Having arrived in Victoria fresh from spending two months exploring the wilds of Tasmania, I was keen to get back out into nature as soon as possible. But with one week left of summer school holidays I had to find somewhere a little off the beaten track to avoid the crowds that would no doubt be lingering anywhere within a stones throw of the coast; so where to go?!? The Strzelecki Ranges, of course!
And I wasnt about to let my lack of wheels get in the way, so after hopping off the coach from Melbourne in Yarram, I shouldered my 20kg+ backpack and headed for the hills. 2km down the road I stuck my thumb out for the first time, and sure enough the very next motorist passing by happened to be heading to his home about a dozen kilometres up the Tarra Valley Road and was happy to give me a lift. From there the scenery was already pretty impressive, so I put my legs to work and spent the next hour contentedly wandering up the road, as it crossed and the Tarra River on its way with only the occasional passing car to drown out
the sound of the water rushing past. And no sooner had I stopped for a drink of water at a small roadside picnic area, than another friendly local pulled up to offer me a ride up the hill towards Balook - she even dropped me off right beside the free Pattisons rest area that Id been planning to stay at!
So after setting up my tent in a great little spot that was fully shaded for at least half the day, I made the most of my good fortune (having been prepared to walk the full 30km from Yarram to Balook, which wouldnt have got me there until around 8pm) by following the delightfully quiet Grand Ridge Road the remaining 3km into Balook, where the visitor centre and its surrounding picnic area mark the start of a number of walking trails of varying distances.
After starting out on the Lyrebird Ridge Track, I soon turned off onto the Ash Track, and had gone only a couple of hundred metres further when I spotted no less than four Superb Lyrebirds (two males and two females) on the track up ahead of me! Clearly they had taken a wrong turn
and ended up on the wrong track, but I was glad to see them all the same, having never previously gotten a clear look at one of these birds... let alone four at once! Of course they scampered off into the bushes as soon as I approached too closely, but of theirs who was well hidden no more than five metres from the track had no such qualms about carrying on his vocal performance in of strangers, to the delight of not only myself but an older couple who had joined me by this stage.
Eventually he quietened down, so I took my leave and continued on down the hill to the start of the Fern Gully Nature Walk, which first crosses the impressive Corrigan Suspension Bridge before looping around through the most wonderful gully, watched over by countless majestic mountain ash trees soaring into the sky on either side. this smaller loop, I then the suspension bridge and followed the Scenic Track on a longer loop that brought me back to the visitor centre via the short Link Track. All in all it was a walk of no more
than 4km yet had kept me enthralled for a good couple of hours, before I made my way back along Grand Ridge Road to my delightful little free campsite (complete with picnic table, rainwater tank, rain shelter toilet) by the sound of birdsong, as not a single car drove past to disturb the serenity.
For my second day in the Strzelecki Ranges, I headed back into Balook (again without a single car to dodge along the way) to tackle my first loop on the Grand Strzelecki Track. This involved first my footsteps from the previous evening along the Link Track, before crossing over the main Road to make my way up through the forest on the Telecom Track, during which I found it beneficial to carry a fallen branch out in front of me to break the numerous spider webs that had been painstakingly woven overnight. Thats the problem with being 1.
