Alpine National Park, Victoria (January 2021)
To be totally honest we didn’t really prepare much for this trip, as we had just come back from the Great Ocean Walk and so we just grabbed our bags, swapping out the old gas cooker for the Jetboil and the summer tent for our new One Planet winter one (thanks Mother and Father Christmas). As such, I have combined my overview and preparation posts into one.
Officially the walk is 37km according to the brochure. We found it to be slightly higher at approx. 39km, as we clocked 16km on the first day (opposed to the 14km advertised), with day two and three being accurate. Perhaps we took a mysterious side track without realising it. So the first day is 14-16km, day two is 14km and the final day is 9km if going from Falls to Hotham. Unlike most of these trails, you CAN go both ways and the beauty of the high plains is that there are actually many different directions you can go.
So when to go – most people do this one in the summer months. Late January to mid February are supposed to be the peak of the wild flowers, but this can be variable – this year there were out early (second week in January) and were in absolute abundance! Many of the locals were telling us they have never seen so many flowers. I would recommend not undertaking this walk in winter unless you are skilled at snow hiking and have compass / GPS etc and are confident navigating yourself through such conditions.
To get there, you can get public transport to Mount Beauty and taxis from there, but this is expensive and the taxis up the mountain and back down is not cheap given the distances they have to travel. The key options are:
- Drive two cars to Hotham and then one to Falls or vice versa. If you are doing this and travelling from Melbourne, it will take you about 7.5 hours to drive to both resorts. As such, if you are wanting to start straight away, going Hotham to Falls maybe better as you start with the shortest day (9km).
- If you don’t want to take two cars, Falls Resort offers a shuttle bus every Saturday from Falls Resort to Mount Hotham leaving at 7am. This is about $80 per person. It is one way only so it means you must go in the direction of Hotham to Falls.
- Take a Mount Beauty Taxi (we did this) and if you are with mates, it can work out to not be too expensive. The cost from Hotham (Mount Loch car park) to Falls Creek (Healthy Spur Trail Head) is $350, so if you are a group of four this works out at $87.50 per person and you can choose when you leave! Plus you avoid starting at the same time as everyone on the bus! There is also the advantage that you are supporting the local Taxi Service (Roly and his wife are lovely) and they appreciate the help as hiker transfers are keeping them afloat (just) as they have suffered a lot in Covid!
- Another option is to contact Falls Coaches, but they quoted $500 so needless to say we passed on that option.
So you have gone and worked out when you want to go and how to get there and you look up the camp sites to book at Cope Hut and Dibbin’s Hut (Vic Parks Website) and you find they are all booked. Don’t despair! The campsites in both sites are on elevated platforms which are great (flat and easy), but there are only five of these at each site. But both sites have at least 5-8 flat grassy sites that can be used, and these are free – so if you are shelling out on the taxi, this maybe a way to claw a few dollars back and in fact for Dibbin’s Hut, I think the grass sites are far nicer than the platforms, being closer to the river! If you do choose to stay on the platforms, the link is here. The best platforms are #5 and #2 at Cope Hut (because they offer a view over the plain) and probably the best at Dibbin’s is maybe #3 being closest to the river and the furthest away from the others – the platforms are in an upside down V with 1, 2 and 3 down one side and 4 and 5 down the other. The sites are $16.80 for two people (1 tent).
One thing that you do need to prepare for is to take light rope or cable. We already had these on our tent from the overland track, but you need to ensure that you have a metre or so of twine to help tie your tent down to the platforms.
When it comes to packing for this trip it is important to consider that the weather in the high country can be unpredictable and can change quickly. I cannot stress enough that it is really important to ensure that you have gear for all conditions! When we went, it was 39 degrees in Melbourne on one of the days – the weather we had, was overnight rain, a very cool morning (around 4-5 degrees) and a fine sunny day of about 20-22 degrees. Today, as I write this (16 Jan 21), the forecast for Hotham is -3 overnight to a high of 6 degrees with rain and snow! This is the middle of summer – be prepared!
Other essentials for your packing list (other than the standard layers, tent, mat, good sleeping bag that goes to -5 at least, cooking gear, plate, mug, cutlery, wet weather gear, sunscreen, mosquito repellent etc)
- a hat and a beanie – it is so hot on a 20 degree day, you are so close to the sky here (lol) that getting burnt is easy, wear a hat in the day and switch it to a beanie at night
- water purification tablets – the streams are plentiful but given you don’t know what is upstream (dead animals, brumby droppings, who knows) this is a safe guard to ensure a great trip
- toilet paper – while both Cope Hut and Dibbin’s Hut have a composting toilet, unlike the Great Ocean Walk they do not stock it regularly, so bring your own
- warm clothes – essential! even if the forecast is good.
- battery backup – if like me your phone doesn’t last 3 days, bring a charging pack
- a map – some of the signs are not 100% accurate and it also has on the map some of the side trips (which are not sign posted) so if you are feeling adventurous this is a must
Final tips:
- carry lots of water – until you get there you don’t know how plentiful it will be – fill up where you can and treat all water you do not boil. At Cope Hut there is one small tank and at Dibbin’s Hut, you source water from the river
- let people know you are going, where you are going and when you will get back
Hiking Adventures 