Easter 2013 - Bindaree Flat

This Easter we decided we would head somewhere new. We love the High Country and after reading many travel threads we decided to head to Bindaree Hut and set up camp.

So Friday morning we left an overcast Drouin and made for Mansfield, where we enjoyed an early lunch in the Bakery in the Main Street.

After lunch we headed up towards the summit of Mt. Buller and then took the Cornhill Track turn off. The track quickly turned from bitumen to rocks and after airing down we drove down the hill towards Howqua Gap Hut and Circuit Road. The track was pretty narrow in places but overall in very good nick. There were a few trees down over the track which had already been cut to allow access, luckily we didn’t meet anyone coming the other way.

Pretty soon we hit Circuit Road, turned right and made our way into Bindaree Flat. Overall travel time including toilet stops and lunch was 5 hours. Bindaree Track had recently been graded and was very smooth going.

The rest of the afternoon was spent collecting firewood and exploring the immediate area.

We woke on Saturday to a beautiful crisp morning and made the decision to head up to Bindaree Falls. The last week had seen plenty of rain in the area, so there was a good flow of water coming over the falls.

From the falls we headed towards Craig’s Hut electing to take The Monument Track, after observing three other vehicles head up as we arrived at the intersection. The track was in very good condition and didn’t call for any low range work.

As we expected Craig’s Hut was busier than Bourke Street at 9:00 am on a weekday. We took heaps of photos and had lunch sitting on the grass, while we enjoyed the views across the range. The kids climbed some snow gums and we took some more photos of the horses that had made the journey up the hill.

From there we headed up to the summit of Mt. Stirling, stopping at GGS Hut along the way. What a view from the front door of the hut.

After making the walk to the summit of Mt. Stirling we headed back down to Howqua Gap Hut and then back into camp.

We woke during the night to the sound of light rain on the Tropical Roof and it continued on and off into Sunday morning.

On Sunday we decided to head up to Bluff and Lovicks Hut. We followed 16 Mile Jeep Track out to Pikes Flat and had a look at the camping spots there. It was a lot wetter than Bindaree and had some very boggy sections which I elected not to take on, out of fear of getting bogged.

From Pikes we headed back out onto 16 Mile Jeep Track. Before long we were stopped by a bloke in 200 Series Landcruiser who advised us that someone was stuck on the track not far ahead. He had a quick look at our Prado, from the driver’s seat and advised me against going any further because of the wet clay and the fact we only have All Terrains.

I decided to push on but his comments had done nothing to ease Clare's mind about the conditions we might face up ahead. Before we knew it, we were engaging low range and battling a short steep section of clay, plenty of right foot and some side to side movement of the steering wheel and up and over we went. Clare was sh.ting herself as can be seen and heard in this video but the kids thought it was great.  

We then continued on without incident up to Bluff Hut, where we stopped, had a snack and took some photos of the amazing view. From Bluff Hut we continued on to Lovicks Hut which had been taken over for the weekend by a group of campers. I don’t mind people using a hut in a time of need but setting up your $300 swags and dome tents across the entire floor area of the hut for the weekend is a bit much.

After sticking our heads inside (very briefly) we headed back to Bindaree, letting low range first do its thing over the clay. Clare was very happy to get past that section of track.

Monday morning was a slow pack up before ambling our way back home to Drouin after a great weekend.