Wednesday, January 14, 2009

Falls creek, 1700m















1. Morning view at "pole 532"
2. Evening view at "pole 532"
3. Brumbies (wild horses)
4. River marshes and pools
5. Sunset
6. me and my outdoor campsite
7. my van and rocky valley lake (Falls ck lake)
8. Alpine flowers and burnt snow gums
(click on a phot to enlarge)

Wed 7 – Sunday 11 jan 09
in the NE of Victoria, in the alps.
Falls creek resort and surrounds -
Cool, sometimes icy wind. Sunny days. Resort is ghost town, but a few cafes open, plus small supermarket.
I camp near lake. Run 20km in a circuit one day – great views.

One overnight trip, from pole 532 , 5km to a wild camp, then 15 km round with view of Mt Hotham, down to pretty valley pond and back to pole 532. I see several Brumbies and get within 25 m of some.

I did a 5 day walk in this area with my brother Marcus, about 13 yrs ago…

Lots of old mountain huts up here – eg Wallace’s hut – more than 100 yrs old. They have wood beams and tin, lots of character. Very useful in a winter emergency. It’s a high plateau up here – rolling with streams and wide expanses of grass. Great for Nordic skiing in winter – must come back here when there’s snow. Plenty of scope for multi-day trips with a tent, and the huts in very bad weather.

In the evening, I put on the down jkt and bonnet – big contrast the warm Bright, down in the valley. Some athletes are high-altitude training up here – Japanese cyclists, Rowers on the lake.

Christmas, New Year






1. Sunset near st Leonards
2. Cosmopolitan Melbourne. note the cat picture top left
3. Changing boxes at Brighton Beach
(click to enlarge a photo)
Spent christmas and new year at st Leonards, on the western side of melbourne's huge bay. Nice coastline. Good to catch up with the Wilkinsons. Got a bit lazy and fat tho, was good to get back on the road again and get into alpine country.

had fun buying 50% markdown gear in Melbournes outdoor shop ghetto, and taking pictures of Melbourne.

Tuesday, January 13, 2009

Arapiles and Relatives










Sat 20 dec

After having spent a few days with my cousin Shona,
Drive 340 km West to Arapilies, just near the Grampians. And Horsham town.

Amazing bumpy, canyony cliffs, like something out of the wild west. Very good for climbers – lots of pinnacles, buttresses, good rock, with cracks to place cams and other devices in case of a fall. This place is actually world-renowned for climbing. it rises out of a billard-table flat wheat plain.

Meet Friday morn with a motorcyclist at the campground. He’s a math teacher from Wollongong, 40s. we do 2 climbs of 2 pitches each – photo of 2 groups of climbers from the top of our 1st climb. It’s all “Trad” – ie you need to place your own protection, which I am still getting used to. There’s a chilly wind, the morning is icy. The air warms as the day goes on, but it temps remain reasonable. Gets dark after 8pm which is convenient.

Camp ground is peaceful, 2$ per night… and mostly comprised of climbers, including from overseas.