea anyone know if there is an Oka friendly track running from Tom Groggin to Benambra? Coming in from the North that looks like a good route.

Also, can we enter Mayford via the Victoria River Track from Cobungra and the Dinner Plains Track, or can we come in only via the Kings Spur Track?

Cheers,

Paul

Paul
You can get from TG to B quite easily as long as its fine and dryish.
You need to cross the Murray River at Tom Groggin and then climb up the range on either the Tom Groggin Track or the Davies Plain track. The TG track is the shorter and easier route and is basically 2wd from the top of the climb above Tom Groggin, it then turns into Mt Hope Rd which is timber jinker standard. Once at the top of the range it is 2wd all the way to Benambra initially on Beloka rd and then Limestone road.
If you look at the map TG track goes past the river crossing at Tom Groggin and curls around to Mt Pinnabar, wouldn't go that way as it is very steep, rather turn south along the river following the Bicentennial National Trail signs.
The Davies Plain track is the more scenic of the two but slower and more 4wd required.
We're heading down early but as yet haven't decided on a route or departure day.
You can only get to Mayford from the Dargo High Plains rd, all other routes have been closed for a few years now.
Depending on the weather/fire danger etc it may be prudent to stay out of Mayford as it would be a trap with only one access in and out.

Paul, Did you have a look at the trek I linked to. It goes from Corryong to Tom Groggin to Benambra to Omeo. Interactive map and full description and point by point instructions