As I started to research the Upper Murray and looked at the valleys that protrude south into the mountains, I thought it would make sense to start from the west and work our way around in a loop. Mount Beauty is south of Tallangatta in the Kiewa Valley, and from there the road goes up to the Bogong High Plains and Falls Creek. We decided on two nights, with a day trip up the mountain. On our way we checked a free camp by the Kiewa River, but decided it was a bit too close to the road, too far from Mount Beauty and there wasn't really enough solar, so booked into the caravan park.
In the afternoon we walked up to the Mount Beauty Gorge.
It was lovely and warm in the sun, and the reptiles were out warming themselves.
Jacky Dragon
At this point it was necessary to cross the creek to continue further up into the gorge. Dazz wasn't interested, but I thought I would have a go. I took my boots and socks off and had a couple of goes at walking into the water, but it was way too cold! I was worried my feet would cramp and I would slip, so gave up on that idea.
I'm out of practice with videos, but thought I should get back into it with the clear streams and waterfalls.
We met a couple who had seen two other snakes along the track, but unfortunately we didn't come across them.
Cunningham's Skink
Another Jacky Dragon
Yellow-faced Honeyeater
Crimson Rosella (juvenile - with a bit more red than the one at Bright)
It was so peaceful sitting by the river in the afternoon.
We had stopped at the Visitor Centre on the way to the Gorge and the lady told us about Lake Guy at the Bogong Village, and how it is unusual in that the walk around the lake goes through the wall rather than across the top. We thought that sounded interesting, so made it our first stop the next day. The lake was very pretty, but we had a lot of other things we wanted to do in the day, so decided to just walk through the wall and back again, not around the whole lake.
It was quite eerie inside, looking down to where the water came through.
The rhododendrons in the park were stunning.
Pink-Bells
Native Violets
Our next stop was Fainter Falls, just outside Bogong Village.
Yellow-bellied Water Skink
Cabbage White Butterfly
We kept going up the mountain to Falls Creek. There were a couple of patches of snow in the distance.
Rocky Valley Dam
A beautiful specimen of a Snow Gum
Our final stop for the day was the short walk to Wallace Hut. It is the oldest surviving hut in the Victorian Alps.
Spotted Pardalote
