Crooked River - Level & Directions
Submitted: Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 10:39
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Bruce n Sal
Hi Guys,
We are planning on going to
Talbotville area for a week end next month some time and i have a few questions about the area:
1. What is the
water level likely to be in Crooked river, been told across the river there are a lot of
camp sites out of the way, which is what we prefer. We will have 2 4wd but neither have snorkels (yet.!!!). And both trailers are just standard trailers so not alot of height, don't want a wet tent.
2. Getting there, we will be coming form the nothern suburbs near the melb airport, are we better to go via Sale or up the Hume to Mt Hotham and down, which is likely to be the quickest, we will both have kids 5 & 2 in both families so the sooner we get them out of the cars the better for us :)
Thanks any tips would be appreciated.
Bruce & Salli
Reply By: Member - Mark E (VIC) - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:10
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:10
Bruce and Salli,
To get to
Talbotville, via Gippsland, you don't need to do any river crossings at all, so the river level is irrelevant and I would recommend you go that way. Going over Hotham can be longer and more difficult from
Melbourne. Just get on the freeway and head out towards Dandenong and follow the signs.
If you want to find better campsites out of the way you will need to do some river crossings and the Crooked tends to rise and fall quickly depending upon the amount of rain at the time. It is rare not to be able to cross the river at most points, but keep a good look at the weather and if it has been raining heavily you may need to reassess before plunging in.
Hope this helps.
Cheers,
Mark
AnswerID:
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Follow Up By: OREJAP - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:00
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:00
Have a look at Parks web site & give them a cal on a 13 number, the local office would be Heyfield I think. There are some great books on the area by Rob Christie or R W Christie all about
Dargo, Crooked river,Grant &
Talbotville it's an amazing area with alot of history. I recommend both books to you especially if you are really interested in the area. Have a safe trip & I agree with Bruce & Salli comments.
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Follow Up By: OREJAP - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:46
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:46
OOPS SORRY I MEANT MARK!!
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Reply By: Bruce n Sal - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:26
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 11:26
Thanks Mark
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Reply By: Shaker - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:50
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 12:50
The river level information can be found
HERE
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Follow Up By: River Swaggie - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 21:09
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 21:09
2.65m Thats pretty bloody fast isnt it shaker ?????
If you go to my photo album,Then
Dargo and look at the Swollen Wonnangatta River (5 blokes turned back that day and thats only what we saw lol)
i would have thought the above figure would be running even harder,Also the Crooked River pics of
mine (near Bulltown),It must be double the river flows in the pics...And if thats the case its quite dangerous at the moment..
http://picasaweb.google.com/warfer69
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Follow Up By: Shaker - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 23:25
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 23:25
Yes, I reckon the first crossing in from the Waterford end would be pretty interesting at the moment.
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Reply By: Crackles - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 20:36
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 20:36
Bruce driving into
Talbotville via McMillians track wont require any river crossings however if you decide to head out on any other tracks in the area, there are many crossings varying in depth from headlight level to over the bonnat. Rivers in the High Country are curently running relatively high in comparison to the last 10 years & you are wise to be asking the question.
In particular the crossing at the bottom of Collingwood spur can be deceptive as the depth often changes from year to year.
With suitable preparation & fitting a blind most crossings could be done without a
snorkel at the moment but I'd suggest it will be
well above the gaurds on a standard 6x4 trailer.. Keep an eye on rainfall
HERE to get idea what it will be like next month.
Cheers Craig.............
AnswerID:
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Reply By: Member - Warrie (NSW) - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 21:43
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 21:43
River Depths is what 4WDer's want but the hydrologists prefer a number which bears no relation to the depth at a ford.
Well, it does if you know the reference level and I can't find it anywhere. More than likely it's around the 2m mark so at 2.65 it means the depth is 0.65m. A case in point. Archer R on
Cape York is bone dry at 2.5m and stays at this during the dry season as there is no flow. But if the reading from the BoM is 3.5m then it's really only 1m deep. Perhaps someone else could enlighten us re Vic river "true " depths.....W
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Follow Up By: Member - Warrie (NSW) - Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 22:31
Wednesday, Oct 14, 2009 at 22:31
A bit of digging and it looks like no flow for the Wonnangatta at Crooked R is 1.3 metres so if the recent level is 2.65 then it's 1.35m deep. Pretty interesting even with a
snorkel!! But this location is a long way downstream of
Talbotville so it should be shallower there. The area is in a wet spell now so levels should drop by the time you make your trip. Then again, it's part of the fun to test man and machine against nature-deep enough to be thrilling for the kids but shallow enough to not stall...... W
river details
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Follow Up By: Bruce n Sal - Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 at 11:44
Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 at 11:44
Thanks Warrie,
Judging by that I wont be tempted to try a crossing then. Fair chance I will drown everything in the trailer and probably the car.
Hopefully we can find a spot without having to cross the river. Never been to the area so don't know what its like. I bought the map to the area from this website so i guess we will see how we go. Not going for another couple of weeks at least so hopefully the river will come down by then.
Bruce
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Reply By: Bruce n Sal - Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 at 11:48
Thursday, Oct 15, 2009 at 11:48
Thanks for all the comments guys.
Don' t think i will ber crossing the river to find a more secluded spot as suggested, car and trailer not really set up for it yet.
Think the
snorkel can be this yrs xmas present, and we are planing on building a camper trailer next yr.
Thanks again, all info has been invaluable.
Bruce
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