Leader: Michele Cunningham
It was a chilly winter morning when a group of 14 trampers assembled at Richmond Badminton Club. The drive to the road end took us through fog and descending temperatures, but by the time we drove through a farm just before Murchison and got out of the cars, the sky was clearing. “Road end” is probably not really the right word, as the 4WD road continued on all the way to the top of Mt Murchison.
The first step after leaving the cars was to climb over the locked gate, where a multitude of different techniques were used. Everyone made it safely to the other side one way or another, and after that it was a long steep plod all the way to the top
– a 1100-metre climb over 6.3km (according to Carole’s iPad).
The walk was mostly through bush, but it became open towards the top. It didn’t take long to get warm, and good company, conversation about chocolate brand loyalty and price (among other things), and increasingly impressive views kept our minds busy. Snowy mountain ranges with clouds hanging in the valleys made for some good photo opportunities.
We arrived at the top to find a multitude of communication towers, complete with warnings not to sit directly under the towers in case of falling icicles! And indeed some falling icicles were seen but no near misses were reported. The views were well worth the walk: 360 degrees of clearly visible mountain ranges. The snow-clad Mt Owen was particularly impressive. Other features identified included the 1000 Acre Plateau with Needle and Haystack, the St Arnaud Ranges, and the Lyell Range where the Old Ghost Road threads through.
An alternative view was that of one red shirt and one green shirt hanging on the trig belonging the our two Italians present (Silvano and Massimo). With a piece of snow placed in the middle we had the resemblance of their national flag.
After lunch and the obligatory group photo, we began our descent. I’m sure the down was harder on the legs and feet than the up, but somehow the change of perspective made the scenery interesting all over again. We noticed the bush more, and the birdsong was fantastic. We were out in good time, so some of the group stopped for coffee and some delicious snacks at the Flat Rocks Cafe in Kohatu. Thanks everyone for a very pleasant day out.
Trampers were: Chris Louth, Rod and Carole Lewis, Sue Henley, Ian and Marilyn Morris, Sheelah McCambridge, Denise Glover, Grant Derecourt, Graeme Ferrier, Silvano Lorandi, Massimo Nember, Peter Phipps and Michele Cunningham