IntroductionIt has been a couple of years since I have rejoiced in the splendor of the high country and Murray River in the Corryong area. Corryong is situated in the north-east corner of Victoria, 120km east of Albury/Wodonga on the Murray Valley Highway at the headwaters of the Murray River. Its proximity to the breathtaking Australian Alps, together with its legendary "Man from Snowy River" fame make it a popular destination for visitors seeking to explore, experience and discover some of Australia's less commercialized iconic attractions. Corryong is famous as the final resting place of Jack Riley, considered by many to be the inspiration for the hero in A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River. The upper reaches of the Murray River remain almost the same as when Paterson visited in 1890 and was moved to immortalize it in his famous poem. A paradise for outdoor enthusiasts, Corryong is a popular destination for rock climbing, rafting and horse riding, and a breathtaking natural environment for bush walks, 4WD tours, cycling and fishing. Participants of this trip were: Glenn & James Al, Lyn, Tegan and Callum Jim and Jenny Adam and Kirsten
Day
One Thursday 24th March 2005 – Rowville to Corryong:
We met up with Jim and Jenny on the Monash Freeway just before 10.00am and headed first into town, then out again as we reached the Hume Highway. It was a nice sunny day and the traffic was light as we made good time, stopping for lunch north of Seymour. Jimbo stopped to refuel his vehicle in Wodonga before we continued on our way along the Murray Valley Highway. The traffic was still light, and we weren't held up until just before Colac Colac behind a couple of caravans. They turned off into the nearby Colac Colac caravan park as we continued on towards Corryong.
The Mount Mittamatite Caravan Park is just before town, and we pulled in to be greeted by Al, Lyn, Tegan and Callum who had driven from Wodonga this morning. After checking in, the campers were maneuvered into place under the shade of the elms? before a quick set up and happy hour. Dinner was prepared and cooked and we relaxed by the fire after a long days drive. We were visited by a few of our neighbours who were on a bus tour originating near Tamworth in NSW. They were an hilarious bunch, with the youngest being 40 years of age. One of the ladies read a couple of poems to us, and they were extremely funny. When they had run out of port, they scuttled back to their tents not looking forward to the 5.00am wake up. A couple more drinks and everyone headed off to their respective campers for a good nights sleep.
Day
Two Friday 25th March 2005 – Corryong:
It was an early morning rise, with the bus crew making a hell of a racket packing up and leaving. It was also a chilly morning, but the shower soon woke me up. The fire was stoked as we sat around warming ourselves up as breakfast was prepared. At 10.00am we set out and first stop was the Cemetery. A quick walk around and we located the grave of Jack Riley, reputed to be the hero in A.B. 'Banjo' Paterson's poem The Man from Snowy River. The odometer read 299999km so after some slow circle work, the 80 Series Landcruiser reached the 300000km mark. Photos were taken of the dash as well as the truck, before we headed back to the caravan park to check if Adam and Kirsten had arrived. They hadn't so we took off to the Bluff Falls. Following the Briggs Gap road to its end, we turned right onto Cudgewa Tintaldra road. Soon we turned left onto Cudgewa North road before turning left onto the Stony Creek road. This road soon turned to dust as we passed a couple of farms, and we were soon at the car park. After a 200 metre return walk down to the viewing platform for some photos we headed toward the Jingellic Hotel via the Upper Dogmans, McNamaras and Sandy Creek tracks.
On the Sandy Creek track, we were stopped in our tracks by a fallen gum tree. After removing the light branches by hand, Al pulled our his handy tool kit that contained a small axe and pruning saw. We quickly cut away the last of the large branches blocking our way, and continued on. It was a quick trip as we got back onto the bitumen, and we arrived at the Jingellic Hotel at 1.42pm. Why is that time significant? The kitchen was closing at 1.45pm, so we were just in time. The kids were obviously starving as they ate all their food, and my chicken parmagiana was magnificent. After lunch, we followed the Murray River upstream via Walwa, Tintaldra and Towong. The Towong racecourse was where parts of the "Phar Lap" movie was filmed. When we arrived back at the caravan park, Adam and Kirsten had arrived and set up their tent. Introductions were made and happy hour began. As the light faded, dinner was prepared and the fire lit and we again relaxed and laughed our way into the night. It was not a late night as it was to be an early start in the morning.
Day
Three Saturday 26th March 2005 – Corryong:
It was another chilly morning and again the shower breathed some life into me. After breakfast, showers, and some fuel top ups, we left the caravan park at 9.00am with Mount Pinnibar our destination. We took the turn off to Thowgla and continued along the road to Thowgla Upper, before the bitumen ended and the dirt began. We continued along the Thowgla road, before taking a detour up the Gentle Annie track. The trucks were all put into low range as we climbed slowly up the track. We were stopped by another fallen tree, but this time Jim pulled out the chainsaw, and we were soon on our way again. We reached a height of 1121 metres before descending once again onto the Walkers Logging road. Another quick diversion down the Dam track took us past a small dam covered in water weeds. It was a short track and we were soon back onto the Walkers Logging road until we reached the Boebuck track. This track didn't appear to be used terribly often as we climbed and twisted our way close to the Mount Boebuck summit of 1496 metres. A smoko stop was held as we reached a fork in the track and chatted about what we had covered so far. After continuing along the Boebuck track, I became confused between the paper map and the moving map software on the Pocket PC. Making an error in judgment, we turned around and back tracked via the Playgrounds and Mt. Tempest Logging tracks to the junction with Marginal road. We decided to have lunch here as I tried to figure out where I had gone wrong.
After lunch, we continued along Marginal road, still a bit confused, until we reached the Pinnibar Jeep track. Checking the paper map against the moving map, I realised that the paper map was out of date, and the track I was looking for no longer existed and was not sign posted. Happy now that I knew exactly where we were, we climbed up to the summit of Mount Pinnibar. At 1772 metres, and a clear day, we had a magnificent 360º view or the surround mountains as well as the Snowy Mountains and Mount Kosciusko. Having taken a few photos, and knowing time was getting away from us, we headed slowly down the rough and tumble Mount Pinnibar track to the Tom Groggin track. After following the track through the Tom Groggin property, we eventually reached the water crossing. Another smoko was had as we allowed the diffs to cool a bit as we watched a few 4wd vehicles cross the Murray from the New South Wales side.
Soon it was our turn to cross, and I went first, with Jenny, Lyn and James in the truck. The water was shallow and the bow wave only just reached the bottom of the bull bar. Al was next, with Kir, Tegan and Callum in the truck, and Tegan hanging her head out to watch the water. Jimbo was next, followed by Adam. Adam powered through and created the biggest bow wave and nearly ran me over as I took photos of his crossing. We didn't have much time to check the vehicles as a large group was waiting to cross into New South Wales behind us. We pushed on, and soon reached the bitumen on The Alpine Way. Had we turned right, we would have reached Thredbo, but instead we turned left and headed towards Khancoban. A toilet stop was needed, so we pulled in at Geehi, and whilst the other checked out one of the restored huts, Adam and I crossed the Geehi River a couple of times. We continued along the Geehi Walls track for a little way, just to cross the Geehi River a few more times, before we returned to The Alpine Way. The speed limit was 80 kmh as we twisted and turned our way through the Kosciusko National Park. There were a few close calls with over zealous drivers heading in the opposite direction to us, especially round some of the tight bends, but we made it safely to Khancoban. The sun was in a very bad spot as we hiked it back across the border into Victoria and made our way back to Corryong.
As soon as we arrived back at the caravan park, I started de-boning and marinating two legs of lamb, as the girls prepared salads, Jim cooked spuds in his camp oven on the stove, and Al and Adam supplied the drinks. The owner of the caravan park kindly donated his spotlessly clean bbq for us to use, and a relative of his had taken over the camp kitchen area for a 21st birthday party. The sun started to fade from the sky as the lamb was placed on the bbq, and soon the 12V lights came on as dinner was ready. As we all helped ourselves, bottles of red appeared from everywhere and were cracked as we again enjoyed an evening in front of the fire. The 21st birthday party started and was quite timid compared to what I remember of mine a few years ago. In fact our little group out witted, out lasted and out played the 21st and it finished without a bang around 11.30pm. It wasn't long though before the alcohol took effect and it was time for bed.
Day
Four Sunday 27th March 2005 – Corryong:
It was a slow morning, but an early one, as the kids awoke to find that they had been visited by the Easter Bunny over night. With screams of "look what I got", "look what I found", "look there's another one" I left the safety of the camper and hit the showers. We lazed around the campfire for a few hours before deciding a pub lunch was in order. We drove through town and reached the pub as the weather warmed up. We were lucky enough to score a table outside, but the lack of shade turned out to be an annoyance. The pub was running on a limited menu as it was quite busy and they had a booking for over 25 bikies who were on their way into town for a relaxing lunch. James and my meal came out first, and I had finished mine before we all decided it was too hot in the sun and moved inside. It was good timing as the others lunch was ready. All the meals were fabulous, although we were all a bit mystified by the steak sandwiches that had no bread on top.
After lunch, we took a drive up to the top of Mount Mittamatite. I couldn't remember where the lookout was, but having reached as far as we could, we turned around and found the turn off a little way back down the mountain. The air was a bit smoky due to controlled burn offs in the area, but we still managed to take a couple of group shots before we headed off. The map showed a track named Kiells Lane track that would take us on a short cut back to town. We turned down this track and slowly descended before we found ourselves in some farmers paddock. We continued driving and soon ended up at the farmhouse, and I felt a bit embarrassed as I enquired with the farmer as to where I thought I was. It turned out I was in the right place, but the track was actually a management track and we shouldn't be on it. Again the lack of signage and old maps got us into trouble. The farmer allowed us to continue on our way, and soon we were on Kiells Lane, that took us back into town.
We arrived back at the caravan park as the light began to fade, daylight savings was over for another year and so the sun was disappearing earlier time wise for us. Dinner was cooked on the bbq in the campers kitchen and consumed with a few beers before dishes were done and it was time to relax by the fire....again. I was a bit stuffed, so I stopped drinking rather early, but only managed to last until 11.00pm before I headed off to bed.
Day
Five Monday 28th March 2005 – Corryong to Rowville:
I
was awoken during the night by the sound of rain drops on the camper and
thought...bloody beautiful...NOT. By the time I rose, the sun was
Back on the road, we drove through Wodonga before reaching the Hume Highway. The traffic was starting to build as we neared Wangaratta, where we turned off to fill up on fuel and have some lunch in the park. Once the kids had worn themselves out, we again joined the throng of travelers on their way back to Melbourne. The traffic was getting busier as we turned off at Broadford to farewell the Grierson's. Adam and Kir, James and I rejoined the Hume Highway, and by the time we reached the Wallan turn off it was bumper to bumper. A quick decision, and phone call, was made and we turned off at Wallan and headed towards Romsey. It was decided we would gate crash the Grierson's and have some dinner before continuing on later via the Tullamarine Freeway.
On arrival at Romsey, Adam pulled out his brilliant compact bbq and proceeded to set up on Lyn's kitchen bench. The next surprise was when he walked in with a massive amount of sausages that had been sitting nicely in the Waeco in the back of his truck. After Adam and Kir had been given the grand tour of Al's sheds, we sat down to enjoy salad and sausages. It was 9.00pm when we hit the road again, and the drive was nice and easy as the traffic was light. James and I farewelled Adam and Kir over the UHF as they turned off at Warrigal Road. James and I were soon home, and the truck and camper were left on the front lawn as James was bundled into bed, and I soon followed.
It was a fantastic weekend spent with a great group of people. It was a pleasure to meet Jenny, Adam and Kir for the first time, and enjoy each others company so much. The weather, sights and drives were a lot of fun as was the time spent in front of the fire. I thank everyone who joined me for such a great time for both James and I. I am sure there will be a lot more fun in the future. Another special thanks has to go to the proprietors of the Mt. Mittamatite Caravan Park who made us feel extremely welcome and allowed us to relax during our entire stay.
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