Australia day get together in Vic?

Thanks Peter, we are also still deciding on route and departure date. Glad to know about the Tom Groggin route being easy - we have been on the main road to Corryong too often. Interesting point about the fire hazard - never have liked places with only one access road.

Tony, I did look at your links but apparently as a non-member I can't get the track info. Maybe I should join - never really known much about ExplorOz.

Cheers,

Paul

That is just the GPS log you need to fork out $45 for, but the map can be copied using the snipping tool and the turn by turn table copied and that is plenty good enough for this track.

Thanks Peter,
All over it, & saved me getting the maps out. The knowledge on this forum is wonderful & should be appreciated! Mayfords spur is "closed" but I may or may not have been in or out that way.... Fire danger wise, Mayfords has a very large open plain & if the situation arose, I think out in the middle would be the place to be as you would be a couple of hundred metres in any direction from the tree line. Not perfect, but not too bad either I think.

As the long weekend comes along I am sorry to inform you all that Oka 334 will not be there as work has got me and will only have 2 days off so next time , thanks peter & kay

Hopefully will be coming, depending on work. Are there pit toilets at Mayfords?

No Peter, no toilets there.

Hi Peter and Sandra, Jan and I have decided to head straight down the Newell on Wednesday probably getting to Mayfords on Friday or Saturday. Thanks for the offer to stay on the way down but we could not afford any more time as we will be coming back via the coast over the following week which hopefully won't be too busy as the school holidays will be over by then.

Should all OKAs try and be on the same UHF channel so that if we come across another on the road we can hail them or them us, any suggestions for the channel?

No worries we're going down through Sydney tuesday or wednesday so we'll see you down there.
Probably best to stay on the 4wd channel 10 as most 4wd's seem to use it in the bush. Alternatively the main truckies/road channel as long as you don't mind the language.

We are heading down on Friday from our home base in Jindabyne. We are going via Barry Way towards Suggan Buggan and then the mountain road to Benambra as have heard it is picturesque. Then onto Hotham and down to Mayford. If anyone is passing through and needs to spend a night in the area you are welcome to camp in our home paddock.

Subject to change, but so far 2 possibilities- leave Bulahdelah Tuesday noon, then Sydney, Jindabyne, then either to Tom Groggin and down to Benambra or down Barry's way to Sugan Bugan and either McFarlanes or Limestone across to Benambra

Hi everyone
Just FYI, there is a situation developing in the Dargo area which we will need to watch over the next few days.
There is currently a bushfire 28 km NW of Dargo, with "Advice" (the lowest level warning) issued for a number of locales NW of Dargo and for Dargo itself.
The "Advice" was issued yesterday afternoon and has been updated this morning.
Mayford is roughly 30 km NE of the location of the fire and about 20km north of the area covered by the "Advice" but the Dargo High Plains Road does run through the "Advice" area.
More information is here: www.emergency.vic.gov.au/map#now

Cheers, John & Bronwyn

Maybe there needs to be a plan B in place as so many of us are coming. A possible alternative could be Geehi rest area, Kosciusko National Park. There are several lovely spots with huts by driving through the rest area across the river and down the track to the river - think it is the Swampy Plains River. A lovely area with potential to explore it.

If it is deemed unwise to go down into Mayfords there are plenty of spots up on the Dargo High Plains which are easily accessed and exited if the need arises due to either fires or wet weather.

Just in case there are any changes in venue, our phone numbers are 0431964438 or 0468305450 but we will have internet access anywhere that Telstra has 3G service so will check this topic as we go past thredbo

Tony
I've heard that the NP won't let anyone through anymore on a "transit" without paying the entry fee for the NP.
They always used to buck at letting you through at the Thredbo end but had heard that there were no exceptions. They used to insist that there was no stopping anywhere along the road to even use the loo's and if there was a few of us they would often have a ranger sitting at Tom Groggin to make sure we didn't stop before crossing the Murray into Vic. We had a huge argument with them on one trip as one of the group had never been that way before and stopped to take pics, the ranger turned up and threatened us with fines for not having entry permits, he was winning until the bloke at the back of the convoy came up and asked if he could borrow my wheelbrace to fix the flat tyre which was why we had all stopped!
Never had any problem coming from the Khancoban end as it was rarely manned.
We've often spent the night camped in Vic at Tom Groggin and then crossed into NSW and spent the day in Thredbo before heading on though without problems.

I have a NSW National Parks and Wildlife Service vehicle entry fee Exemption Card available free to Age Pensioners on application to NP service. That should allow me on to the Alpine way and if there is no separate camping fee on top of the entry fee, would mean free camping at T Groggin and other campgrounds.

Maybe some advantages in being a wrinkly - but not many. Free coffee and discount at Maccas too WooHoo!

Re the fire - "Good progress has been made by aircraft and ground crews over the last couple of days and the fire is now contained. Aircraft and crews will continue to patrol the fire ground.

"

Peter and Sandra James OKA 374 wrote: Tony
I've heard that the NP won't let anyone through anymore on a "transit" without paying the entry fee for the NP.
.

NP are bozo's!

camping at Bemm River tonight. Came up from Marlo yesterday, you used to be able to 4WD from Cape Conran to Pearl Point but NP have put gates across the track so you have to go round the Hwy.

There used to be lovely free camps by the ocean in the bush between Bemm and Pearl Point. Now NP have made them either Day Visit only or put bollards in and are charging $32 per night with no facilities and the road is badly corrugated

...correction to my venting above
just checked on the website and the Cape Conran Coastal Park is manged by Parks Victoria not NP

still, just another eg of how we are becoming more and more over regulated!

Parks Vic charges for camping in lots of parks including a few campsites in the high country, if it has a drop dunny then charges are possible.
Unfortunately as funds get tighter and parks are forced into a user pays ideal lots of places that have had traditional free camping are starting to charge, NSW, SA, Qld and WA have gone the same way along with online prebooking and paying the only way you can organise a spot. Pity internet access isn't available at most!!
You can no longer lob up, camp the night and move on in many places due to the requirement to prepay, who knows where they are going to be on a given night and who wants to be tied to a fixed intinerary, no allowance for weather or vehicle delays, so like up the Cape in Qld it will become a shemozzle where no one pays, people rock up to booked spots to find them in use and the place chokka's. Bookings have been in place for popular destinations in holiday periods for many years but to charge for no facilities and at the $30-40 dollar night rate all year round is just plain robbery. I suspect though that the hidden agenda is to reduce usage which in turn reduces maintenance and costs.

I will go down to NPWS office in Jindy in the morning and will check the current situation re Alpine Way. No one checks if you are coming in from Khancoban. In September you were able to transit for free but if you intended to stop you had to pay. I'll check if that has changed.

We just came down Barry Way on Saturday. It is a scenic drive. No problems for an Oka, just narrow in places if you meet another vehicle.
Weather report for Hotham is showers and maybe thunder storms for Friday, Saturday and Sunday. I would think fire threat would be low.
Rick will this make the last section fairly tricky or is it quite do able with care?