Summer in the Murray Valley
Hi all
At last getting wet while paddling on the Murray has a certain attraction. That definitely doesnt mean we are encouraging you to part company with your canoe en route. But no more goose bumps is a good prospect. Ten of us had a delightful paddle last thursday 12th Jan and a great bbq afterwards featuring bbq garlic and mushrooms - the vegos amongst us were grinning from ear to ear. Note - you can access more photos of each of the events by clicking on the photo below
Six members are planning a second extended canoe trip on the Murray from the Hume Weir starting on Australia Day -there is still room for more participants - check the full details here
The Wednesday evening walk on Jan 11th was a 9km x 3 hour exploration of the Hamilton Valley end of Nail Can Hill. This was thoroughly enjoyable despite the cold and windy (for January) conditions
You would reckon with all this attention to map reading we would have got a nice easy flattish walk! Such was not the case - but no one complained.
Hans took a group of 5 members up to his favorite summer walking venue Mt Buffalo last Saturday and led a 13km loop walk from the reservoir out to Eagle and Macs point. We were thrilled by the incredible wildflower displays and water features - you would be proud to have such a landscaped garden at home.
Fun Stuff To Do
The next evening walk will be on this Wednesday Jan 18th on Federation Hill Wodonga West - click here for full details
Join us for the 10th after work evening paddle this Thursday 19th Jan followed by the increasingly splendid bbq- same place and time as always - click here for full details.
Hans is leading another Mt Buffalo day walk (waltz?) along the Ballroom track this coming Saturday - click here for full details
Unfortunately due to administrative issues abseiling looks unlikely to proceed on the weekend of Jan 21/22 - but if you have registered an interest with Neil he will get in touch and you can be sure that this aspect of our program will eventually take place.
As always you can use the booking enquiry link on the right of event details pages or contact leaders by any of the ways listed in the event details if you wish to join an event.
Regards
Tony Marsh
Secretary Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
More Summer Fun and Games
Hi all
Wednesday Feb 1st is a cycle / walk event in the Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park followed by dinner at the Barnawartha pub. This is a great opportunity to get some gentle exercise in the cool of the evening (expected maximum temp for the day is 27 degrees) and then blow away all those expended kilojoules with a pig out at the pub! Anyone who wants to join us just for the dinner is also very welcome.
Thursday evening after work paddling is on again Feb 2nd - Members are encouraged to book in early to ensure a safe and enjoyable paddle. Late bookings make it much harder for Dave from Murray River Canoe Hire to make the necessary transport and canoe hire arrangements. We would rather you book in and then cancel if you cant make it than book in late.
I will be away the following week's normal Wed evening walk and Thurs paddling after work events. If anyone would like to volunteer to lead a walk or a paddle next week please get in touch with me as soon as possible.
What Weve Been Up To
The Wednesday evening walk on Jan 25th was a 4km x 2 hour out and back walk from Jindera Gap to the Hamilton Trig. Once again we found a geocache nearby although Peter was very reluctant to put his hand in under a rock to retrieve it. Once bitten twice shy perhaps?
Errata: Last week I mentioned that Hans had positioned a geocache on Federation hill some time ago and that we found it again (implying that it was lost) - it actually wasnt one of Hans caches after all - and anyway he doesnt forget where he places his geocaches!
Three Day Paddle
A 3 day 2 nights canoeing trip on the Murray with a destination of “ Malabar”. Day 1 consisted of 8 participants paddling from the weir wall to Norieul Park a very pleasant way to spend Australia Day along with many 100’s of other revellers who floated along the river on and in a myriad of differing flotation devices, along the way we saw 2 platypus and bird life. At the end of day one 5 of the participants stayed overnight at Jan’s place.
Day 2 was another glorious day with 7 members beginning the paddle from the Old John Ford Bridge at Corowa, along the way there was plenty of stops for swimming, our overnight camp was at Snake Island on the NSW side of the Murray. Day 3 began a little cooler than the previous 2 days however the cool temperatures didn’t hang around for long and by mid morning it was time for another stop and well deserved swim and bite to eat. After leaving the main part of the river for the lagoon areas which were amazing with a feel of not being too touched by man.
Mid afternoon on day 3 saw us reach our destination of the property “Malabar” which is on the beginning of Lake Mulwala. A very happy group of paddlers covered 86 kilometres over the 3 days.
Ive had some top me up time in the mountains in the last week - 4 days wandering around the Mt Hotham / Bogong High Plains was just what the doctor ordered. There are a couple of new tracks on Mt Hotham that are first class additions to the alpine walking options. The Cobungra Ditch walk provides an extraordinary opportunity to engage with the gold mining history of the alps.
And its a highly accessible easy 12 km trail that is packed with great interpretaive information and bench seats to periodically rest the weary bones upon.
The other new track tours the huts of Mt Hotham - Spargo hut was a first time visit for me - the location is wonderful but its when you get inside it gets really interesting.
We would love to hear from someone who would like to lead one of these walks for MVB members to enjoy. Check out the details and a wonderful short movie of the ditch walk on the Mt Hotham website
Note that there are events scheduled through February and March - you can view these by advancing the calendar on the home page by a month at a time or by choosing Future Events from the Program menu on the home page.
As always you can use the booking enquiry link on the right of event details pages or contact leaders by any of the ways listed in the event details if you wish to join an event.
Regards
Tony Marsh
Secretary Murray Valley Bushwalkers Inc
Make the Most of Whats Left of Summer With MVB
Hi all
Wednesday Feb 15th is an easy after work evening 3km walk/bbq event led by Hans at the beautiful Chiltern Valley Dam No 2 in theChiltern Mt Pilot National Park. Eileen Collins reports in the Friends of Chiltern Mt Pilot NP newsletter that there are
"Plenty of waterbirds at the Valley Dams including Baillon’s Crake. Beeeaters are calling overhead and a few White-throated Needletails have been seen on stormy days"
Thursday evening after work paddling is on again Feb 16th - Members are encouraged to book in early to ensure a safe and enjoyable paddle. Late bookings make it much harder for Dave from Murray River Canoe Hire to make the necessary transport and canoe hire arrangements. We would rather you book in and then cancel if you cant make it than book in late.
Saturday 18th Feb Hans is leading a 16km day walk around Mt Jim - features of this walk are the incredible snow gums on the south east side and the amazing "rivers of rock" that seem to flow off the summit of Mt Jim.
The MVB committee will be meeting this Friday evening at 6-30pm at the Commercial Club - we will have dinner and then meet to discuss agenda items. Members are welcome to join us for the meal and / or the meeting. Also feel free to suggest items that you would like to see the committee address. Contact Tony for more details.
What Weve Been Up To
The Waterfall Mission - I was remiss in not advertising the walk that Hans led to the falls on the High Plains Creek last weekend. This has proven to be elusive in the past - a combination of weather conditions (fog), problematic navigation circumstances and plain old bad luck had foiled previous attempts to find these falls. But a determined effort by a group of 4 members had success last weekend.
Iris Joss from Corryong led a walk last Saturday from Tooma Dam to Wheelers Hut and the Snakey Plain Fire trail
The cycle/walk event in Chiltern on Wed Feb 1st was a lot of fun - about a dozen of us stayed for dinner at the Barnawartha Hotel afterwards and all agreed we should repeat this event.
Note that there are events scheduled through February and March - you can view these by advancing the calendar on the home page by a month at a time or by choosing Future Events from the Program menu on the home page.
As always you can use the booking enquiry link on the right of event details pages or contact leaders by any of the ways listed in the event details if you wish to join an event.
Regards
Tracey Barkley
The Last Gasps of an Amazing Summer
The evening walk last Wed Feb 15 was at the Chiltern Valley Dam number 2 in the fabulous Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park and was led by Hans
The 12th evening paddle on the Murray was held on Feb 16 and attended by 12 members
On Sat Feb 18th Hans led a Mt Jim day walk enjoyed by 6 members - the walk featured incredible snow gums and amazing rivers of rock that seem to flow from the summit and show lots of evidence of glacial striation.
The clubs 4th committee meeting was held on Friday 17th Feb - you can access the minutes here - in which we
- welcomed 14 new members to the club
- defined a strategy to develop potential event leaders in the club
- confirmed various policies
- received reports and
- planned a public meeting to be held on Friday May 11 2012
Whats on This Week
Wednesday Feb 22nd easy evening Tuan Track 7km walk in the Chiltern Mt Pilot National Park
Thursday Feb 23rd - relax with another easy evening after work paddle and bbq
Sat Feb 25th - join Hans for an easy tour of the impressive Rocks of Mt Buffalo
Note that there are events scheduled through February and March - you can view these by advancing the calendar on the home page by a month at a time or by choosing Future Events from the Program menu on the home page.
As always you can use the booking enquiry link on the right of event details pages or contact leaders by any of the ways listed in the event details if you wish to join an event.
Regards
Tony Marsh
