Alpine National Park - the high country

around Bright, Mount Beauty, Omeo and Dargo

The Bogong and Dargo High Plains and associated alpine peaks are part of a unique Australian alpine environment. Victoria’s highest mountain, Mt Bogong (1986 m) and second highest, Mt Feathertop (1922 m) dominate the subtle, broad undulating high plains. Combined with extremes in weather, these features provide some of the most spectacular landscapes and recreational opportunities in Victoria.

Getting there and getting around Fire In The Alps The area is situated approximately 365 km north- During the summer of 2003 a number of fires east of Melbourne or 90 km south-east of Albury- swept through the Australian Alps from Mt Wodonga. Buffalo to Namadgi. Burnt visitor facilities and directional signs will be replaced with the From the south access is via the Great Alpine exception of some historic huts, which may Road, from Bairnsdale to Omeo and Mt Hotham remain as ruins. If planning a visit to a hut check or the Dargo High Plains Road from Dargo to Mt it has not been destroyed by fire. Over time the Hotham. From the north access is via the natural environment will recover although some Bogong High Plains Road from Mount Beauty or alpine (ie mossbed & wetland) and subalpine the Great Alpine Road from Bright to Mt Hotham. (snowgum & alpine ash) communities will take Please remember that mountain roads are often longer to regenerate. narrow and winding and due to cold conditions at Please keep to tracks and trails especially in the any time of the year, potentially slippery and icy. fire affected areas. Regeneration of sensitive Snow chains must be carried during the snow burnt areas will be assisted without the season and fitted where directed. additional impact of trampling. Plants Animals These habitats Parks Victoria Ranger support a variety of animals such as the rare Mountain Pygmy possum, “Victoria has all the outdoors Broad - toothed you could wish for – mountains, Rat, Bush Rat, forests, beaches and bushland, Brown and Dusky all preserved in our parks. Antechinus and Lesser Long-eared Bat. Our natural landscapes have been here longer than anyone Snow gum woodlands give way to alpine herbfields, Common bird species are the Australian Kestral, Flame Robin, Little Raven, Pied Currawong and knows, and together we can a delight in late spring and summer. Richards Pipit. Reptiles in the alpine make sure they’re here forever.” The Bogong and Dargo High Plains contain the environment include the White-lipped Snake and most extensive and botanically rich area of Alpine Copperhead. alpine vegetation in the Victorian Alps. An interesting insect, the Bogong Moth inhabits Small changes in aspect, wind, cold air drainage, the high plains and peaks between November water, soil and rock type create a mosaic of plant and April - away from the heat of the inland communities such as mossbeds, herbfields, For more information plains. heathlands and Snow Gum woodlands. call the Parks Victoria Information Centre Bogong Moths shelter on 13 1963 or in rock crevices where visit our website at they provide food for www.parkweb.vic.gov.au Mountain Pygmy possums and Little Ravens

For further information Cross Country Skiing In other areas if you must use a fire, keep it small and within fireplaces provided. No fires, Parks Victoria The high country of the area boasts some of including camp stoves, may be lit on days of Information Centre Australia’s finest ski touring country, from well Total Fire Ban. 13 1963 defined and groomed trails near the resorts to or visit the the winter wilderness of the Dargo High Plains. Tour guides Parks Victoria website www.parkweb.vic.gov.au Popular localities include areas adjacent to the A number of commercial tour operators run tours Falls Creek and Mt Hotham Alpine Resorts such (4 wheel driving, nature rambles, bushwalking, Parks Victoria offices at: as the Bogong High Plains, JB Plain and the horseriding and rafting) in this area. Mt Loch area. Bright (03) 5755 0000 Contact Tourism Alliance Victoria for details on Mt Beauty (03) 5754 4693 Mt Bogong, The Razorback, Mt Feathertop and (03) 9650 8399 or visit their website Dargo (03) 5140 1243 the Dargo High Plains are visited by more www.tourismalliance.com.au. Omeo (03) 5159 0600 experienced skiers. Take care! Downhill Skiing and Alpine Caring for the All visitors, and especially walkers, should environment Resorts realise that weather conditions can change rapidly in alpine areas. Help us care for your parks The alpine resorts of Falls Creek and by remembering these Mt Hotham, adjacent to the Alpine National Park, Snowfalls can be experienced at any time of guidelines: are managed by separate resort management the year and water can be extremely scarce boards, and are not part of the Alpine National All native plants, animals, Always be prepared with: archaeological and historic Park. • Warm clothing sites are protected by law These areas have been set aside to provide • Wind and waterproof jacket Take rubbish home with you. accommodation and facilities for downhill skiing, "Carry out what you carry in". snow boarding and other snow based recreation. • Gloves, hat and strong footwear Dogs and other pets are not Setting up camp • First aid kit and sunscreen permitted • Energy food and water Always check fire danger Dispersed bush camping is permitted throughout • Compass and relevant topographical map forecasts. No fires (including the area, except within 200 metres of the Bogong Also, please keep your group small (4-8 people). stoves) on days of Total Fire High Plains or Pretty Valley roads. Ban. Before you go, let someone know where you are If you prefer the use of toilets, picnic tables and Use a portable stove instead going, and when you expect to return and fill in fireplaces the following camping areas are the intentions book provided. of lighting a fire, especially provided:- above or near the treeline Please keep to walking tracks, particularly in old • JB Plain between Hotham Village and Fuel Stove Only Area. Due gold mining areas where there may be mine to vegetation damage and Dinner Plain on the Great Alpine Road shafts. visual scarring no campfires • Buckety Plain, Rasberry Hill and Langfords are to be lit on (any of the West (horse yards) on the Bogong High Other publications access tracks to) Mt Bogong Plains east of Falls Creek and Mt Feathertop For more details and extensive coverage of the • Mountain Creek at the foot of Mt Bogong Alpine National Park see the following maps and Firearms are only permitted in near Tawonga publications: accordance with Hunting Regs When camping you should be fully self sufficient Touring the Victorian Alps 1:140,000 Choose a firm, dry,well- with food, water and camping equipment. Enjoy drained camp site at least 20 VicMap 1:50,000 Bogong Alpine Area visiting the huts but do not rely on them for metres from any water Vicmap 1:50,000 Dargo Plains - Cobungra courses. accommodation - they may be difficult to find or already occupied. Vicmap 1:50,000 Howitt - Selwyn Use of vehicles, including trail bikes, is restricted to Huts Alpine National Park Parknotes existing roads and tracks. • Source of the Rivers Vehicles must be fully There are nearly 60 huts and hut ruins in the registered and drivers Around Mitta Mitta, Omeo, Tallangatta & area, many of them historic having been built by Corryong licensed. early graziers, miners or government authorities. Do not pollute waterways • Our Mountain Heritage with refuse, detergent or Wallaces Hut (built in 1889) on the Bogong High Around Heyfield, Licola & Dargo human waste. Use existing Plains is typical of the bush architecture • Valleys & Bluffs toilets or bury your waste at employed by the cattlemen of that time. Some Around Mansfield & Whitfield least 100m from any huts are still used for the original purpose by waterway or camp sites. families whose ancestors built them. • Wilderness & the Snowy Around Benambra, Buchan and Bonang Enjoy a visit to a hut but do not use them for Fires • Horseriding Parknote accommodation. Always Firewood supplies are limited especially in the The Australian Alps Walking Track and Alpine carry a tent. alpine and subalpine areas so the use of National Park by John Siseman (Pindari Water - be self-sufficient and camping stoves is preferred. Publications) treatment of any water Explore the Australian Alps - car touring guide to collected is recommended. Mt Bogong, Mt Feathertop and approaches are fuel stove only areas. the Australian Alps national parks by Australian Alps Liaison Committee (New Holland Press) October 2004 In the Past To Wodonga To Mitta Mitta Walking KIEWA Many Aboriginal groups / people have a Some of the best mountain walking country in Australia is found in the Alps. Some tracks are remarkably rich history of Aboriginal use in the RD Victorian Alps and a vast knowledge of the cultural suitable for day and weekend family walks; others sites, oral history and ancestral stories that relate C531 Wodonga are long, rough and challenging. to the Alpine region of Victoria. Throughout the Kiewa GAP l VALLEY Wangaratta HUME Source of Shorter family walks can be undertaken to Mt l HWY many seasons each year, Aboriginal groups would GREAT the Rivers Loch, along the Hotham to Dinner Plain Trail, come from as far away as the coast and south C543 FWY Ropers Lookout, Wallace - Cope Hut circuit, west slopes, to meet with the tribes of the l HUME Bright Heathy Spur and Mountain Creek. mountains for intertribal ceremonies and feasting OMEO on Bogong Moths. During these festivities they River TRAPPERS Mountain Creek Longer more challenging day and overnight hikes HWY l would exchange cultural objects and materials for Parks Mansfield l are the Razorback or Bungalow Spur to Mt Victoria Omeo ALPINE Valleys and Bluffs tools. Aboriginal sites such as shelters and Office Parks MOU Wilderness and Feathertop, Tawonga Huts and the Fainters, and Victoria Ck The High the Snowy Staircase Spur or the High Plains to Mt Bogong. campsites provide a deeper understanding of the Office Tawonga N CREEK Mountain ALPINE To TAIN Country RD Aboriginal connection with the high country. RD NATIONAL Wangaratta HWY The long distance Australian Alps Walking Track Throughout the Alps their custodianship still PARK Bairnsdale l Ovens Our (AAWT) passes through the area on it’s 650 km endures. PRINCES Mountain C536 journey between Walhalla (Gippsland) and Heritage Following in the footsteps of explorers such as Bright Mount l Tharwa (near Canberra). UPPER Mt John Mitchell and Baron von Mueller, miners and Beauty Bogong (East 1986m This ‘track’ varies from a four wheel drive track graziers pioneered the mountains in the 1850s in along the Barry Mountains to a foot pad across the HWY search of gold and suitable summer pastures. KIEWA snow grass plains of the high country, from Mt

Branch) rack Hotham to Mt Bogong. The value of the mountains for recreation and TTrack tourism was realised as early as the 1880s with Bogong Village MT WILLS Bushwalking along the AAWT and other longer the establishment of the Bright Alpine Club and Big HISTORIC AREA Branch) SEPARATE PARKNOTE AVAILABLE routes is only for fit, experienced self reliant numerous Government hospices. River Bogong VALLEY walkers. Pretty Valley FALLS CREEK l In 1939 the SEC began work on a major scheme ALPINE RESORT Mount Wills Mt l Spion (Walk-in Only) Sunnyside Fainter for electricity generation in the Kiewa Valley. The (West Kopje North l Mt Walking Track Parknotes aqueducts, Rocky Valley and Pretty Valley dams l Nelse on the Bogong High Plains are all part of the RD River B500 Rocky Glen l Walks around Bogong High Plains scheme which was completed in 1961. Valley Wills Storage Big River Bridge Alpine l Walks around Feathertop, Hotham and Dinner Harrietville Mt Mt l Wallaces Glen Valley Plain Feathertop McKay National Park - 1922m Hut l The High Country Bogong Langford West Middle Creek KNOCKER (East High Plains Walking Sealed road Walkers must be self sufficient with food, water, Branch) first aid and camping gear and be skilled in the use River TRACK

Buckety Plain Unsealed road Branch) Branch) l River of maps and compass. Alps Mt Jokers Flat Dibbins Hut Cope RD Vehicle track

Mt Cope Hut BOGONG Mitta Loch Australian PLAINS (West l Anglers Rest Walking track Diamantina Raspberry Hill HIGH Bundara River Mt National Park MT HOTHAM Hotham l Bundara RD ALPINE RESORT Mitta Fuel stove only area

Cobungra VALLEY Alpine Resort Mt C543 Explorers, miners and graziers used horses in their l River St Bernard Historic Area search for gold and summer pastures The Road closed from OMEO Twinsl here to Falls Creek CRB Camp GREAT River Water body SEPSEPARATEARATE PPARKNOTEARKNOTE AAVAILABLEVAILABLE in winter Dinner Enjoying the Park Mother Plain Recreational Johnsons Victoria Victoria Falls Car Touring Historic Area Facilities lMt J. B. Plain Murray Bushwalking The main attractions of the high country are easily River accessible in a 2WD conventional car. The Dargo ALPINE Oriental Claims Historic Area Camping and Bogong High Plains roads and the alpine Mt Track l River Omeo resorts of Mt Hotham and Falls Creek provide Bluerag B500 Cobungra Parks Canoeing walking and skiing access. The alpine scenery from Walking Victoria the Great Alpine Road over Mt Hotham is B500 Office Cross country skiing Dargo Dargo ROAD On Horseback particularly spectacular. Wongungarra High Plains Disabled access Horse riding is popular during summer and If you have a full day (overnight is even better) it is Basalt Knob DARGO Little To Bairnsdale Drinking water autumn, especially on the Bogong High Plains. possible to drive the Great Alpine Circuit (250 km) l To Restrictions apply to group size and the location which follows the Great Alpine Road between Bright Cassilis Fireplace and timing of rides to minimise the impact on the and Omeo, linking with Falls Creek and Mount l Historic Area Mt Sarah Horse yard environment and other park visitors. Beauty via the Omeo Highway and Bogong High McMillans Dargo HIGH Plains Road. Lookout Where riding is permitted, permits are required for River horse riding parties larger than five. Riding in The Dargo High Plains Road, although suitable for Park information alpine and subalpine environments is permitted 2WD conventional cars, can be rough and dusty in only between 1 December and 30 April inclusive. Picnic table sections and slippery after rain. River PLAINS The Bogong High Plains and Dargo High Plains Toilets Mountain Bike Riding roads are closed by snow in winter and many of the River 0 4 8 The Dargo and Bogong High Plains offer some four wheel drive tracks accessing the Barry great opportunities for exploration by bicycle. Mountains are seasonally closed between early Dargo KILOMETRES Track surfaces vary from sealed roads to steep, Cartography by Spatial Vision 2005

June and late October. ã N M/6642 rough four wheel drive tracks. Cycling is not permitted on walking tracks. ROAD Please remember: The following roads and aqueducts are available Wongungarra for bicycle riding:- l check road conditions before setting out River l all public roads, except if seasonally closed MELBOURNE l vehicle access is limited to formed roads and H l tracks open to the public l Rocky Valley, Cope East, Cope West, Langford East and Langford West aqueducts l wheel chains must be carried and fitted where © directed during snow season, June to l all management vehicle only (MVO) roads, September inclusive To Dargo except for Spion Kopje Track