Reflections of a Rural Social Worker: Grieving losses: Fire in Burrowa Pine Mountain National Park

This National Park sits between Albury/Wodonga and Corryong in Victoria, and it was impacted by fire earlier this month. We visited two sections of it on different days in 2012 and found it to be a lovely mountainous park with hidden gems. I grieve for its current losses.

At Tintaldra we turned onto the Cudgewa Valley Road, which took us along a valley between the Mount Mittamatite Regional Park and the Pine Mountain Range on a tarred road. Half way along this road we turned onto the tarred Cudgewa North Road which took us along another valley towards a mountain featuring striking bluffs.

We then chose to detour off this to visit Bluff Falls, initially on tar and then on gravel as this valley narrowed, and we entered the National Park to drive upwards through scrubby forest to the car park for the falls. Here a short walking track took us 250 metres to the lovely falls which were viewed in two sections – one tumbling down over higher rocks and the other cascading into a plunge pool reached by walking down some stairs.

Then we took Cudgewa Bluff Road, which still managed to follow a valley and, just as we re-entered the National Park, we had great views across a paddock to the bluffy range.

We continued on through scrubby forest where enticing 4WD tracks disappeared into the bush from time to time, until the countryside opened out into yet another narrow valley.

Next we veered from the gravel onto the tarred Sandy Creek Road to drive as far as we could to Pine Mountain, back tracking up the now wider valley. This mountain featured a bare rocky summit and an attractive species of native pine, and a rough track took us for 5 kms around the edge of this gigantic rock monolith (reputed to be 1.5 times larger than Uluru). After we reached a car park with no discernible walking tracks, we continued on and began to climb a rougher track until we did, in fact, reach the walking track at the end of the road.

After re-tracing our way back (it was too hot for a long walk on an overgrown track today), we returned to Cudgewa Bluff Road and, not far along it, turned onto Shelley Road and edged Mt Burrowa with its clearly discernible bluffs and lower flanking ranges but, after leaving it behind, we entered pine plantation forests and signs cautioned us to beware of logging trucks!

A few days later, on the Murray Valley Highway. we became like ants crawling around the bases of high cleared hills and forested mountains. But when we reached Shelly we realised that we had missed the turn onto the gravel Jeffcott Jewels Road and had to back track to seek it out, finding that the sign post had been turned sideways when we reached it (and there was no indication that this went into the Burrowa-Pine National Park).

After crossing through farmland and then moving onto a 4WD track which became Black Mountain Track, we then zigzagged and wriggled through the forest as the track gently climbed. Then we hugged the side of the mountain as we wound upwards – only to be confronted by a slasher coming down and waving its slashing arm at the side of the track (and I had been worried about what we would do on this narrow track if another vehicle came from the other direction)!

However, after a brief discussion with the driver, John was advised to back down to the switch back (a reasonable distance) – so we backed until we reached a wider section of track (with me walking behind the Prado to give guidance) and here a successful passing was achieved. Thereafter the track was littered with the results of slashings, providing for greatly increased tyre staking opportunities!

Upon reaching Ross Lookout (with no discernible tyre damage) we had to search for the lookout and soon found a footpad leading through bush, carpeted with wildflowers, to a rock platform where we had a window view back to the hazy Main Range. But we also wandered down another 4WD track on foot, with John seeking the walking track across to Bluff Falls whilst I was distracted by wildflowers, bark and trees in the lovely forest.

Then we back tracked to the turn-off onto the Black Mountain Track and took it down through a saddle before climbing steeply and steadily upwards to a point where a walking track to Horices Saddle departed. We walked to the top of Mt Black up an overgrown 4WD track to find that views in all directions were hampered by trees; but, once again, we spent some time wandering amongst the wildflowers, knowing we would have to get past the slasher again on the way down.

When we did catch up with the slasher (sooner than I expected) it was at a wide enough spot for us to pass and we continued onwards as parrots and Happy Wanderer Butterflies flittered across the track in front of us.