Bushwalk Australia

Hi. My compass skills are rather out of practice (which I need to get on to eventually) but I'm getting back into hiking. I know all the well known hikes (Razorback, Prom, GOR..) but I know there are so many more out there in Victoria.The catch now being that many access roads are closed for the season, I'd love some suggestions on overnight and two night hikes.

Sweetmango, welcome to the forum. A compass should be carried on all walks. Even if you don't know how to use it, with time and advice from others, the skills will be obtained. One that is probably most critical is aligning the map. If the compass does not have an offset, put the circular bit at 350 degrees, clockwise slightly. On a flat surface, line the red end of the needle on zero degrees. The edge of the compass is now north-south. Knowing how to do this can greatly assist when you come to track junctions.

Rather than cite walks here, why not go to a library and borrow a book of walks? My libraries have several such books, which even when dated give good ideas. Grampians, goldfields, Strathbogies, Snowy Plains, Bogong High Plains and many other areas have good tracks. If you find a walk that appeals, post the walk here and we can look at it.

Thanks for your suggestions. I do always carry a compass and a topo map. I'm just out of practice and want a hike that's easy to navigate. I love off track hiking, just not at the moment.

I have a range of hiking books too but there is a wealth of information that people store in their mind especially the older folk!

Ps. I'm not a novice just looking for more ideas and a book does not tell you if a track is now quite overgrown.

Human navigated without compass in times past, so virtually can be done in such a way. Just learn to read signs in the sky...

sweetmango wrote:Ps. I'm not a novice just looking for more ideas and a book does not tell you if a track is now quite overgrown.

Recent books will have recent information, reasonably accurate. Even so, all it takes is a storm to down some trees and a track vanishes. Another big if is a bushfire - regrowth can overwhelm tracks. In some areas management has decreed that tracks not be maintained, and the scrub can be quite thick. One such track is from above Pretty Plain Hut to the top of the Dargals. This nice 4WD track is now totally overgrown in most places.

If you can find a walk in a book up to 15 years old the track should still be okay, but ask here if in doubt, or maybe as a matter of course.

Are you into snow camping? If so then the choices increase in terms of winter walking in the Vic. Alps but navigating in a white out is not for those whose compass skills are rusty. :-0 .