victorian high country 2

Time to tackle the Crooked River Track!
Crooked River Track – approximately 24 river crossings.

Morning and Afternoon: 
After some brekky, it was time to hit the Crooked River Track! The track runs through the middle of Talbotville Campground, so you have a choice as to whether you tackle the North or South section first. Once you’ve done one, you’ll end up back at Talbotville before doing the other.

At the end of the Northern Section, you can choose to take the Bulltown Spur Track back to Talbotville if you’re up for some steep, rocky climbs (this track can definitely add a few more technical challenges to the trip!). Bulltown Spur will take you back to Talbotville via McMillan Road. Alternatively, you can turn around when you get to the Bulltown Spur turn-off,  and go back the way you came on the Crooked River Track.

The river crossings are generally shallow, but dependent on recent rain it’s easy for those water levels to rise. The majority of the river entrances and exits are easy or moderate, and the river base of most crossings is a hard surface (stones). You’ll find plenty of little spots to pull up on the river for lunch – make the most of it, enjoy the scenery, and maybe have a swim!

Evening:
After a big day exploring the track, we returned back to Talbotville to build a campfire, throw a line in, and relax by the river ready for the next day of adventures. The way we’ve set up the kitchen side of our MRT Canopy makes cooking at camp super easy after you’ve been out exploring all day. With a 130L Bushman Fridge, MRT X-Series Pantry, and a modular draw unit for cutlery, plates, and pans, it’s the closest thing you can get to a home kitchen on the road. We also love that you can slide out the Under Tray Drawer and use it as extra bench space!

Morning: 
Time to pack up camp and set our sights on the Blue Rag Range Track! There are a number of iconic tracks in the High Country that are high up on many a bucket list, and this is definitely one of them.

We made our way from Talbotville back to Dargo High Plains Rd (again via McMillan Rd) and drove about 40 minutes north to the turn-off onto the Blue Rag Range Track. When we arrived, about six vehicles were pulled over having finished the track early, and they advised that the weather was beautiful up at the Trig Point. The conditions can change quickly up there, and many people have done the track in thick fog (not great for the views!).

We dug the tyre deflator out of the Underbody Toolboxes on our MRT Canopy and dropped out tyre pressures down before setting off on what we knew was going to be an incredible day out.

The main challenge of this track is how steep it is in parts. Don’t let this put you off, but it’s also not something we’d recommend you do if it’s your first 4WDing trip. However, if you know your vehicle well and you’ve had some reasonable off-roading experience, it’s a really enjoyable track. Remember that it is remote and rated as difficult, so just take your time. Pull over and walk sections that you’re unsure of before you drive them so you can pick the safest line, and keep an eye out for ruts or ‘wombat holes’, particularly on steep ascents/ descents.

The track follows the ridgeline with steep drop offs either side in parts, but it’s truly an example of the journey being as good as the destination. In good weather, like we had, you’ll have spectacular views of the surrounding Alpine National Park almost the whole way. We took about 1.5 hours to drive to the Trig Point, taking photos and videos along the way and just enjoying how unique of an experience this really is.

The last 400m of the track leading up to the Trig Point is the steepest of the whole track, but when we got there we were greeted with incredible panoramic 360 views and a real feeling of accomplishment! Peaking at 1,726m above sea level, you really do feel like you’re on top of the world up there. We were lucky enough to get the place to ourselves with no other vehicles in sight and spent a good 45 minutes before making our way back.

Evening: 
A trip to the Victorian High Country isn’t complete without visiting the iconic Dargo Hotel, so off we went! This is about an hour south back down Dargo High Plains Rd. The hotel is renowned for enormous parmigianas, cold beers, and is truly a slice of paradise in the High Country. Equipped with a large grassed camping area on the river behind the hotel, this was home for the night as we kicked back and reflected on the day we’d just had. Blue Rag Range – ticked off!