Mansfield -Hunting Huts

The lady in the Information Centre seemed very knowledgeable about the tracks in the Mansfield State Forest and Alpine National Park so we took her advice when we went looking for alpine huts. The first track we took was the Howqua Track that starts a few kms out of Merrijig.

Merrijig Primary School, it looks like it was built in 1379 but I’m confident it was 1839.

The track is suitable for 2WD vehicles and when we reached Sheepyard Flat there were a few offroad caravans set up there. There was also a large group of students in the area, they must be on a bushwalking campout.

Click on any image for a full sized version with caption.

Stockhorses at a waterhole.

Wallabies watching us

Still smiling faces.

Lowering the tyre pressures at Sheepyard Flats

Not far from Sheepyards Flat was Frys Hut and it was a real memorial to the early settlers and a fine demonstration of Fred Fry’s workmanship. It saddens me that visitors don’t respect places like this and think it’s OK to deface them with their names written or burnt into the timbers the pioneers worked by hand.

Frys Hut? I’d say Homestead.

Very clever union of poles and corrugated iron.

Inside one of the rooms.

Hessian and tar used to line the inside of roof.

Fred Fry designed and built this Flying Fox himself.

Apparently the horse knew just when to reverse out of the water.

Fred’s sluices in the river.

Fred’s beautiful home setting.

We returned to Sheepyard Flats then turned onto Brocks Road which sounds superior but it wasn’t, there were rough patches, raised humps probably put in place to direct water and also some Higgelty Piggelty sections.

One of the hazards -fallen trees

Not simple 2WD around here.

The higgeldy piggledy section

Sharp rocks on the road had to be removed here.

So? Who says horns have to be symmetrical?

We stopped at Tunnel Bend and made the short but steep walk down. The river comes around one bend before disappearing around another further downstream. Back on the track we met a couple of men working on the road…. well one was driving an excavator the other was sitting in his ute “directing traffic”.

Road hazard

Excavating the cliff face to compensate for erosion on the opposite side.

Cattle roaming

Tunnel Bend

Tunnel Bend

We took the Bluff Link Road (only open for the summer months) to Bluff Hut. Three tents were set up in what would have been a horse or cattle corral at some stage but only one person was about. He’d decided a walk to The Bluff was far too energetic so he was relaxing in a lay-back chair on the hut’s verandah.

Rebuilt Bluff Hut

Original dunny survived but has been improved.

Old stockyards. The blue twine is where riders doing the trails tie up their horses.

yeah! I have 2 bars!

Coming back down we stopped a few times to photograph interesting things we’d see on the way up.

In the background is “The Bluff” where the climbers were going today.

Native flowers or weeds?

Native flowers or weeds?

Beautiful Tree Ferns

Bet this Scot came in without a visa.

 

As we made our way back along the tracks we could feel the temperature rising, it had reached a nice 24 deg. during our meanderings but by the time we were back at camp it had risen to 33 deg. The AC immediately went on in the camper and even after 7:30 it’s still working full time.