MVB Bulletin # 52 Jan 6 2013
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
Hope everyone has had or still is having a break from work and a chance to get some recreation under their belts. The bulletin is coming a bit earlier this week because we have found it necessary to schedule beginners canoeing events on a separate night to the Thursday evening paddles - the first evening training session is Tuesday 8th Jan and we wanted you to know about it before it happens!
Since the last Bulletin....
Evening Walk Forest Hill Albury
4 members and Ailla the wonder dog led by Claire Sandford enjoyed an interesting stroll around the Forest Hill area of Albury on New Years Day. The intention was to walk up Nail Can Hill from Morningside Place. However a bushfire curtailed our plans and certainly added some interest.It turned out to be a 5 ha grass fire but the NSW fire service werent taking any chances as they threw 60 fire firefighters, 8 trucks and 2 helicopters at it. The smoke and late afternoon sun made for some interesting light effects - check out the purple haze! Now we know what inspired Jimi Hendrix to write that song! Im sure Peter Presutti who took the photo was a fan. You can click the photo below to read an event report.
Lower Mungabareena to Noreuil Paddle
A total of 16 members and guests completed this paddle in perfect conditions on the river. A number of platypus were sighted and we got back to Noreuil in time for the usual bbq. The only downer on this event was a game of hide and seek the car keys played out by Tony and 5 unfortunate members. Suffice to say that a secret hidey hole in his day pack got Tony into trouble again.
Dragon Boat paddling
Another fun paddle was held on Jan 6 - you can read some recent Dragon Boat paddling event reports by Claire Sandford here
Whats On Jan 7 to Jan 14
Follow the "full details here" link to an event that interests you and hit the Join button to start a conversation with the event leader
Tuesday Jan 8 Beginner Canoe Training
You too can stay cool with MVB!
Have you been wanting to give canoeing a try? why wouldnt you with the intense summer heat we are experiencing this week. This is the ideal opportunity as the club has been funded to offer a series of heavily subsidised canoe safety and technique training sessions arising from a recently successful funding submission.
Dave from Murray River Canoe Hire will get you up and paddling safely if you are a beginner or improve your technique and reinforce safety procedures if you've paddled before. There is a limit of 10 people with 5 booked in already but we are still taking bookings. And we have scheduled two more beginner canoeing training sessions on Jan 15 and Jan 22 so you shouldnt miss out.
Wed Jan 9 Easy Abseil at the Albury Quarry with Neil Brown
The extreme heat will be over, time to come out and play again and this event should be great fun
Wed Jan 9 Easy Evening Walk at Baranduda
Forecast maximum is a cool 29 for Wednesday! Join Tony for an easy after work walk and bbq
Thurs Jan 10 Canoe the Murray
Another great after work paddling opportunity - we can cater for up to 22 paddlers but need early bookings please - and dont forget to mention if you are bbq'ing or not!
Sat January 12 - Intermediate Abseiling with Neil Brown
Join Neil Brown for abseiling fun at The Rock - full details here
Sun Jan 13 Dragon Boat paddling
Join Claire for another opportunity to experience this fun activity
Hope to catch you out and about with MVB soon!
regards
Tony Marsh
President
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
MVB Bulletin # 51 Dec 31 2012
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
New Years Eve - a chance to celebrate and a time to make those resolutions! Whether you are an existing club member or just checking us out there is no better resolution to make than to get active by participating in some of the wonderful events MVB has on offer...
Explore our program , follow one of the links to the full details of an event that appeals and hit the Join button!
Since the last Bulletin....
8 members enjoyed a delightful stroll on the Mount Buffalo plateau exploring the Giants Playground - aptly named Im sure you will agree after you explore the photos of this walk by clicking on the photo below. Find out if these intrepid MVB walkers were really tempting fate at Egg Rock yesterday!
Whats On, Jan 1 to Jan 9
Tues Jan 1 Easy evening walk up Nail Can Hill
Here is a chance to get your active New Years resolution off to a flying start!
Commencing at Morningside Place in Albury this event will be led by Claire Sandford
Thurs Jan 3 Beginner and Intermediate Canoe Safety
Stay cool with MVB!
Have you been wanting to give canoeing a try? why wouldnt you with the summer heat really starting to wind up this week - or perhaps you need to brush up on skills. This is the ideal opportunity as the club has been funded to offer a series of heavily subsidised canoe safety and technique training sessions.
Dave from Murray River Canoe Hire will get you up and paddling safely if you are a beginner or improve your technique and reinforce safety procedures if you've paddled before. There are 14 people booked in already but we are still taking bookings.
Sat January 5 - Intermediate Abseiling with Neil Brown
Please note that this event is likely to be postponed because of the extremely hot weather forecast for next weekend. A decision will be made on thursday evening. Hopefully Neil will be able to reschedule this event if the weather forces postponement.
Editors Note: while the weather bureau is forecasting 3 days of over 40 degrees in Albury Wodonga late this week its interesting to see that the maximum forecast for those 3 days at Falls Creek is 25! Yes the mountains are cool!
Sun Jan 6 Dec Dragon Boat paddling
Join Claire for another opportunity to experience this fun activity
Wed Jan 9 Easy Evening Walk at Baranduda
Join Tony for an easy after work walk and bbq
Macquarie Island - Sub Antartic Biodiversity Hot Spot or Feral Animal Heaven?
It was fascinating to read this week about the $25 million program to eradicate rabbits and rodents on this remote island 1500 km south of Hobart which is nearing completion. Why would you bother to spend that sort of money on such a remote place? Well it was declared a World Heritage Site in 1997 for starters and who knows maybe MVB would like to organise a walking holiday there one day - its part of Tasmania after all! This is a ground breaking environmental recovery project on a grand scale never seen before anywhere in the world. Onlya few years ago there were 100,000 rabbits on this tiny island 34km by 5km - now there is about 3 or maybe 4 - the Tassie NPWS have thrown everything at the feral animals and the fragile environment is recovering rapidly. You can read more (or listen to a podcast) about this project here
Anyone up for a sub antartctic experience?? Perhaps I should put it on the club events Wish List!
Happy New Year!
Tony Marsh
President
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
MVB Bulletin # 50 Dec 24 2012
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
As I write this bulletin on Christmas eve I cant help but think I should be out partying instead but I would hate to think you missed an event or two because I was too slack to get the bulletin out! And anyway as always we continue to have heaps of fun - don't miss out - this is a busy time for the club - follow one of the links to an event that appeals and hit the Join button!
Welcome to...
David Amery our newest member who joined MVB this week.
Since the last Bulletin....
Six members enjoyed a delightful stroll on the 9km White Box track at Chiltern led by Tracey Barkley.
After the walk a committee meeting was held at Honeyeater Picnic area - you can view the minutes of the meeting on the website here
On Thursday 20th another delightful and longer evening paddle on the Murray was led by Jan Douglas and as usual was followed by a bbq at Noreuil Park
Whats On, Dec 25 to Jan 3
Sun Dec 30 Easy Day Walk
Exploring The Giant's Playground
Join Hans for this superb 10km walk in Mt Buffalo National Park - full details here
Sun Dec 30 Dec Dragon Boat Paddling
Join Clare for this fun activity full details here
Tues Jan 1 Easy evening walk up Nail Can Hill
Kick off the new year with some great exercise.
Starting from Morninside Place in Albury this event will be led by Claire Sandford
Wed Jan 2 Easy Abseiling at Albury Quarry
This event will be led by Neil Brown
Thurs Jan 3 Beginner and Intermediate Canoe Safety
If youve been wanting to give canoeing a try or need to brush up on skills this is the ideal opportunity as the club has been funded to offer a series of canoe safety and technique training sessions.
Dave from Murray River Canoe Hire will get you up and paddling safely if you are a beginner or improve your technique and reinforce safety procedures if youve paddled before.
Sat January 5 - Intermediate Abseiling with Neil Brown at the Rock
A small group of hardy abseilers pioneered the club abseiling activities at the Rock in 2012 and everyone thoroughly enjoyed the experience - here is another chance to jump on board and feel the buzz as you descend the cliff face.
Sun Jan 6 Dec Dragon Boat paddling
Join Clare for another opportunity to experience this fun activity
Events Wish List
We've established a page on the website where you can add comments about locations or activities that you have always wanted to visit or revisit so that others in the club can get inspired. You dont have to commit to being a leader but your ideas may inspire others to offer their services to lead such a trip. Check it out here or look for Events Wish List under the Program menu.
Media King Publicity
Today I received this letter from Jessica Sevil at the Albury Visitor Information Centre
"Recently members of Murray Valley Bushwalkers assisted a local film group gain footage of hikers walking through bushland and an energetic group partaking in abseiling and a canoeing event.
This footage was taken on our behalf (AlburyCity Tourism Team) as we were updating our promotional DVD shown at the Visitor Centre. Programmed to loop, the DVD highlights key interests of Albury including: Albury Botanic Gardens, Albury CBD, Albury’s Heritage Walk (new), Albury’s Library Museum/Art Gallery and Albury’s Active Options (new).
Footage gained through your assistance is featured within the section Albury’s Active Options which successfully highlights the diversity of activities on offer for those living in Albury as well as visitors.
I would like to sincerely thank all those involved and the cooperation shown to the film crew. Neil and Kylie had other praise for the help and wilingness shown to them during filming. The updated DVD is now being shown at the Visitor Centre so I invite you to drop in one day and watch your organisation in action."
I wish all Murray Valley Bushwalkers and their families and friends a safe and enjoyable Christmas and New year
Tony Marsh
President
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
MVB Bulletin # 49 Dec 18 2012
Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
With Christmas approaching we continue to have heaps of fun - don't miss out - follow one of the links to an event that appeals and hit the Join button!
Welcome to...
Zoe Mason our newest member who will join the Thursday evening paddle this week.
Funding Success!
Im thrilled to announce that we have been successful in the most recent round of Victorian Department of Planning and Community Development Country Action Grants Scheme. The $2000 provided is targeting first aid, canoe safety and leadership skills training for our members. We will be offering opportunites for members to take advantage of this funding to upgrade their skills and knowledge at no personal cost to help reinforce an ethos of safe outdoor recreation in our club.
Since the last Bulletin....
Last week was full on with a huge number of great events - click on any of the photos below to see a slideshow of that activity.
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A traverse of the Baranduda range the hard way on Tues Dec 11 by a couple of ageing MVB wannabe heroes and a dog!
A delightful evening Walk on Nail Can Hill on Dec 12 was led by Peter Presutti
This was followed by the Xmas BBQ at Hans and Sumiko's place in perfect weather and environment.
Another great paddle led by Jan Douglas was held on Thursday 13th December with a huge 21 participants including six visitors. Not to mention the welcoming party of buff footballers from Mitta at the finish!
Some of the lucky paddlers out front saw not just one but two platypus - by the way what is the plural form of platypus? - Ive been thinking alound about this and decided I better not go there in this bulletin as this email might end up in your junk mail folder!
On Sunday Dec 16 six members enjoyed a fantastic 20km mountain Bike ride in the Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park led by Peter Presutti
Two more events scheduled on Saturday Dec 15 were cancelled due to the wet weather - a bicycle ride over the new bridge at Sandy Creek by Tracey and the Smoko day walk by Hans - no doubt these events will be rescheduled - by the way we had 35mm of liquid gold at Baranduda and thats cause for celebration in itself this time of the year.
And finally...
A Bravehearts on the Murray Dragonboat training session was held on Sunday arvo.
Phew what a fantastic week it was!
Whats On, Dec 18 to Dec 25
Wed Dec 19 Easy Evening Walk Whitebox Track
Join us for this superb 8km after work easy walk in Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park - this is one of my favorite walks - I was part of the Friends of Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park team that designed and implemented this walk in the 1980s
Thurs 20 Dec Easy After Work Canoe the Murray
It was amazing seeing a huge flotilla of 21 MVB canoeists heading down the river last week. This week we are going to start from Lower Mungabareena giving us a longer paddle - book in early so as not to miss out.
Sat 22 Dec Easy Day Walk The Devil's Playground Mt Buffalo
Another opportunity to join Hans Kaspers in sharing his passion for Mt Buffalo - nobody knows Mt Buffalo walking tracks and flora better than Hans does!
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Events Wish List
We've established a page on the website where you can add comments about locations or activities that you have always wanted to visit or revisit so that others in the club can get inspired. You dont have to commit to being a leader but your ideas may inspire others to offer their services to lead such a trip. Check it out here or look for Events Wish List under the Program menu.
Committee Meeting
Minutes of the last committee meeting (number 7)are now available on the website here
As a quorum of the committee will be walking the White Box track after work on Wed we have decided to meet in the forest after the walk. As always if you have any issues you wish to have addressed contact any of the committee members
