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It can be difficult to explain to someone only slightly familiar with Victoria's alpine region where the Howitt and Snowy Plains part is. There isn't a major ski resort nearby and the closest settlement, 60km away, is Licola. Licola?? - fair enough, its population is barely into double figures, and the only reason anyone visits it is as the gateway to…the Snowy and Howitt Plains. The next closest town, the more moderately sized Heyfield, is another 50km away, and it's almost a further 50km to Traralgon, the last major highway point en-route to Howitt Plains. This elevated region of rolling hills and open snow-grass plains is thus quite remote, even though its distance from Melbourne (350km) is less than Falls Creek or Mt Hotham. It features some of Victoria's most spectacular scenery, yet because there aren't any businesses or services within cooee to make money from visitors, pictures of it rarely appear in glossy tourist brochures.
Distinctive peaks such as Mt Howitt and the Cross-Cut Saw are visible on a clear day from Mt Buller or Mt Stirling; for many this is the closest they will get to some of the most exciting parts of the Alpine National Park. The attractions of this area are well known to those fond of hard overnight bushwalks, but many of them are also accessible as relatively easy day walks. For those who enjoy bush camping but aren't up to carrying a heavy pack, this trip is an ideal chance to see the highlights of this region. Base-camp will be at the Bryces Gorge car park, a pleasant grassed area amidst snow gums, with picnic tables and a toilet. A short distance away a creek meanders across a plain, giving no clue that less than two kilometres further on it will plunge a few hundred metres down the rugged cliffs of Bryces Gorge. A walk around these clifftops is the first of the day walks. Others will take in Mt Reynard/Kelly's Hut and MacAlister Springs/Mt Howitt/Cross-Cut Saw before finishing with a half-day Cup day walk to Mt Tamboritha and Shaws Falls. All the walks are within an altitude range of 1300-1600m; the only hard climbing will done by the vehicles on the journey up there Grading: Medium |
