Commencing in
Mansfield this trip travels out the Howqua River and up into the Alpine National Park, you will travel up over
the Bluff and across the Howitt Plain, through the Wonanngatta to
Talbotville, explore Grant and
Dargo, and the best ridge top drive in the state. On the way out via the
Dargo High Plains Rd you can take a challenging but spectacular ridge top run out the
Blue Rag Range to the Blue Rag Trig Point. The trig point at 1718m above sea level provides a 360 degree panorama of the country recently travelled and of Hotham, Feathertop and the
Bogong complex.
The trip proceeds back along the ridge and up to St Bernhard Hospice and down the Alpine Way to it’s finish in Harrietville. This could be the beginning of another trip depending on where you are headed with Mount Beauty and
Bright to explore and an abundance of wineries including some of the countries best between here and Wangaratta and Albury.
How to Use this Trek Note
If you'd like to download this Trek there are two options:
- Purchase our app ExplorOz Traveller. This Australian-made GPS & Navigation app will allow you to download all the ExplorOz Treks to your GPS enabled smartphone/tablet/iPad or laptop and enable active route guidance along the route as per the Directions shown on this page. The app enables offline navigation and mapping and will show where you are as you travel along the route. The app also allows you to edit/customise the route. Viewing the Trek in the Traveller app also includes all the words, images and POIs exactly as on the website (excludes Wildflowers). For more info see the ExplorOz Traveller webpage.
- Alternatively, if you already have another raster mapping software program you can Download this route in GPX format using the button shown below the map on this page .
TIP | To purchase our maps for offline use, you will need to purchase the EOTopo 2021 map licence. To install the maps you will need the ExplorOz Traveller app. |
Environment
During the hotter summer months, the tracks can be very dry and dusty. During the colder and wetter months of Winter, the tracks may be slippery and treacherous in some
places, especially after rain and care and patience must be taken.
Flora
There are over 1300 indigenous species including 43 eucalypts, 38 wattles and 96 orchids in this region. In Wonnangatta Valley for example, there are many exotic trees which still today produce crops in the appropriate season. The Valley provides blackberries, raspberries, apples, pears, cherries, mushrooms and chestnuts which the visiting camper can enjoy.
Fauna
This wide and varied vegetation does provide habitat for a diverse range of fauna. There are both native and introduced wildlife with the majority being nocturnal. This includes: wombats, kangaroos, wallabies as
well as rats, possums, echidnas, platypus, and water rats. Some of the introduced species include sambar deer, rabbit, fox and wild dog. Birds include: crimson rosellas, kookaburras, king parrots, lyrebird and emus. You may also see wedge tailed eagles soaring high above crags and swooping across the valleys. Trout can be found swimming in the rivers and streams.
History
This area has some fascinating historical aspects. The route will take you through some of the high country that has become part of our mountain cattle
heritage over the past 150 years. Unsolved murders and high country huts, cattle stations which were surely the most remote in North East Victoria, gold mining and aboriginal history abound. Some sites include information signboards to tell the story, however you can enrich your trip experience by doing some pre-trip reading.
TrekID: 97