Base Camp at Walhalla

Yung: Alyssa & I just came back from a fantastic camping trip at Walhalla - 2.5 hrs out of Melbourne. Lately we've been checking out a few bush walking clubs that organises camping and hiking trips around Victoria. After a few false starts (previous trips cancelled due to bush fire threats), we finally embarked on a trip with the YHA bush walking club. Walhalla is a historic mining town situated at the beginning of the Australian Alps Walking Track (from VIC to the ACT). Base camping, as the name suggests involves setting up your tent and gear at a base location, and then setting off to hike around the surround area before heading back to camp for a good night's rest. Because your base is never far from your car, you can afford to bring much more things as compared to a pack carry expedition where you are forced to be more selective and disciplined on the type of gear and food you bring. On this trip we covered at least 20kms of trails with some long steep climbs and river crossings, as well as exploring many of the abandoned gold mines, railway lines and historical buildings around the area. Being in a group has its advantages, its great fun and when the going gets tough - either striking a conversation with the person next to you keeps you going or if that doesn't work, looking back at someone else struggling more than you should fuel enough energy for you to finish the job.

We also met a lot of great people like Rob who taught us how to cross a fast flowing river properly as a group, and Ron the nice group leader who kept complimenting us on all our gear - from our tent to our fuel stove. He must have been amused at the sight of two novices bringing along so many high tech gears (in the hiking world, we would be dubbed as typical "flash packers" ). And then there was Robert, a 56 year old fitness fanatic Chinese guy who looks at least a decade younger than he is, and his level of fitness leaves us to great shame. There was also some very "interesting" people on the walk, the sort you'd rather leave behind on the track...rain, hail or shine. This trip for us marks the beginning of many more 'practice' rounds to come before our much anticipated hiking trip of the NZ Milford Track in Easter. Go to our PhotoAlbum on the left to view the rest of our photos.