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Mickp had booked a house at Dargo for 3 nights and organised a few riders to go and explore the Victorian High Country .There was a spare bed and I was lucky enough to get an invite to go along.
The plan was to trailer the bikes to Mick’s friend Ken’s house near Dalgety and then ride to Dargo the next day.Day 1 Jindabyne to Dargo
The crew was Mick (Mickp), Wayne (Lotsa), Gavin (Gavb), Joe (Tryhard), Clive (Fish), Brendon (Boulder), Ken, Ray and myself (mark1957)
After a great breakfast of Bacon and Eggs cooked by Mick we set off via the Barry Way.Here we are setting off into a near perfect day, blue sky and a fresh wind to blow the dust away.
First stop was the Wallace Craigie lookout just before we dropped down into the Snowy River valley.
Here is the view of where we were headed.
This is our first look at the Snowy River with the most water it has had flowing since the Dam was built at Jindabyne, with all the rain lately water has been released from the Dam.
Ken doing sweep rider duties along the Barry Way
The bridge at Suggan Buggan had been nearly washed away in all the rain and luckily it had been repaired enough for us to ride over it.
Mick leading the way.
We followed the Barry Way until the Victorian border where it became the Snowy River rd, soon after we came to the turn off to the Limestone road at Wulgumerang.
Here is a look at Limestone rd winding it’s way into the distance off to the right hand side of the photo.
We followed Limestone rd and turned left into Native Cat trail and headed for Nunniong rd.
Here’s Joe at the start of Native Cat trail.
Native Cat trail was one of those fun /interesting trails that wound it’s way in and out of the trees with the odd mudhole to negotiate.
Here’s Brendon followed by Clive following the dry line that I had used .
Some of the others went on the other side with varying degrees of success.
A close up of Gavin with Joe taking the right out wide line.
Here’s Mick and Ray emerging from Native Cat to join Nunniong rd.
A look back down Nunniong rd.
The three of us waited for a few minutes and there was no sign of the others but pretty soon we heard that Brendon’s bike had stopped in a mudhole.
A few minutes later he came along and it seemed as if there was a problem with the start button.
More about that later.Nunniong rd soon came out into open farmland and we were on our way to Ensay for lunch at the Little River hotel.
Even the tar roads were fun, here’s Little River rd winding it’s way along the side of the hills.
Lunch at the hotel
After lunch we headed for Dargo via Angora Range rd
Here’s the view back down to the valley from Angora Range rd.
Angora Range rd joined into Mt Baldhead rd and then Jones rd which were all fun roads to blast along at good speed.
We arrived at Dargo before dark and stocked up on brekky stuff at the Dargo store and rode down the road to our accommodation in the River Cottage.
What a great setup it was ….. just like being at home.
Pretty soon we were all showered and we headed for the pub for dinner and a pot or two of Carlton Draught.
After dinner we pulled out the maps and planned the next day’s ride .
Mick had ridden down a trail last year and said it was a cracker …
the name of the trail was ominous “The Haunted Stream track” so it was a definite.
Riding that way meant that a pub lunch wasn’t possible but I begrudgingly agreed to it on the promise of a great day out.Day 2 The Haunted Stream Track
Here we are at the store ready to set off
We headed east from Dargo along Lower Dargo rd for Tabberabera rd but along the way Brendon’s bike stopped again
After a bit of an investigation it seemed like all was OK with the main fuse but the fuseholder looked dodgy so it was bypassed and his bike jump started from Wayne’s bike.
But just as we were about to head up into the mountains it started misfiring so he decided to turn around and head back to Dargo and spend the day checking it out and doing what he could to fix it for the next day.
Of course we just carried on and left him but later found out it stopped completely around the corner and he pushed it 6kms back into town.
The Tabberabera rd became the Tabberabera –Bullumwaal rd after a while ( try saying that after a few drinks) and wound it’s way along a ridge and then down into a farm valley and across a creek.Here’s Mick leading Wayne and Joe across the first creek crossing of the day.
This would prove to be a walk in the park but more about that later.
We came to this intersection and after a bit of debate and map and GPS consultation we continued straight ahead, we had come out of Tabberabera rd and it looked as if Tabberabera rd continued on straight ahead and Sandy Crk rd went to the left but after a while it became apparent that we should have turned left at the intersection.
But it didn’t matter as Sandy Crk rd was a good fun road anyway and took us to the same place anyway.
Here’s Ken on a causeway along the way.
This is the point where we stopped and consulted the maps/GPS and realised we were still on Sandy Crk rd, but as it was just starting to rain we needed to don our wet weather gear anyway.
We didn’t want to get wet, more about that later as well.
Pretty soon we were turning into Howitt’s Spur rd and onto Sisters rd on our way to Deptford.
Here’s Brendon Clive and Gavin about to turn left into Deptford rd.
Gavin crossing the causeway at Deptford.
Ken didn’t fare as well and we spent a few minutes draining his carby bowl before his bike would run above idle.
We then turned right into Five Mile Spur rd and I waited at the top of this rise and told them all to do a wheely for the camera.
Joe putting on a show.
We rode down into the valley and prepared ourselves for an interesting afternoon.
Here is a shot of the time and odometer at the start of the Haunted Stream track.
Here is a last photo of a bunch of dry riders.
Wayne leading the way across the first creek crossing.
Clive in the next.
Gavin in the next.
Clive’s nickname is Fish, the reasons for this will become obvious soon.
Ray cooling off.
The track has been driven on recently so we should have no problems with fallen trees.
Gavin making a nice bow wave further on.
Wayne leading the way through the next.
Clive pushing Ray out after Ray fell to the side and drowned his bike.
Off with the tank and time to dewater the motor.
Clive drowned his bike soon after but I didn’t get a photo of that one.
Mick said he didn’t want to drown his after drowning his DR650 the other week and destroying the barrel with ingested mud.Mick staying upright in the next.
A look ahead at the track, it was good fun between the creeks.
Clive taking no chances this time.
Mick just before he fell over and drowned his bike.
Mick’s bike was full from the top of the piston to the top of the trumpet in the airbox.
So we stood it on it’s front wheel and then the back wheel and emptied what we could out.
Next it was off with the Safari tank and out with the plug and the water was pumped out and we were on our way again.
My long legs came in handy after that and I rode Mick’s bike across the remaining creek crossings as time was getting on and it was now looking as if we could easily be riding home in the dark.
That is if we actually got out of the valley before dark.We could see a track to the right that would take us up to the top road but after battling for 500 metres through the overgrown track we decided to go back down and continue on following the creek and taking no chances with the crossings.
Here is Wayne and Joe heading back down.
Gavin was kind enough to take a photo of me just to prove I was there as well.
There was another track off to the left on the map and here is the speedo at the turnoff to it.
Have a close look at the time and odometer ……
Here is the track, looks like it will be a fun uphill run now.
Here we are at the top of the track with Clive ringing Brendon to place our dinner orders at the pub.
We were at the Turntable Hotel but the Dargo Hotel sounded better so we headed for home.
It was close to 7pm by this stage and we had about 60kms to ride.
We rode around the corner to find the road blocked but we soon had all the bikes over and we were on the home stretch.
We all arrived at the pub just after 8pm and went straight in for dinner in our wet riding gear.
Better than cold dinner.Then it was back to the house for a shower and a drink or two.
Brendon could tell us that his battery was flat and he bought a new one and his bike ran perfectly.Day 3 Billy Goats Bluff
First up Mick tested Brendon’s bike and found that there was nothing coming from the regulator.
A burnt out plug was found and bypassed and all looked good.Here’s Mick and Ray looking at the map planning the day under the carport.
We headed out along Wonnangatta rd and made our way towards Billy Goats Bluff.
A view of the river.
Our first look at the track.
Gavin coming up the next section.
Brendon’s bike stopped again.
The main fuse had blown but a replacement soon had it going again.
Here’s a look at the rest of the track from the Helipad.
Gavin just before the top.
The view from the top.
A bunch of happy campers, we made it to the top without too much trouble.
We then rode around the corner to The Pinnacles.
Along the way to the fire tower I saw this sign.
So I got Mick to supervise Gavin just to be sure.
Here’s the view from the lookout.
We then headed along MacDonalds Gap track on our way back towards the valley floor.
Wayne enjoying the track.
An over the shoulder of Joe at the top of a downhill.
Joe on an erosion hump further along.
We followed a couple of fun windy trails to the tar road and then headed for Dargo for an earlier finish than yesterday.
We headed for a refreshing drink at the pub and were there at the right time to see a herd of cattle being driven down the main street.
You don’t see that in every town.
We walked down to the other pub in town to be greeted by this sticker in the carpark.
Here we are in the afternoon sun.
Day 4 Dargo to Dalgety
We headed up towards Hotham Heights and into the early morning fog.
We were above the fog now.
The effect of the bushfires can still be vividly seen.
The view from Hotham Heights.
We headed down hill and turned right into Dinner Plain trail.
This was a fun and interesting trail.
At the end we turned left into Birregun rd and headed for Omeo for lunch.
A photo of Wayne taking a photo of me taking a photo of Wayne.
We stopped out the front of the pub at Omeo but we all ate at the cafe across the road for a change.
Clive ducked into the pub for a six pack of Bundy cans for a drink on the top of Mt Pinnibar.
We headed out of town and turned into Parish Boundary lane.
On the way from Benambra to Mt Pinnibar is this interesting rock formation.
Ken on the Mt Anderson track on the way to Pinnibar.
Mick riding up the last section of Mt Gibbo track.
The last section near the top of Mt Pinnibar
The view !!
Mick on the way back down heading towards Tom Groggin.
Gavin keeping his feet dry in the very last creek crossing for the weekend.
The Murray river at Tom Groggin was too deep to risk drowning the bikes again so we went through the gate and started to ride through the Tom Groggin Sation road.
A 4WD Ute was making a beeline for us as we set off so Ray and myself went to ask permission to ride through.
The owner said he didn’t encourage it but as the river was up it would be OK as long as we rode slowly. He also said it would be appreciated if we were to ring beforehand if we ever wanted access again.
It was a too frequent story, people riding through too fast and cutting his fences etc and he was probably going to stop access altogether.A final photo before we hit the tar road.
Then it was a fast run along the Alpine Way to Jindabyne to finish off a great 4 day adventure.
Coming into Jindabyne with the Lake in the background.
We arrived back at Ken’s place in good time to catch the sunset.
All up 1000kms in 4 days, great trails, great riding partners, 3 drowned bikes on day 2, no injuries and no breakdowns that couldn’t be fixed.
It doesn’t get much better than that.Great report as yours always are Mark. Looks like you timed the rain down there
We noted on the weekend how much rain there had been down there, well on the north eastern side of Pinnabar.
Fish and Mickp had heaps of fun giving it to me when I drowned my bike down there ( as I would to them or anyone :laugh: ) then they both did it
its no fun swiming with your bike as I know :laugh: Was interesting regarding the de-water of the KTM being fuel injected, was it the air box design or what made it particularly hard? Fish was saying that it had be tipped up front and back? Poor Mick isn’t having a good run with creeks lately having recently drowned the DR and it now needing an engine rebuild because of it.Good job going around the Murray bad river that one :laugh: We rang Tom Groggin station last time we were there in Feb to get permission to cross through the station because we had Lance and the tiger with us and they didn’t seem happy to grant permission but did in the end.
Thanks for the report Mark the pictures are great
I love Pinnabar and to have Rums up there is gold well done FishTB
Looked like an awesome ride guys and a great report.
Cheers,
LeftyWell done on the report.
And especially on the pics.
Pictures always make for a great report.
Looked like all had a top ride. :woohoo:
Cheers
Murph
First Class Report & trip as I would expect from the crew that attended !!!Thanx for the read guys
One of the best ride reports i have seen Mark. Great work. Awesome country and looks like you boy’s had a great time.
great report looked like fubWell, what can I say. Mark has provided an excellent report as usual.
He was our defacto roving photographer / reporter for the weekend. He had snapped about 50 photos before we reached Kens place in Jindabyne and the bikes were still on the trailer. :silly:He took about 600 photos over the 4 days of riding and that was limited because of
A) his memory card was full or
the camera battery was flat or
C) he culled photos to make room for other shotsI would like to thank Mark and Ray (with his local knowledge) for their help in working out tracks to ride on the weekend. Dargo Dan (from the General Store) had been in hospital prior to our arrival and could not assist us beforehand. He was very apologetic on Sunday when we finally caught up to him for not being able to help us out with the tracks. He only got out of hospital on Friday arvo and was running around helping people out with drowned and damaged bikes on Sat. when he was supposed to be resting in bed.
A big thanks to Ken for allowing us to use his place as the base for our ride and accommodating us all. A top weekend away with a great group of blokes who worked as a team to get everyone through.
Here are a few of my photos of the weekend
The crew relaxing at Little River Inn, Ensay waiting for lunch
Planning the assault of Billy Goats Bluff
Mark coming up to the helipad at Billy Goats Bluff
Gavin coming up to the helipad at Billy Goats Bluff
Discussing the final assault on Billy Goat
The view from the helipad up Billy Goats Bluff
Mark at the top of Billy Goats
Top of the Pinnacles
The views
Gav and Mick
Our Dargo home with bikes ready for the trip back to Jindy
The crew at Mt Hotham
Mark cresting Mt. Pinnibar
Wayne – Mt Pinnibar
The crew celebrating on top of Mt Pinnibar :woohoo:
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