This page is a collection of little bits of information that you may
find useful.
Which Way? This is one of
the decisions you will have to make before walking the track; which way
should you go? Both directions have their advantages and disadvantages.
Northbound parties have a few easier days walking to start with (up to
and along the Baw Baws) but then get dumped into the Thomson, Jordan
and Black Rivers, with large climbs each day. Southbound
parties, after a few ups and downs through the Namadgi NP, end up on
the relatively flat country of the northern and central Kosciuszko NP.
This offers the opportunity to do long days and build up fitness; by
the time parties reach the more difficult Victorian sections parties
should have walked themselves into condition. I chose the northbound
route as the track notes followed that way, and because I live in
Victoria if I had any problems early on it would have been easier for
my parents to come out to me.
Food
drops: The spacing of food
drops is dictated by the amount of food you are happy to carry with
you. I find one weeks food (~7kg) is ideal; once you get above 10 days
food pack weight starts to become an issue. For your food drop any
plastic container with a animal-proof lid should be fine; I used a
screw-top barrell. Make sure
you write on the container when the drop was placed, who it is for,
when the
container will be collected and, most importantly, that it is a food
drop (if people see a sealed container in the bush their first action
is to find what is inside). Food drops, in additon to your walking
food, should have the maps for the next section, track notes (if
required), fuel, candles (for use in huts if necessary) and batteries.
They can contain some heavyweight
'luxuries' such as alcohol and tinned food, and it is probably a good
idea to throw in a spare pair of socks to exchange with your crusty old
ones. My food drops were at Rumpff Saddle, McNamaras Hut on the eastern
side of the Bogong High Plains, Buenba Creek, Dead Horse Gap and
Kiandra.
Places along the the track that can be accessed by normal car are:
Thomson Valley Road, Mt Erica Car Park, Stronachs Camp, Thompson River,
Mt Victor through to Mt Singleton, Jamieson-Licola Road, Rumpff Saddle,
Selwyn Creek Road, Great Alpine Road, Bogong High Plains Road, Omeo
Highway, Taylors Crossing, Benambra-Corryong Road, Beloka Road, Mount
Hope Road, Limestone Creek, Cowombat Track (up to the barrier 1km
before Bulley Creek), Dead Horse Gap, Kiandra, Port Phillip Fire Trail,
Blue Waterholes, Orroral Space Tracking Station and Honeysuckle Creek
Space Tracking Station. Other places along the track that can be
accessed with a short walk from a car are: Mt St Gwinear from Thomson
Valley Road, Macalister Springs from Howitt Road, Schlink Pass from
Guthega Power Station and the Murray Gap Fire Trail turnoff from
Pockets Saddle Road. Most of the roads listed are unsealed; only four
bitumen roads are crossed over the entire length of the track. Having a
4WD opens up a a couple more possible food drops (Jordan
River, Low Saddle, King Billy and Mt Speculation come to mind)
but
it is unlikely that food drops will need to be placed at these sites.
Maps:
Since Siseman's book was written the CMA maps (covering the area from
Buckwong Creek until Tharwa) have been updated, and the Mount
Kosciusko, Khancoban and Berridale
1:50,000 maps have
been replaced by 1:25,000. You will now need the following maps:
Thredbo: Davies Plain, Tom Groggin, Chimneys Ridge. The Jacobs River
1:100,000 may suffice in this area, as the AAWT follows fire trails.
Mount Kosciusko: Perisher Valley, Geehi Dam
Khancoban: Jagungal, Toolong Range
Eucumbene: Old Adaminaby
My parents had a set of 1:100,000 with them to keep track of my
progress; these are also handy for working out schedules and
organising food drops. For the record, here are the maps I carried on
the trip:
Baw Baw National Park (Bush Maps 1:50,000)1; Mount Gregory,
Mount Easton, Connors Plain, Skene South, Skene North (Vicmap
1:25,000); Watersheds of the King, Howqua and Jamieson Rivers (Bush
Maps 1:50,000)2; Tamboritha - Moroka, Howitt - Selwyn, Dargo
Plains - Cobungra, Bogong Alpine Area, Benambra - Leinster, Dart -
Gibbo (Vicmap 1:50,000); Suggan Buggan, Thredbo, Mount Kosciusko,
Khancoban, Eucumbene (First
Edition 1:50,000); Denison, Cabramurra, Ravine3 (First
Edition 1:25,000); Tantangara, Rules Point, Peppercorn4,
Rendezvous Creek, Corin Dam, Williamsdale (Second Edition 1:25,000).
Notes:
1: This map covers the AAWT from Walhalla right through to Stronach's
Camp; I found it to be adequate, but some people may prefer
topographical maps, as they show more information.
2: I strongly advise people take this map as it shows information on
where water can be found.
3: Only 1km of the AAWT appears on the Ravine map. I have produced a
'Kiandra' map (see below) to save purchasing this map.
4: The official AAWT route doesn't appear on this map; it covers the
northern part of the Blue Waterholes area.
I have produced some maps covering two of the more awkward areas of the
track; print them out and make your life easier!
Bear in mind that the Vicmap series is around 20 years old, whilst the
Natmap 1:100,000 series is nearly 30 years old. Bush Maps Victoria
maps only have 100m contours, but contain lots of useful information
for bushwalkers. They are also updated much more frequently; I
recommend using one in conjunction with a topographic map. Rooftop Maps
have a range of 1:100,000 (no contours) and some 1:50,000 maps that are
frequently updated, however they don't cover large sections of the
track. Hema Maps have some contours and show the AAWT, however they are
not suitable for bushwalking due to the small scale.
Navigation:
At each track
junction (except in wilderness areas) there will usually be a treated
pine post around 0.5m tall with AAWT markers on it, and additional
posts about 50m along the correct track. The official AAWT markers are
a yellow triangle, and very occasionally you may come across them
along the track. In Victoria the yellow Alpine Track diamonds are
almost everywhere, making navigation easier.
Track
conditions: Vehicle
tracks and foot tracks in popular areas are easy to follow, but the
foot tracks in remote sections are often extremely faint to
non-existent. Indeed, for quite a few sections the only thing that you
are following are a few markers on trees. For more information on track
conditions refer to Siseman's book or my track notes on this site.
Track
notes: I strongly suggest
taking Siseman's book (photocopies are fine) with my track notes when
you do the track, as it is hard to memorise 650km+ of directions
beforehand.
Accommodation:
The track passes
close to Hotham and Thredbo, and these ski resorts roughly divide the
track into thirds. When you reach them it may be worth getting into
some accommodation to do some washing and eat some real food! Hotham is
almost deserted after the ski season, with mainly tradespeople around,
and hence accommodation is cheap. The same cannot be said for Thredbo,
which is much more of a four season resort. Accommodation is also
avaliable at Currango Homestead.
Huts:
If you do take refuge in
a hut, be careful of the rodents! Hang your food in a bag or your pack
from a wire hook attached to the roof. 'Ratty' huts include Dibbins,
Cope, Wallaces, Cleve Cole, Horse Camp and Whites River, just to name a
few. Most huts have a log book; writing your names, party details, any
hazards or changed track conditions, and travel intentions is a good
safety measure, and also helps other AAWT walkers out.
Route
planning: When planning your
route try to avoid the more popular areas (Crosscut Saw, Wallaces Hut,
Mt Bogong, The Main Range and Blue Waterholes) on weekends. These
places can get quite crowded which detracts from their appeal. It may
also be worthwhile making your ascent of Mt Kosciuszko early in the
morning or later in the afternoon to avoid the hordes of tourists up
there.
Tent:
Any reasonable quality tent should do on the
track. Remember that you will be rained on and there is a reasonable
possibility you will be snowed on as well at some stage! I took a 3
season tent (MSR Hubba Hubba) and found this to be fine, although the
mesh inner made
things cold in the snow.
Pack:
Ensure that your pack,
like all your gear, is in good condition before you leave. You may want
to put in some spare buckles and a needle and thread just in case, as
they don't weigh much and broken packs are
hard to mend without them. I
took a Wilderness Equipment Karijini which held up fine.
Stove:
Your stove will probably
be whatever you use for regular bushwalking. If you use an MSR-style
shellite stove spare o-rings should be carried, or at least replaced
before leaving. I used my trusty old Trangia. Fuel can be left in food
drops.
Water
treatment: In more
popular areas water should be treated to avoid any nasties. Areas that
come to mind include around Macalister Springs, the Main Range (from
Dead Horse Gap through to and including Schlink Pass) and Blue
Waterholes. In the past (including when I did the track) cattle were
still being grazed in the Alpine National Park in Victoria, but this is
no longer the case. Treatment can be done by boiling water, using
puritabs or filtering. I carried a filter (Pur Hiker) and the cartridge
lasted most of the track, with it becoming rather clogged towards the
end.
Radio:
I suggest that every
party that intends to do the length of the track take a small FM radio
to keep track of the weather.
Camera:
More and more people
are using digital cameras, and this creates the problem of batteries.
Digital SLR cameras use little power and should last the length of the
track on a single battery, depending of course on how many photos you
take. People with regular 'point and shoot' style digital cameras will
either have to buy spare batteries (which are often $60 or more) or use
a camera that takes AA batteries, which can be left in each food drop.
I used a FujiFilm S7000 which takes 4 AAs. I also carried a light
(600gram) tripod for taking photos of myself using the timer.
Footware:
Make sure your boots
are completely broken in before the track! You will be living in them
for a month or more so anything that is not comfortable at the start
will be absolute hell by the end. Walkers with leather boots should
treat them with Dubbin or SnoSeal before they leave, to prevent them
from drying out and becoming hard on the track. Owners of synthetic
boots need to carefully examine the condition of their boots before
leaving as 650km+ of walking can do a fair bit of damage. I also
suggest packing a pair of sandles or thongs, as it is good to let your
feet air at the end of a long day.
Gaiters: I consider gaiters to
be essential for completing the AAWT. Many of the walking tracks are
partially covered with scrub, and without protection your legs end up
very tender after a day or two.
Misc:
I carried a small bar of
yellow soap and a collapsible kitchen sink with me for washing myself
and clothes. Socks are the hardest to get clean, often needing 5 or
more changes of water! Another random tip that I give is buy yourself a
copy of the RACV Melbourne-Sydney road map and mark the track on it.
This comes in handy for showing tourists and other walkers where you
have been and are going to. It will surprise you just how much country
you are covering (hard to picture until you see it all on the one map),
and can provide a moral boost whilst on the track to see how far you
have come.
Kiandra
Blue
Waterholes