On a sub zero winters morning it was a struggle to get motivated but all 8 of us made it to the start on time (after coffee at Deli Bean in Wodonga). After setting up a short car shuffle we were walking past the old quarry site by 10-15am and a stiff walk up Skeleton Hill soon got us warm as toast.

The nearby geocache was an easy find and then we paused to view the the old quarry from above. What a shame it hasnt been turned into something useful like the worlds deepest swimming pool! We were however reassured to see revegetation of bare slopes had been undertaken.

Tony and Peter disappeared in search of a couple of Micks caches to the south and off the beaten track. They were not disappointed - this was geocaching at its best - drawing you into new locations that you would never have known about otherwise. This is Wombats Attic - the name says it all!

The next port of call was a plane crash site - a couple were killed when their plane went down in bad weather on Skeleton Hill in 1958 - there is not much evidence left but we spent some time there musing about the circumstances

We continued on in a north east path and eventually came close to the Reference area of the park which had been burnt in the Dec 2015 Barnawartha bushfire. It was fascinating to see the bush regenerating so rapidly - no doubt enhanced by the great rainfall this winter.  

Lunch was had with a commanding view of the surroundings and we were paid a visit by the Chiltern postmaster on a bicycle - sadly no mail for us!

We then entered familar territory - the White Box Walking Track and soon were out of the burnt forest and back into the superb goldfields grevillea dominated understory. 

We wandered past the Golden Bar mine site and then past the luminescent fungi to Honeyeater Picnic area to complete a wonderful 13.5km walk