Falls to Hotham Alpine Way – Day 3 (9km)

Alpine National Park, Victoria, Australia (January 2021)

Early in the morning it started to rain and as the sun rose we lay there listening to it patter against the tent. Our trip today is only 9km so we were in no hurry to get moving. Eventually it stopped and we emerged into the pretty morning light.

Crossing the river one last time

After a very slow and casual breakfast (and hanging our tent out to dry), we packed our gear and moved across the little bridge and through the long grass in the valley to the base of the hill. This is the steepest and most challenging part of this walk, but it is a well made path and is clear of obstructions so really it is just a battle of the mind and will power. One foot in front of the other.

Very quickly we rose from the valley and were back in the trees with views back the way we came. While we regained our breath we picked out the line of the ridge we had descended last night before putting some more distance behind us.

Relief as it starts to level out again

At about 1.7km from the camp site the hill starts to level back out and the walking became a little easier and more enjoyable. There is certainly more hills and rises, but it is not quite as sweat inducing as going straight up the side. The weather was quickly warming and I would guess it was already over 20 degrees, so the shade was also nice.

Derrick’s Hut

At Derrick’s Hut was took the opportunity to sit on the grass and stare off into the distance while munching down on a Winners Bar. Derrick’s Hut is a day shelter hut for skiers and was built in 1965 as a memorial for Charles Derrick who had attempted to ski from Mount Bogong to Hotham but had perished in a snow blizzard.

Cannot get over how pretty and abundant the wild flowers are

There is not too much further to go and from here we knew what to expect as it shortly would join (in about 400m) the trail we had followed on our first day in the mountains doing the Hotham Hut Walk. Still it was nice to be back in the ski fields surrounded by posts and signs indicating that we were about to leave the resort area. It was a simple walk along the path around the ski lifts and then onto the road to the carpark near the top of the hill.

Back onto the ski fields of Hotham

Final trek up to the car

Although it was only 11.30am, a beer was in order, so we drove down the hill into Hotham Village to the General Hotel, plugged in all our devices and relaxed with a pot of larger and half a burger each. This is definitely the way to finish every journey.