australia:vic:overnightwalks
best overnight bushwalks in Victoria
see also:
- How far can an older person hike with average ability and a 12-14kg backpack?
- the rough rule of thumb is to plan to walk only 8-12 km per day of full pack carrying and count every 100m climbed or descended as an extra kilometre walked.
- Camp amongst the snow gums rather than in the lower Mountain Ash areas - Mountain Ash are prone to falling unpredictably
top rated overnight hikes in Victoria
- Howitt Circuits
- difficult graded Helicopter Spur, Mt Magdala, Mt Howitt, Howitt Spur circuit
- mod. graded Crosscut Saw circuit for fit walkers
- Feathertop Circuit
- Loch CarPark, Mt Loch, Machinery Spur, Blairs Hut, Diamantina Spur (VERY steep!), Feathertop, Razorback
- Cobbler Lake - Mt Speculation Circuit
- Cobbler Lake to Mt Spec, Kings Spur to Mt Konica, scrub bash to vehicle track, vehicle track to Mt Cobbler turnoff, Mt Cobbler, Cobbler Lake
- Baw Baw Plateau (near Walhalla)
- Mt Buller/Mt Stirling
- Cathedral Range Circuit
- hike 1:
- starts and finishes at Cooks Mill
- hike 2:
- could start this hike at Cooks Mil campground which is 1.4km and 100m ascent to get to Jawbone carpark via St Bernards Track
- park at Jawbone carpark, hike via Jawbone Creek Track up the strenuous 260m ascent ~1.2km to the Farmyard campground (730m elevation, no facilities, bush camp - some carry firewood up!), short hikes to South Jawbone peak and North Jawbone peak, then optionally:
- hike back down to the steep descent back to Jawbone carpark, or,
- hike north to Dugleetor's campground at 720m elevation and with views to NW over Cathedral North Peak (further 2.9km with 100m ascent and 139m decent) and Ned's Saddle / Ned's Peak (and 1km 126m ascent, 66m descent further hike to The Cathedral and 270m further to Cathedral North Peak and further 750m hike to Little Cathedral Peak with return to Neds Saddle via Little Cathedral Track), or,
- hike south along the Razorback Ridge Track then Canyon Track south to the Sugarloaf Saddle carpark (Nb. the Well's cave track is ascent only)
- Major Mitchell Plateau in the Grampians
- Wilsons Prom
- classic circuit: Telegraph Saddle > Sealers' Cove > Refuge Cove > Waterloo Bay
- circuit of the northern wilderness area of Wilson's Promontory, Five Mile Beach car park > Johnny Souey Cove > Tin Mine Cove > Chinaman's Swamp > return
- Grampians Peaks Trail Hike
- choose from:
- 160km 13 day hike
- 3 day hikes
- Great Ocean Walk
- Wilderness Coast Walk, from Malacoota to Merrica River
- Beeripmo Walk in Mount Cole
- unfortunately burnt down in 2024 - awaiting re-opening
- 21km, 11hrs, moderate
- the perfect family overnight walk, not too hard, well signed, some wildlife, not too far from Melbourne, ideal for kids
- 1st day is 8-9km mainly uphill, ascending 700m and takes 4hrs
- Beeripmo campsite is well maintained with two drop toilets, a few fire rings and a rainwater tank but tent sites are gravel/dirt so you may want to bring a groundsheet.
- 2nd day:
- most people don't walk to the actual top of Mt Buangor (987m) as there is no view but there is a moss covered cairn of rocks and a small timber shelter-like structure, most stop at the lookout!
- from Mugwamp Camp onwards is downhill all the wat back to Richards Camp car park
- consider also taking the side trip to Mt Buangor and maybe cave hill and maybe even the Glut to extend it a bit
- most use Chapman's notes for navigation
- The Fortress
- in the Grampians, is pretty rugged, no tracks, no notes, and some lovely scenery
- The Black Range
- west of the Gramps
- Reedy Creek Chasm
- Grand Strzelecki Track
- very pretty along the creek
- Little Desert - Desert discovery walk
- go in via Brumby Point, out via Forlorn Hope. This will need a car shuffle
- Mt Bogong
- Victoria's tallest peak at 1986m, it is a strenuous climb best done in summer, avoid the summit in poor weather as navigation can be difficult and fatal
- can camp at Mountain Creek Car Park at the base
- via Staircase Spur
- most direct route but steep, ascending 1370m over 7km taking 3-4hrs, can be done as a hard 7-10 hour day walk
- can camp half way up at Bivouac Hut (2hrs hike up from Mountain Creek Car Park) which provides emergency shelter, wood fire and perhaps rain tank water, as the Bogong summit is very exposed
- the last part of the walk is a steep climb – nearly 200m of altitude in under a kilometre – which is the most exposed section, and treacherous in icy conditions
- via Eskdale Spur
- track climbs steeply up the Eskdale Spur past Michell Hut to the tree line where the track intersects with the Granite Flat Track
- at the summit you can:
- walk 3km east to Cleve Cole Hut
- walk 1.5km west to West Peak (1965m) and views of Mt Beauty
- Great South Western Ocean Walk
- Licola region
- gravel road north of Licola is relatively slow going by car - Melbourne to Mt Howitt carpark takes 6-6.5hrs drive!
- easy 15km return Macalister Springs and Howitt link day hike
- challenging but spectacular 4 day Viking Circuit hike
- this follows part of the Australian Alps Walking track (AAWT) where there are no trail markers or signs and you need to have remote navigation capability
- trail passes along and over places called, The Cross Cut Saw, Mt Buggery, Horrible Gap, Mt Speculation (camp), Mt Despair, The Viking (camp at Viking Saddle), Wonnangatta River and the Zeka Spur Track and Wonnangatta Spur and looks down over the Terrible Hollow
- requires bush bashing down the Wonnangatta Spur for hours then the awful steep slippery gravel Zeka Spur 4wd track for 5km
- likey to have lots of trees fallen on the tack especially on the way to Catherine Saddle
- you will need some preparation for this trip and good weather - alpine copperhead snakes are common, as is narrow trails with close scrub, so boots and long gaiters are advisable
- two groups can complete this circuit in opposite directions from Mt Howitt Car park and meet at Viking saddle to camp together for the night.
- easy 8.5km day hike circuit Bryces Gorge, waterfalls, Guys hut
- The Crinoline
- MacFarlane Saddle carpark - Nyimba overnight camp - Lake Tali Karng
- 2hr fairly flat hike along the Wellington Plains from MacFarlane Saddle carpark to the overnight camp at Nyimba (no facilities, c1400m elevation, snow gums)
- then strenuous return day hike down to Lake Tali Karng and back up
- optional short hike to Miller's Hut (can also 4WD to this hut from MacFarlane Saddle but steep and needs lots of clearance)
- Mt Wellington, Lake Tali Karng and the Valley of Destruction
- Moroka Gorge, Snowy Bluff
australia/vic/overnightwalks.txt · Last modified: 2024/11/07 13:30 by gary1