Exiting Wonnangatta to the East with a camper

Of the ones you have listed, Water Spur would be the better then Harts.

The one I use is West Buffalo/ Harry Shepherd Track when towing.

Hi Boobook,
I was in Wonnangatta valley last weekend, came in from Crooked River end after doing Billy Goat Bluff (downhill), up Neats Tk, Cynthia Range Tk, Wombat Range Tk and down along Humffray River Tk to the old homestead and then out through Zeka Spur Tk the next day after overnight camp in Wonnangatta. I was in a party of three vehicles and not towing a camper trailer. As you seem to know, there are quite steep sections of track along the above route, particularly Wombat Range and Neats Tk as well as parts of Cynthia Range Tk. Personally I would not be planning a trip along this route with a camper as the track is overgrown in areas, narrow, steep in sections and can be very rocky; but that might just be my personal preference not to challenge myself to the limits. We all got through without a problem just in our vehicles though.

I haven't travelled Harts Spur Tk, Ti Tree Spur Tk and Race Course Tk but from a distance they looked wider and probably a better route to plan. Others might give you feedback on this route.

Zeka Spur Tk has a couple of very large tress across it just before you climb out of the Wonnangatta Valley and we were forced into a detour around them by going over the edge of the road and then back up to the road again. Trailer might drag going over road edge on both ends. Hopefully the trees will be gone by the time you come through. They were too large for my little chainsaw to deal with and would take quite a while to cut up and remove with a bigger saw anyway. Both were about a metre in diameter.

Hope the above is helpful in your planning and enjoy the scenery when you get there.

Cheers

Rob K

Herne Spur is too steep to safely tow a trailer up.
Wombat is steep but doable. A 6 cylinder TD cruiser in our group was flat out in low 1st so had no reserve. Biggest issue is the track narrows in places while on the climb so if someone is coming down, particually with a trailer you may need to stop & restarting could be difficult. With a lead vehicle this could be avoided.
Hart Spur has some steep pinches but it's the huge erosion control ditches that could have the drawbar dragging if you don't have plenty of clearance./
Getting to Water Spur has a sharp creek crossing & another slippery decent when wet. It has the easiest grade of the 4 but possibly the worst surface.
Zeka in the wet can be plain dangerous at times when towing & being the only entry from that side to the valley may leave you with a dilema. If you can't handle the tree that's across the track at present then you should possibly look at some easier routes as big timber is continually falling these days post fires & people need to be able to cut them off or face back tracking.
Cheers Craig...............

Hello Boobook, just winding if you have a update on your trip plans thank you

Mick, just got back last night. It was a great trip with mostly great weather. Wed morning to Sunday night.

As planned we went in down Zeka Spur after a magnificent detour on Kelly's lane near Arbuckle junction. I have never been along there past Kelly's and Mc Michaels huts before, but it has to be one of the most beautiful spots I have seen in the high country.

Zeka was much easier than I thought. No issues at all, even though there were a few damp spots and some small creeks across the road. Easy Peasy. Just had to watch the speed over the run offs. It took about 2 1/2 hours to the bottom including a quick lunch. There was another Tvan in the 'gatta, some nice trout too! It was real quiet too.

Our exit to the east was up Wombat Range track. The first 7 - 8 km was very steep up and the last 8 or so, was steep down.

Then we went down to Talbotville via Station track and Pioneer racecourse. Again a very steep track down for about 3km. Lots of big steep wash outs here with scraping of the towbar / a frame. You need to take it real slow over these.

From the valley to Talbotville took longer than I expected, it's further than I remember. I think that was about 4 1/2 hours inc lunch but I don't think the trailer held us up at all.

I was expecting a lot of problems, especially over those steep rises over rocky sections but generally it was like there was no trailer behind. I was impressed and relieved at how easy it was. I had a big smile and a fast beer when we stopped to camp....

The 200 diesel loved it. That low down torque just soaked it all up and I had to check that the camper was still there at times, it seemed so easy.

Lessons learned. I would invert my tow bar tongue to go over those big wash outs next time, and any camper doing the same would have to have good clearance, and a real good departure angle to make it. Check the Tvan departure angle, and I scraped the back once. Oh and while I would do Zeka if it was damp/ wet I would not contemplate any of the eastern tracks.

Thanks to everyone inc the Parks ranger for their advice. Great trip.