Australia

Some Days are Sapphires:

Yesterday was. Our 45th wedding anniversary – so naturally we went for a walk! Mt St Gwinear to Mt St Phillack return makes an enjoyable 12 km on a very hot day down here in the valley (34C). Up there (in the clouds) it would have been at most 21C but with a cool wind

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Canoe Wonnangatta: Kingwill Bridge to Meyers Flat

We returned to this beautiful section of the river again this year for a three day trip. Last year we canoed it in two which did not really give us enough time to savour it. With just a 2WD vehicle you can canoe down from Eaglevale to Kingwill in 3 days, another 3 days to

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Over the Baw Baws to Walhalla 1922

These (more than 70) fascinating photos of a memorable historic trip on the Upper Yarra Track illuminate a journey by John Jensen in 1922. The photos are held by the Melbourne Walking Club and are available here: The photos were sent to me once again by Thomas Osburg of Yarra Ranges Bush Camp. I have

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Wilderness Siligloo

Nearly 6″ of rain had fallen in the Wonnangatta River catchment recently. The river was still ‘up’ so I reckoned this would be my last opportunity this summer to canoe this section of this wonderful river. Yes, you can hitch a ride in. NB: You can check the river heights here and assess how many

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Kokoda Track Memorial Walk:

This delightful track is located right on the Melbourne fringe near Upper Ferntree Gully Railway Station. For people of my era it is a ‘walk into history’ as so many of our close relatives (fathers, uncles, etc) were involved in this heroic struggle, either in New Guinea (or WW2 in general) in one way or

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An Excursion to the Upper Yarra Falls:

This was a three part article in the  Leader Melbourne, Vic, Saturday 15, 22 & 29 November 1884, The Contributor: ‘By G’ kindly provided by Thomas Osburg of Yarra Ranges Bush Camp. Much of it is incredible, to say the least. The author has explained the value of solitude and the preservation of wilderness so

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The Remote Wonnangatta, Day Two

Posted Monday night on Facebook: ‘Listen to the birdsong: 6:30am Monday morning in one of the most remote spots in Victoria, Wonnangatta River Alpine Nat Park. From Melbourne it would take you 7 1/2 hours by car (1 1/2 of them 4WD) and either a solid day’s hiking or 4 hours in a pack raft

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