Vic High Country

G'day Ron,

check out the treks listed on this site.
From memory the track from Woods Point to Porepunkah is not recommended for trailers as there is extreme hill climbs and large ruts which make reversing near on impossible.

Cheers Kev

A lot of tracks are very steep and very narrow making passing etc very difficult without having a trailer.

Leave it at home and enjoy the High Country without the hassle of trying to negotiate the area towing a camper.

Ron,

We regularly take our Ultimate (No10) into the High Country and have a few favourite base camps. You might look at camps along the Crooked River near Dargo and PIneapple Flat on the King River for a start. You will find good Ultimate friendly tracks all through the area but there are some that are a no go particularly some of the steep spur tracks. Use a base campe for a few nights and explore is my suggestion.

Peter

The High Country is a large and varied area, if you are able to give more specific information about where you are going we may be able to give better advice.

Much of it will take a trailer - some of it will definitely not.

Mike Harding

Ron the problem with recomending tracks in the Vic High Country suitable for towing trailers is that the conditions change very quickly & although you may have a great rig we have no idea of your towing experience on steep rocky tracks.
So vast is the network of tracks that the list of those not suitable would be well over 200 long. My suggestion is that you either travel with someone familiar with the area or base camp at some central location & do day trips. Ideal camps would be Talbotville, Woods Point, Sheepyard flat, Pineapple flat & Licola to name a few.
Many on this site regually recomend towing trailers up hills like Billy Goat Bluff & Wombat spur out of Wonnangatta but given 20mm of rain both can be near impossible if not down right dangerous with a camper. For this reason ideally you should be in a group when tackling the rougher areas to aid in recovery.
The main problem with trailers on steep hills is if you stop, the added drawbar weight reduces the steering & the electric or over ride brakes contribute 4 fifths of f#@k all to stopping you sliding backwards or jack-knifing so it probably doesn't matter if you're towing $40K ultimate or a 1 tonne box trailer the result would be the same.
If after planning the trip you have some specific tracks or area's of which you have concern, drop in another post & we'll help you out with some up to date info. The Rooftops series of maps has currently the best detail for planning a trip to the high Country & cover all areas except for the Upper Murray.
Cheers Craig............

Ron there are loads of great destinations accessible with a (good) camper trailer, allowing you to set off on side trips from base camp. Pick an area, preferably based on desired activities and re-post for more accurate advice. For example, one suggestion was Sheepyard Flat as a base camp. This place is busier than Sydney on most weekends.... by accessing the Mt. Stirling Circuit Road you can get down to the (more) remote upper Howqua or King Rivers and explore from there.

The Howqua, by the way, is only accessible for flyfishers, all others having to pay exorbitant fees, not use any electrical equipment (either solar or generator powered) and stay a maximum of one night in any campsite.

Cheers,

Mark

PS: I could be exaggerating about the regs ;-)

Tend to agree with Crackles Ron,

You could also get into Wonnagatta for a great spot to stop for a few days and explore from but really only from Myrtleford on the East Buffalo route.

I've seen people do the trip in using Zeka but there are many spots where you can't pass at all if you meet oncoming traffic, which at that time of year is not uncommon. It also turns a 2-3 hour trip from the Howitt Plains Rd into a 5-7 hour trip.

Once you get there you will see what we mean.

I've followed a T'van down Harry Sheppards and watched it make moves to overtake the towing vehicle. Luckily the driver knew what he was doing or it would have gotten very ugly quickly. That was crawling down in reasonably good conditions too.

The run from Omeo through to Tom Groggin can be done with a camper up the Davies Plain Track but it won't be open until half way through your stay. The trip south is steeper faster than the trip north. I wouldn't detour into King Plain Track while towing.

The tracks up there need to be treated with a lot of respect. What is easy enough today can be deadly tomorrow with overnight rain. Though if you have done some of the more difficult bits of the west coast of Tassie you should have a bit of an idea what some of it is like.

Dave