Mt Wellington Trip Report

The weather report for the Queens Birthday weekend indicated the High Country was about to receive 20mm of rain on Friday – we had a wet and slippery trip in store for us.

Day 1 – Bendigo to Low Saddle Camp

Friday 8th June 2018

Leaving Bendigo on Friday afternoon at about 3.30pm, 5 vehicles travelled over in the rain getting into Mansfield about 6.00pm. After fuelling up and grabbing a bite to eat, we headed for Sheepyard Flat at around 7.00pm.

I had another campsite in mind just over the bridge on Low Saddle Rd – a track just on the left that leads to a great campsite. Paul had arrived earlier and had just set up camp; the other 5 vehicles all set up camp in the rain and then we congregated underneath Brett’s awning having a chat and a few beers before heading off to bed.

Day 2 – Low Saddle Camp to Millers Hut

Saturday 9th June 2018

Saturday morning, the rain had stopped so we packed up camp and hit the tracks by 9.00am heading back out of camp onto Low Saddle rd across the bridge and right onto Brocks Rd. Travelling 2.6km down Brocks Rd we got to our first track – Nobs track, and after passing a few deer hunters telling us that Nobs track was fairly wet and slippery we kept going to give it a try.

Nobs Track was overgrown and after 100m we got to our first hill climb. I gave it a go and only made it halfway so I backed down for another attempt and still couldn’t make it. Out come the winch, and I had to winch up this section. Then Andrew give it ago and same result – he had to be winched up as well. Brett had a go and was winched too until he got about three quarters the way up and his winch started playing up with not much power. We winched Brett back down the hill and Andrew and myself found a spot to turn around and come back down because the track was getting steeper and more rockier. We’ll come back and have another go at this track in the dry.

I went back into the maps and reassessed the situation, and we decided on Mt Wellington and Millers Hut. So we headed for Mt Wellington, continuing along Brocks rd and we come across two guys in a Troopcarrier with a flat tyre. We helped them fix the tyre and they tagged along behind for a while. Reaching King Bill Saddle we continued along King Billy Track bringing back memories from the Australia Day trip on how rough and rocky it is to travel on, and had lunch on the Macalister River stopping for about 45mins.

We took off again past the Rock Scree and up along to Howitt rd, and we stopped at Howitt Hut for a quick look. Leaving the hut, we headed along Howitt Rd, we then stopped at Dimmick Lookout. We got there just as the fog rolled in, making photos a bit hard, but as the fog rolled through we got some good photos, and we headed off again passing the Airport on Howitt Rd. Reaching Arbuckle Junction and turning left on Moroka Rd for 16km, turning right onto Moroka Range track for 3km and turning right onto Mt Wellington Track. The start was a bit slippery after the rain and then it became rocky and climbs up over Mt Wellington reaching heights of 1650m. The track then heads down to Millers Hut being the second oldest hut on public land built in 1916.

Pulling into the hut it was busy with other campers, we found a spot and set up camp, dodging the showers as they come through and we had a good night around the fire.

Day 3 – Millers Hut to Thomastown campsite

Sunday 10th June 2018

Sunday morning waking up at 6.00am and having breakfast, I decided to travel to the Sentinels. We got going at 9.00am, just getting past the hut it got very tight and overgrown, having to cut up a tree that had fallen across the track. It then turned narrower, rocky, with bogholes and short steep rock sections. After traveling 5km taking about 30mins we reached the Sentinels Lookout then we had a 500m walk to the actual lookout. The walking track is very overgrown, and walking over rocks we come to the most amazing view of the High Country looking north over Lake Tali Karng.

After the short walk back from the lookout I decided to take a right turn to the Gable End, the track was easy at the start then it become rough and rocky, it was like driving over hell until you get to the Gable End, but the view was sensational. Without doubt, the best view I’ve seen in the whole of the High Country overlooking the Avon Wilderness Area.

After getting ourselves away from that view back into the vehicles and travelling back over what we had just driven over (narrow, bogholes, rock and steep rocky sections), we passedg Millers Hut again, and we got up the top of Mt Wellington for some great photos. Tim went down the bottom of Mt Wellington and filmed us coming down from the top, at the end of Mt Wellington track we had lunch, then we needed to find a camp for the night.

[youtube https://youtu.be/mlYAHBmOY2M]

We headed back along Moroka rd to Arbuckle Junction and turned left on Tamboritha rd and pulled up at Thomastown campsite just on Kellys Lane. We found a spot, cut up some firewood and had another great night around the fire.

Day 4 – Thomastown Campsite to Bendigo

Monday 11th June 2018

Monday morning we woke to the biggest frost we have seen in the High Country. -5 degrees, ice covering the vehicles and the awnings, the condensation in the swags had turned into ice, the water in my hose for water had frozen, water left out for washing dishes had frozen a 1cm thick sheet of ice, just WOW. We had breakfast and the pack up was slow – awnings would not roll up and had to be tied up with ratched straps until they thawed out, zips wouldn’t zip up and most of the vehicles only just started even though we had Alpine diesel in the tanks.

So we managed to get on the road by 9.00am for the trip home, heading down Tamboritha rd to Licola, it was icy and we took it slow. We aired up as we hit the asphalt at the Wellington river Bridge, getting to Licola for a quick stop and roll the awnings up properly, then we headed up Heyfield-Jamieson rd over Mt Skene to Jamieson pub for lunch.

After lunch we headed for home through Mansfield then back to Bendigo, but on the way home I got to the Elmore-Heathcote Rd and the Toyota lost power and came to a stop. The fuel gauge wasn’t working right and it ran out of fuel, so I rang the RACV we had an hour wait, Paul and Brett waited until RACV turned up and then Brett headed home while we loaded the Toyota up onto the trailer and off to the Elmore BP where I fuelled up the main tank and it started straight away. Paul and I headed off, getting home about 8.30pm.