The ‘Foresters’ Grand Tour of Far East Gippsland revisited: Deddick Valley and Snowy River National Park
Date and time: 9:00am, Tuesday 09 January to 1:00pm Saturday 13 January 2024
Trip Standard: Hard – Some tracks are easy, many tracks are medium, but there are some sections classified as hard.
Description: Please contact your trip leader if you are unsure of any of the following requirements for this trip.
The Foresters are re-attempting to visit places we missed out on last year.
Where better to welcome in the New Year than on the trail with a group of fellow club members doing what we do best?
Starting in Buchan we will explore areas of the Deddick Valley and Snowy River National Park. Some of the highlights we aim to visit include Jackson’s Crossing, Deddick Trail, McKillops Bridge, Little River Gorge, Seldom Seen, World’s End, Mount Tingaringy, Black-Allen Line, Monkey-Top, and parts of the Bowen Trail. We may even spend some time within NSW. Be prepared to be flexible because like last year, our final itinerary depends on current weather and track conditions. Already there has been severe flooding through this area after a relative dry spell!
We will finish by lunchtime on 13 January in Orbost (although this location may change, depending on final itinerary).
Please carry all food and water for 41/2 days plus cooking and camping equipment.
Morning tea and lunches will be in the bush each day – byo simple, “on the move” lunches and morning teas.
Clothing and closed toe footwear for warm and possibly wet conditions (depending on forecast).
No camper trailers, pets or firearms.
References: Rooftops ‘Snowy River – McKillops Bridge – Lakes Entrance’ and ‘Cann River – Orbost – Delegate’ Adventure Maps. Far East Gippsland Back Road Tours Guide
Accommodation: We will bush camp in designated National Parks campsites with drop toilets available.
We will be camping out at Buchan Caves campsite on the night of the 8th. There are currently other camping spots free there. Book through Parks Victoria website if you are considering that option. (At time of writing there was a warning about a sink hole, but this should be repaired within the week)
Weather: This area has a high level of rainfall, even in summer, so expect rain. Otherwise these areas will be warm to hot. There are snakes in these areas so closed toes footwear is recommended.
Review the Tubbut and Bendoc weather forecasts leading up to the trip and bring appropriate clothing, footwear and camping gear.
The fire warning levels will be monitored leading up to and during the trip. The trip will be modified or cancelled if the fire danger is too high.
Equipment: Below are the recommended vehicle requirements. If you are not sure if you vehicle is suitable for a trip, please have a chat with the trip leader.
Good off-road tyres (All Terrain, 60 profile recommended as a minimum), UHF radio (or one borrowed from the club), a well-maintained vehicle with low range (or equivalent), good ground clearance (200mm recommended as a minimum), recovery points, standard recovery gear including dampener, rated snatch strap and shackles, shovel. Drivers must have completed the RRCV club training or equivalent.
Additional Equipment required: Sunscreen, camping gear suitable for summer alpine environments, some cold and wet weather clothing as alpine weather can change suddenly, optional swimming gear, air compressor and tyre gauge, MaxTrax or similar recovery equipment. A chainsaw and PPE are useful for the odd fallen tree. A winch may be handy if you have one. Each vehicle ought to bring half a bag of firewood for our nightly group campfire (depending on weather).
Fuel: Enough fuel from Buchan for 600km. There are no planned fuel stops so please carry extra fuel as needed. It would be a good idea to carry an extra full jerry can or two of fuel.
Distance: Melbourne to Buchan 350kms. Buchan to Orbost 600km. Orbost to Melbourne 370km.
Duration: 5 days
Convoy limit: 10 vehicles
Meeting arrangements: We plan to meet at the park, near the public toilets at the southern end of Main Street, Buchan at 9.00am for our trip briefing. (What3Words reference https://w3w.co/mercenary.members.wider). We aim to finish about 1:00pm in Orbost on the Saturday.
Trip Leader: James Lawson, Phone - 0429265550, Email – lawsonj71au@gmail.com
Club Guest Registration policy: It is club policy in regard to insurance cover that if a member brings any non-members on the trip they must be registered and have paid the required fee as Temporary Members BEFORE the event.
i.e. non- members can no longer register on the day with the trip leader.
Temporary Membership information and ways to register can be found at:
Temporary (Guest) Membership
Also if a non-member wishes to bring their own vehicle, the member inviting the non-member must contact the trip leader for approval to bring the vehicle. Such approval will take into account skills of the driver, suitability of the vehicle and whether or not a place within the convoy limit is available for a non-member's vehicle.
