Download the Alpine National Park Park Note
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For further information Tour guides Parks Victoria A number of licensed tour operators run tours Information Centre (4WDing, walking, horseriding and rafting) in the Alpine National Park Call 13 1963 area. or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au Contact Tourism Alliance Victoria for details on (03) 9650 8399 or visit their website Park Office www.tourismalliance.com.au 128 Highett St, Mansfield Valleys and Bluffs - around Mansfield and Whitfield 3722 Fire in the Alps During the summer of 2006 a number of fires Park Office Enjoy some of Victoria’s most spectacular rugged alpine scenery with panoramic views from Whitfield Road, Whitfield 3733 swept through the Australian Alps. As a result many peaks. Discover the variety in landscapes featuring impenetrable rocky bluffs and Phone 13 1963 some roads and tracks have been closed Koalas have been re-introduced to the Howqua Hills temporarily in the interest of public safety. Historic Area Caring for the escarpments towering above clear mountain rivers environment To assist with regeneration please keep to tracks Other publications Help us look after your park and trails, especially in fire affected areas. For more details of the Alpine National Park see Getting there and getting around Walking the following maps and publications: by following these guidelines: In the past This area of the Alpine National Park is situated Some of the best mountain walking country in approximately 200 - 250 km north east of Australia is found in the Alps. Some tracks are Please take your rubbish Aboriginal people used the King and Howqua Maps Melbourne or 40 - 60 km south of Benalla. suitable for day and weekend family walks. Others home with you areas as major trade routes across the Great Natmap 1:100,000 Whitfield are long, rough and challenging, requiring a All native plants and animals Dividing Range. They also had several quarries in The easiest access to Mansfield is via the Natmap 1:100,000 Buffalo degree of bushwalking skill and stamina. Further are protected by law. Please the area that yielded the hard greenstone which Maroondah Highway (from Melbourne) or Midland do not disturb them in any information should be sought before embarking on was highly valued for tools and weapons. VicMap 1:50,000 Buller - Stirling notes Highway (from Benalla). Roads from Benalla, any of the walks mentioned here. way Mansfield and Myrtleford provide pleasant rural European settlement began in the 1840s, when VicMap 1:50,000 Tamboritha - Moroka Dogs and other pets are not trips to Whitfield and the edge of the park. Shorter family walks can be undertaken to the grazing commenced, followed by the discovery of permitted historic Frys Hut from Sheepyard Flat, Ritchies gold in the Howqua Valley in the 1860s. VicMap 1:50,000 Howitt - Selwyn Car touring Firearms are only permitted in Hut beside the Howqua River, Eagles Peaks from S.R & P.N Brookes maps: the park in accordance with Plants and animals By 2WD Eight Mile Gap (day) and The Bluff, either from Hunting Regulations The area contains a range of habitats, from the 1:50,000 Wabonga Plateau Several of the main attractions of the area are near Bluff Hut or from the base of the escarpment Choose a firm, dry, well alpine herbfields of Mt Howitt, The Bluff and Mt accessible in a 2WD conventional vehicle. The near Refrigerator Gap (day). 1:50,000 Watersheds of King, Howqua and drained camp site at least 20 McDonald, to riparian forests of Manna Gum Howqua Hills Historic Area (Sheepyard Flat) Jamieson Rivers Further north around Whitfield there are pleasant metres from any watercourse along the valley floors. Mountain Gum - Snow beside the Howqua River provides 2WD access to short walks to Paradise Falls, along the Rose Where toilets are not Gum forests grow on more sheltered sites numerous tranquil river flats, historic huts and Alpine National Park park notes River at Bennies and at Powers Lookout. provided, bury your waste at mining relics. between 1000 and 1400 metres with a grassy or Valleys and Bluffs least 100 m from water or Longer more challenging day and overnight hikes heathy understorey. - car tours and walks around Wabonga Plateau, Although steep and rough in sections it is possible camp sites can be undertaken to Mt McDonald, Mt Magdala, Mount Cobbler and Powers Lookout to continue as far as Eight Mile Gap (Eagles Wash up away from streams The Subalpine heath and woodlands dominated park King Billies, Mt Howitt, Mt Cobbler and Mt by Snow Gum widely found on the upper Peaks Walking Track) and Refrigerator Gap below to protect the fragile stream Source of the Rivers Speculation. Around Ganter Hut is a fuel stove mountain slopes are home to mammals such as the impressive escarpment of The Bluff. environment - around Mitta Mitta, Tallangatta and Corryong only area. Use a portable stove instead Brown and Swainsons Antechinus, Feathertail and Along the Mansfield - Whitfield Road, Powers The High Country The long distance Australian Alps Walking Track of lighting a fire - especially Sugar Gliders, Mountain Brushtail and Ringtail Lookout provides beautiful views across the upper - around Bright, Mt Beauty and Omeo (AAWT) passes through the area on its 650 km above or near the tree line Possums. King River Valley to the Wabonga Plateau in the journey between Walhalla (in Gippsland) and Collect only dead fallen timber Mammals typical of the valley forests are the Bush Wilderness and the Snowy Alpine National Park. Other park notes cover this Tharwa, (near Canberra). Bushwalking along the for firewood and ensure the Rat, Greater Glider, Wombat, and Long Nosed - around Benambra, Buchan and Jindabyne area, along with Paradise Falls and Mount AAWT and other longer routes is only for the area around your campfire is Bandicoot. The endangered Long Footed Potoroo Cobbler, in greater detail. cleared of all flammable Our Mountain Heritage experienced - navigation and self sufficiency skills has recently been found in the area. material for a distance of at - around Heyfield, Licola and Dargo in the If you have a 4WD are a must. least 3 metres Common bird species are the Gang-gang Wonnangatta - Moroka area There are many 4WD trips in the area, some of Please keep to defined tracks and let someone Always check fire danger Cockatoo, Crimson Rosella and Brown Thornbill. Horseriding in the Alpine National Park the more popular ones being the Bluff Link - know before you go. forecasts. No fires (including The rare Powerful Owl is also found in the area. Bindaree Roads below the escarpments of The stoves) on days of Total Fire Books The endangered Spotted Tree Frog lives in the Bluff, Square Head Ginny and Mt Lovick; Brocks Ban. The Australian Alps Walking Track and Alpine region. Reptilian residents include the commonly Road to King Billy Saddle and the Howitt Plains; The park is located in the National Park by John Siseman (Pindari seen Jacky Lizard and Water Skinks. Alpine and Little Cobbler Track winding below the cliffs of North-East Total Fire Ban Publications) Mt Cobbler and on through Bennies to Whitfield. District Copper-head snakes are present at higher altitudes, with Tiger and Brown snakes resident Victoria’s National Parks Explorer’s Guide (See Please don’t throw this park Many roads and tracks are closed seasonally lower down. note away. Keep it, return it Australia Guides) during the colder, wetter months for environmental and safety reasons. Please keep to formed roads forHealthy others toParks use, Healthy or recycle People it Explore the Australian Alps - Car touring guide to and respect seasonal road closures. Visiting a park can improve the Australian Alps national parks by Australian your health, mind, body and Alps Liaison Committee (New Holland Press) soul. So, with over four million hectares of parkland available November 2011 Printed on Australian-made 100% recycled paper to Victorians, why not escape to a park today! For more information call the Parks Victoria Information Centre on 13 1963 or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au For further information Tour guides Parks Victoria A number of licensed tour operators run tours Information Centre (4WDing, walking, horseriding and rafting) in the Alpine National Park Call 13 1963 area. or visit our website at www.parks.vic.gov.au Contact Tourism Alliance Victoria for details on (03) 9650 8399 or visit their website Park Office www.tourismalliance.com.au 128 Highett St, Mansfield Valleys and Bluffs - around Mansfield and Whitfield 3722 Fire in the Alps During the summer of 2006 a number of fires Park Office Enjoy some of Victoria’s most spectacular rugged alpine scenery with panoramic views from Whitfield Road, Whitfield 3733 swept through the Australian Alps. As a result many peaks. Discover the variety in landscapes featuring impenetrable rocky bluffs and Phone 13 1963 some roads and tracks have been closed Koalas have been re-introduced to the Howqua Hills temporarily in the interest of public safety. Historic Area Caring for the escarpments towering above clear mountain rivers environment To assist with regeneration please keep to tracks Other publications Help us look after your park and trails, especially in fire affected areas. For more details of the Alpine National Park see Getting there and getting around Walking the following maps and publications: by following these guidelines: In the past This area of the Alpine National Park is situated Some of the best mountain walking country in approximately 200 - 250 km north east of Australia is found in the Alps. Some tracks are Please take your rubbish Aboriginal people used the King and Howqua Maps Melbourne or 40 - 60 km south of Benalla. suitable for day and weekend family walks.