Mt Feathertop Victoria

Our main aim for this short 8 day trip was to hike along the Razorback to Mount Feathertop (the 2nd highest peak in Victoria) in the Alpine National Park.

We had an early start so decided to have a look at the Puckapunyal Tank Museum.

After an interesting visit we continued to our spot for tonight at Smoko Campground just 8.5km out of Harrietville.

The next morning we set up in the Harrietville Campground and had a stroll around this lovely small town at the foot of Mt Feathertop and the ski resort at Mt Hotham. The town boomed after gold was discovered here in 1852.

Back at camp we got ready for a BBQ.

We set off early the next day and drove 2.5km to the start of the track at Diamantina Hut.

The Razorback is a high narrow ridge that leads directly to the summit. It is a 22km grade 3 return hike and should take about 7 hours. 

We did it in 8 hours - 3 hours to the base of Mt.Feathertop at the junction called the Cross.

We then spent 1.5 hours walking to the top and had a rest admiring the amazing views.

While we sitting there we heard and saw a Chinook helicopter approaching...

 

We were a bit slower ( 3.5hours) to get back to the car but we enjoyed the beautiful wildflowers. 

Unfortunately in the last half hour it started raining but we still enjoyed the cool water of the river next to our site to help recovery and then had a meal at the pub.

After a rest day we drove up to Mt Hotham and Dinner Plains.

View of Mt Feathertop.

We enjoyed a short walk to "Room with a View" where we admired the views and the wildflowers.

Later we explored the very quaint Dinner Plans village.

The following day we left Harrietville and stopped for in Bright for a bit before continuing on the explore the Buckland Valley. We found a nice spot to camp at Leinster Flat and had a quiet night.

We couldn't believe that after we had cooked our BBQ the cows that have been wondering around actually licked the plate (possibly for the salt)!

Saw this in a farmers' field...long way to come.

Reluctantly we moved on stopping in Myrtleford and then drove to Lake Buffalo but found nowhere to camp.

View of Mount Buffalo.

Further on we decided to stay at Stringybark Creek Camp.

The is Ned Kelly country. For those who don't know of him, he was a bushranger and outlaw during the late 1800's and was convicted of murdering police. He was known for wearing a suit of bulletproof amour during his final shoot out in 1878 on the banks of Stringybark Creek. So of course we went on the historical walk.

After a cooked breakfast on the fire we set off to Jamieson and had a walk around the historic village.

We spent our last night at Snakes Reserve on the Goulburn River.

Track to the river.