Walhalla - A Tale of Two Mav's

[Agent 13]

Well the plan was laid some weeks ago but one by one they dropped away - too busy exploring farther reaches, battling with tyre issues or just plain worried about the weather! But me and Steve34 came through. Please excuse the use of first person - its just the forum after all ;).

Me and middle child met up with Steve and family at Walhalla on Saturday and headed for the Thompson Waterwheel on Morning star track.

We took Dry Gully onto Fultons Creek Tk... and thats where the trouble started...!

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Fultons.jpg

Now we know it doesnt look much, so I've posted a few pics to try to show it. The base of the hill had just a little more clay than rock, and with a bit of rain in the past few days, presented more of a challenge than usual. Both trucks have been there before, though I've only been down it and even that was interesting; This time I tryed first with just the rear locker in - to wind up pivoting delicately on two wheels with middle child clenched to the Jesus bar with both hands and a white jaw. Eased back for another go, flipped the other blue switch and made it over the first obstacle and on up to the top. (Love a long hill with the front locker on - point and hope... :o)

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Fultons_1.jpg

Mav number 2 had a little harder time. Steve tried a few approaches but the clay kept dropping him in the same rutts; so we filled the rutts up with rocks in a trck building effort to rival the council workers of ancient Rome, but to no avail.

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Fultons_4.jpg

Winching was discussed, but would have been a fairly extensive and precarious exercise. And I wasnt too keen on coming down again!! So in the end Mav 2 took an alternative route, One Speck Tk, and we met back at the top on Army track and on to Store Point for some lunch on Donnelly Creek. Lunch and mandatory Flex shots, on the Flex mound...!

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/flex.jpg

The map shows a long path, from the creek, and a short path, from further up the track, to the Waterwheel, however the short path seems to be gone. Which is fine because it seems like it used to go pretty much down a cliff face, and my legs were already sad from climbing up and down Fultons track!

The almost-certainly-more-than-900m to the wheel is well worth it, and a few hundred yards further up the gully is the Crinoline Machinery site, with a boiler and old stamper, along with other relics in a corner of the creek.

It's just amazing to think of the effort involved in getting all that gear into those secluded gully's 140 years ago.

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Wheel.jpg


http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Wheel_1.jpg


http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Wheel_2.jpg


http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Crinoline_boiler.jpg


http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/Ang.jpg

From there we rolled on to O'tooles campground, and set up for the famous Steve Family Lamb Roast - very tasty, marginally better than the Agent Family Camp oven Stew.

Great night round the fire, talking 4wd's and camping ideas and all things in between. Occassionally punctuated by the needs of children. And I must say Middle Child impressed with her growing skills in campcraft and general outdoorsieness, pitching the tent, helping with tea and cleaning up after the old man with sore legs...

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/camp.jpg


Next day a lazy start to the day before checking out the Tomboon Chimney. Went for a walk there as well, to see other relics and seek the elusive Pergola, but the walking tracks have been changed and it's not real clear which way is what. Dont know where that pergola was.

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/IMG_8267.jpg

http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/IMG_8283.jpg


http://cehorn.gallery.netspace.net.au/albums/album07/River.jpg

Then it was time for home, for me anyway!

Cheers to Steve and family for a good couple days, hope to catch up again soon. Plenty more to do out there!!

[RoryE]

nice 1 mate looks like fun

[Steve34]

Hi Guys , had a great weekend . Agent13 has discribed it perfectly so i will try not to ramble too much .
Met at Walhalla and did the introductions then headed off toward dry gully track then onto Fultons :o . I conquered this track only 4 weeks ago but a little bit more weight and a bit of rain changed things a little . So backwards i went then onto One speck track to meet back up the top .
http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0779.jpg
and continued on happily




http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0772.jpg
After a small bushwalk to the water wheel :D we went looking for somewhere to camp .

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0841.jpg
Had some food and drinks ;) and got to know everyone .
After a lazy morning we then headed for Timboon mine site for some more photo ops . From there cruised through meringtons then back to Walhalla for the traditional beer at The Wally Pub .

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0941.jpg
Parted ways soon after then we headed down to Coopers Creek to spend the night . The river was certainly flowing higher than usual as the bow wave licked the wipers :eek: .
After breakfast monday we had a little visit we thought we best feed some leftovers .

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0994.jpg
Packed up camp and chugged our way to Erica (water in dizzy fron river crossing :o ) Then headed to Welshpool to look at some land . The block we went to look at wasnt real good but then came across another with these views .

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_1018.jpg
and

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_1023.jpg

Then it was time to go home :( not before chasing an echidna off the road ,

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_1029.jpg
and getting stuck behind a house for 20 k's

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_1030.jpg

Cant wait till the next trip .

Cheers , Steve

[GXL4X4]

Great report sorry i dident make it now good pics i have a rear locker and bfg muddies wonder if i would of got up that first track.

cheers

[Agent 13]

Mmm dunno GXL, maybe. I doubt I would have made it without the front locker, but possibly with the track building and with the tyres down a little more I might have. We had our tyres down about as far as we felt was safe with a load on, mine were 21 all round (I feel the BFG's dont like being to low - just doesnt ride quite the same at 18lb as previous tyres have).

Bottom line is clay is not our friend ;-)

[Steve34]

I blame the Cooper STT's , everybody else does ;) .

[Agent 13]

I blame the Cooper STT's , everybody else does ;) .

Yes curse those cooper STT's! And MTZ's! And BFG's! Oh wait... not the BFG's, they're the good ones...!

I reckon clay is the great leveler. Curse the clay!

So the block was not what you hoped?

[Steve34]

Not the first block , but the one in the photos i will definatly reserch .

[Zako]

Awesome pics! Pity I missed out, but I'm sure there will be a next time.

Tell you what Steve, if I had a block with views like that I'd be stoked!!!

[utedriver]

Gday Agent, I watched a clip on "You Tube" last week of Mooning Star Tk, I think the pics you have show how steep it is!!

Rich

[Agent 13]

Gday Agent, I watched a clip on "You Tube" last week of Mooning Star Tk, I think the pics you have show how steep it is!!

Rich

G'day Rich, Nah this one (in the pics) was Fultons Creek trk; morning star is pretty steep to I hear; we did the bottom part looking for the short track to the Waterwheel but ended up back at the bottom where the walking track starts. Looking at the contour map, Morning Star doesnt get much worse than it is on the first climb, but if there are rock steps like the ones we saw it would be fun! Next time.

Cheers, its hard to show how steep the tracks are, even with vehicles on them; but people climbing seems to help!! Tell you what, I could only do 20 steps at a time, and todays the first day me legs havent hurt after all the up and down!

[Steve34]

Just a few more random shots from the weekend .
http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0871.jpg

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0928.jpg

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0850-1.jpg

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_0860.jpg

http://i892.photobucket.com/albums/ac125/steve34_2009/DSC_1005.jpg

My 12 year old daughter took most of these with my camera , i think she might have a good eye for photos with a little practice :)

[Agent 13]

Yes I reckon she might. Some nice interpretations there! I saw her lookin pretty serious with the camera at one stage!!